#mermaid interpretations make me happy

[renthony]

Mickey Mouse is Gay

I'm working on research notes for my Hays Code video essay, and I'm reading The Celluloid Closet by Vito Russo. While reading, I came across this image:

[Image description: A screenshot from the ebook of The Celluloid Closet. It shows an old poster of Mickey Mouse playing a harp, with text that reads "always gay!" in large capital letters. Smaller text at the bottom reads "(C) Walt Disney Enterprises." The image is captioned with, "When the word gay meant happy and nothing else." End description.]

There was no immediate information about when or in what context this poster was produced, but since I live in Florida, where Disney was involved in the recent "Don't Say Gay" chaos, I felt compelled to go dig up more info.

That digging led me to a copy of Tinker Belles and Evil Queens, by Sean Griffin, which opens chapter 2 ("Mickey Mouse--Always Gay!") with the following:

In the midst of The Celluloid Closet, Vito Russo’s groundbreaking work on representations of homosexuals in American film, there appears a poster advertising Mickey Mouse cartoons. As a joyous Mickey plucks out a tune on a harp, the poster proclaims, “Always Gay!” Underneath this picture, Russo writes the caption “When the word ‘gay’ meant happy and nothing else.” Although Russo separates Mickey’s personality from the modern connotations of the word “gay,” linking the word “gay” with “homosexual” had begun in various homosexual communities during the 1930s. The word “gay” was used in these circles as a method of code to let others know that someone was “a member of the community” without declaring it to those who would physically or legally threaten them. Furthermore, although Walt and most (if not all) of his employees probably would not have known this new meaning to the word when they created the aforementioned poster in the 1930s, it seems that certain audience members were watching and enjoying Mickey’s “gaiety” in all its connotations.

This dynamic becomes more apparent when certain historical evidence suggests that the phrase “Mickey Mouse” itself was bandied about by some homosexuals as a code phrase. Gay and lesbian historian Allan Berube found a photograph of a gay bar in Berlin during the 1930s called “Mickey Mouse.” A lesbian hobo of the 1930s who went by the name Box-Car Bertha related to Dr. Ben L. Reitman in 1937 that a group of wealthy Chicago lesbians threw soirees called “Mickey Mouse’s party.” Bertha maintained contact with these women in order to borrow money, introducing herself by saying “I met you at Mickey Mouse’s party.”

With this evidence of the use of “Mickey Mouse” as a code phrase for homosexuality, seemingly benign uses of the name by homosexual figure take on heightened meaning. When openly gay songwriter Cole Porter wrote the lyrics for “You’re the Top” in the early 1930s, he included the line “You’re Mickey Mouse.” In The Gay Divorcee (1934), Betty Grable approaches Edward Everett Horton, who made a career out of playing the bumbling sissy in Hollywood films during the ’30s, and sings to him “You make me feel so Mickey Mousey.” Although what Grable’s character means by this is left open to interpretation, in context she seems to mean that Horton stirs some emotion within her. Yet, “Mickey Mousey” might have had a sly double meaning—especially when a flustered Horton responds to Grable’s assertion, “Well, no wonder!”

I've said before that completely writing off Disney media is a bad take, because Disney media has been very important in queer history. The corporation is evil, but the art has the talent and soul of countless skilled artists, many of whom are/were queer. Painting Disney media as across-the-board soulless and terrible erases the contributions of countless artists who were themselves exploited by the company.

There is such a long tradition of queer people slipping queerness under Disney's radar and into their classic films. I typically use Howard Ashman's work on The Little Mermaid as my go-to example of this, because The Little Mermaid is a very queer movie based on a very queer story by a very queer author.

So it's pretty wild to learn Mickey Mouse himself has been used as queer flagging!

For more info about Disney Queerness, I recommend the video essay "What Makes Disney Villains So Gay?" by Matt Baume, as well as the YouTube channel Dreamsounds.

(Also, if you want to support the production of my video essay about the Hays Code, you can pledge to my Patreon. I still have some texts to track down for research and might have to shell out to buy them.)

[microraptorreactor]

No shade at Devsis (for this, specifically) but seriously there are a lot of characters in this game who are a) female, b) have a relationship with another woman that is VERY easy to interpret as queer, and c) are deeply traumatized. Don't get me wrong I love 5/6 of these character's episodes (I only dislike Ice Queen's because Icicle Yetti's voice got really grating on me very quickly) but is everything good at Devsis?

(explanations for my non-cookie run moots under the cut. Cookie Run lore is wild, y'all.)

from top to bottom, left to right.

Frost Queen is a god of frost who froze to death in the arms of her 'best friend' in a past life. She goes on to use blizzards to balance out life and death. (I think. I watched a breakdown and some cutscenes. in order to get this information you have to play an hour with the most annoying cookie available)(I do not like Icicle Yeti)

Moonlight Cookie was created to observe the dreams of mortals/watch over the city of wizards. She has a close relationship with the god of the ocean but can't leave the city to kiss her girl. Eventually, all the wizards leave the city and Moonlight is left to watch over it on her own.

Black Pearl Cookie was a gem mermaid who had a close relationship with a 'maid', Frilled Jellyfish Cookie (second from the right on the bottom row). She is bisexual however, and falls for the worst possible man after running away from home because she didn't get magic powers during the sea magic ceremony thing. The dude steals her kingdom's magic pearl (or maybe he gives it to her? I don't remember the specifics) which starts a war and kinda just fucks everything up. Black Pearl goes to Sea Fairy for help, but Sea Fairy starts a space program instead of helping so Black Pearl turns emo. Also, Frilled Jellyfish dies due to the war. (I said Cookie Run lore was wild)

Sea Fairy Cookie is really down bad for Moonlight Cookie and (unintentionally) makes it everyone's problem. She ignores the sea cookies while they are actively fucking dying and sorta just sits around for the entire plot. She is one of my favorite characters. Like go off girl make your lesbian pining an actual threat to everyone's safety.

Frilled Jellyfish Cookie has been mentioned already but she's just the sweetest little thing. She just wants to see BP happy, man. She does everything in her power to try to console BP and it just gets her killed in the end. Her dying words are her telling BP to leave her and get to safety, and that she will be fine. BP should have just kissed the jellyfish girl why'd she have to fuck around with Oyster :(

Golden Cheese Cookie. She's my favorite character. So for the sapphic part, she's weirdly flirty with Black Rasine Cookie (another desert-themed cookie with bird motifs) and I'm team 'the ancient heroes were poly' so if you ask me she was smooching White Lily and Hollyberry at some point in the past. For the tragic part, here's one of the wildest backstories this game has! Basically, GCC founded and ruled the Golden Cheese Kingdom, which I'm gonna call Cheeseypt because that's what it is. Cheeseypt is a relatively secluded kingdom, mostly interacting with the wider world through trading. At one point, Golden Cheese leaves her kingdom to fight in the Dark Flour War alongside the other Ancient Heros. What happens while she's out? Dark ENchantress (who happens to be GC's ex-close-friend) FUCKING NUKES ALL OF CHEESEYPT. Not even a 'oh they had to flee and they are still rebuilding :(' no ALL OF GOLDEN CHEESE'S FRIENDS ARE DEAD. Consumed by grief, because you know, everyone she loves is dead, GC buries them all under the kingdom and connects their souls to a digital city before entombing herself with them. She tunes the digital city so that everyone's wishes are granted, and all her citizens live lives of comfort and wealth because, for as much as she values her gold, her real treasure is her friends.

I would stop it here but the way the game ends GC's ark is also just fucking insane? so one of her close friends betrays her (for good reason tbh) and destabilizes the entire city. Faced with leaving everyone she loves behind, GC breaks down because there's nothing for her in the real world. Black Raisen cookie comforts her but explains that this eternal dream is going to end someday anyway. So what does GC do? She explains to her citizens that it'll feel like falling asleep, and shuts down digital Cheeseypt. The characters we met in Cheeseypt don't come back, by the way. There's no loophole. They are just possibly dead for real. (or definitely dead in Burnt and Cheesenburg's cases.)

[avelera]

So one thing I’ll own up to as a prediction or interpretation I got wrong, or at least didn’t fully extrapolate out its meaning, is that Stede is the magical creature in the relationship.

Or at least that he is to Ed. That we’re getting that now that this season is more focused on Ed’s damage and we’re getting more of his POV.

(I did say in one piece of meta that they’re manic pixie dream girls to each other but this season is really bringing that to the fore.)

I definitely saw Ed as the embodiment of the adventure and life Stede has always craved. That if anything, is idealization of Ed and mistaken belief that Ed wants to continue to be a massively successful pirate (which is Stede’s dream life) is at the heart of their disastrous separation at the end of S1.

And I definitely grasped that Stede is aberrant to Ed. He’s this fascinating outsider. Ed wants to study him and even to be him such that even before he can really articulate his growing love for Stede he can speak openly of his plans to steal Stede’s life in the classic queer, “Do I want him or do I want to be him??”

But I was really pleasantly, ecstatically shocked to see just how magical Ed imagines Stede to be with that mermaid sequence.

He literally sees Stede as at least as magical as Stede sees the famous Blackbeard, and on a more real level the fabulously skilled pirate Ed Teach, to be.

I think it would be easy after S1 to see the same imbalance of power and regard for one another that Stede feels because S1 is largely his point of view. He thinks of himself as second fiddle at best to Ed. The lesser partner. The apprentice looking on Ed with worshipful awe, just glad to be in his presence and very jealous about keeping that attention and regard. It’s so easy to see in some of Ed’s projected arrogance that he too sees them that way.

But the mermaid really undercuts that. It shows just how truly impossible and magical Stede is to Ed. Literally transformational to his life in much the same way Ed was to Stede.

Yes, the “harmless goldfish” is an element in that Ed’s not really scared of Stede, he doesn’t see him as a shark or anything near a threat. He’s just a harmless little goldfish. But he’s a harmless, magical little goldfish that Ed LOVES. That he fears he’s unworthy of. Also, he wants to leave the pirate life behind so being a harmless goldfish really isn’t a pejorative at all. Ed’s afraid that no one is waiting for him, not that the person waiting for him isn’t good enough for the legendary Blackbeard.

But that’s Stede’s fear. And as we learned this season explicitly, the fear that was so terrible it drove Stede from Ed’s side was the idea that Ed’s life would be better without him in it. He’s so afraid of that he made it happen because he cares about Ed’s happiness more than his own. But he’s petrified of discovering it’s true. Frozen in inaction, literally preferring to slog through squalor than to face this fear of Ed being happier without him. It’s perverse and counter intuitive but it’s so so human.

And it’s part of why the scene where Lucius says Stede might be the best Ed EVER has guts me so much. But that’s definitely my next essay because I have so many feelings about that. That when Stede says he can’t believe that, he’s not saying it because he’s going to change it, because he’s going to make sure Ed has good days again. That’s how I think it’s taken but I don’t think that’s the literal truth of what he said. Stede literally says he’s not currently able to grasp the possibility that he’s the best Ed’s life has ever been, his low self esteem literally won’t accept it, because it so seismically alters his whole view of their relationship. That he might be not a hanger on but the best thing that ever happened to Ed?

It also throws his actions of abandoning Ed into such ugly, stark relief. He can’t accept it. He can’t. It literally doesn’t compute and the extrapolation of what that means he did to Ed if it’s true is unthinkable. He can’t think about it. He just has to fix it.

[linettefox]

My interpretation of the Precure lore, if anyone cares. Reposting this from my Twitter thread.

Full Interpretation of Precure-Verse

Yes! Although inconsistent between seasons. I'm actually trying to make a series of videos on my channel that's a whole Precure lore dump!! Allow me to dump some of it here too.

Precure exists in a system of multiverse and parallel worlds all connected by portals and various means of transportation powered by the Prism Flower. This flower was destroyed once and is implied to have been birthed from the Heart Tree.

The universe was created by the 12 Star Princesses who reside in the Star Palace at the center of the Starry Sky Galaxy. They gave people imaginations, but there secret 13th sister didn't like that and became evil.

When the floral sea was destroyed on Mother RaPaPa's final breath she mentioned the Pretty Cure. This was the first instance of the legendary warriors being named. A few years later 10,000 years ago when the world was ruled by darkness and monsters the first Precure team emerged+

Earth has two origin stories. In Happiness Charge canon the god Blue created it but in Mahoutsukai canon it started as the floral sea created by Mother RaPaPa. I actually plan to theorize how this works in my upcoming YouTube series but to shorten that my theory is that +

When the floral sea was destroyed and split into Magic and Non magic worlds. Perhaps the non magic one was uninhabitable after everything and Blue simply took that broken rock and turned it into planet Earth. This theory raises questions but it's the one I use.

THE LIST:

Cure Empress, Cure Priestess and Cure Magician are the first documented cures to have existed. There are several other teams that popped up after them all the face their respective evils. I actually made a list of all the legendary cures in order, some are just estimates though.

8000 BC <- Cure Magician, Cure Empress, Cure Priestess

1020 <- Cure Oasis, Cure Flora, Cure Mermaid, Cure Twinkle

1524 <- Cure Ange

1724 <- Cure Mirage, Cure Noble

1924 <- Cure Lumiere

1936 <- Cure Earth

1960 <- Cure Rose

1960 - 2000 <- Cure Flower, Cure Tender

2000 - ??? <- Cure Moonlight, Cure Sword, etc (Past cures that joined main teams)

So what exactly is a Precure? They're legendary warriors, magicians, patisseries and super heroes. How their powers work is inconsistent but I have my theories. In general they just seem to be miracles, like the legendary power is needed to save the day and poof they a cure now.

They also get power ups and weapons through miracles as well. (Or more like Precure create miracles)

Anyone can be a Precure the only requirements seem to be the drive to protect and ability to never give up. A little courage and some hope may be needed but I don't think they are required as much as the other two are.

Most of the legendary cures if not all have failed to defeat the villains once and for all. This is why each year their predecessors are born to finish the job. Since Cure Black and Cure White's debut every team has been successful.

I actually nicknamed the in universe era from 2004 onward as the Precure renaissance since it was when the cures started to peak.

There is so much other lore I want to share but I have rambled long enough.

LINK:

[lynaferns]

It's kind of hard to not have the mentally of "it's not accurate anymore, so why bother" because the big voices in the fandom are literally loudly celebrating like "YES! I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THIS! HE HATES HIS JOB AND HATES KIDS! IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE PROVEN RIGHT!" And honestly, it makes people like me, who just recently had the courage to share my au, scared of sharing it now. I don't want to be constantly bothered by "that's not canon" "no, he wouldn't say/act like that" "you're misrepresenting his character" messages all the time.

I get this feeling, this is how I spend my first year in the community in silence. Which can be agonizing because you feel like you're drowning between popular interpretations that are far away from yours and if you show that you have a different point of view of the character they are going to jump to your neck.

But you know what? There is always someone that will share your opinions, and get invested in your AUs. Besides, you're in a pretty accepting fandom with mermaids, cryptics, dragons, fae, vampires, gods, etc etc, AUs everywhere.

If someone calls you out for not being "canon accurate" you let them know that it's an Alternative Universe and if they keep bothering you, you have all the rights to block them, you owe them nothing.

Besides, people are really fast to point out and say "I WAS RIGHT AND YOU WERE WROOOONG". This happened when ruin came out, they found the Moon plush with Casey's thought about the DCA and people were like "YES Moon was soft in the past and got evil because of the virus, FUCK YOU evil moon enjoyers >:D he's actually good!" (literally saw someone say something like that and it was so random) and it's like, so what??? This doesn't stop me from writing Moon evil, I'm going to write him however I want, I'm not gonna write a f i c t i o n a l character in a way I don't feel right with.

It's ok if you don't feel comfortable in sharing your AU right now but don't let the fear of sharing your art hold you back. I wouldn't be here where I am if I was taken aback out of fear from sharing my art and AUs (AUs in which the most accurate one the animatronics has dart guns and DCA has a whole arsenal in his pants, like-)

Give yourself a little time out of the fandom, let things cool down a little and keep writing that AU, or make new ones you find comfort in, whatever will make you happy do it.

I know it's easier said than done...

[deathmetalunicorn1]

So I’ve used Charybdis a couple times, let’s go to Scylla!

Scylla was a fair maiden (in some myths she was human in others a nymph) and a ocean god (not Poseidon) was in love with her and pursued her. Supposedly she rejected him because he was part fish but to me it’s because she just wasn’t interested (plus in some interpretations she was a child so… yeah. But that’s not what I’m going with here)

So the ocean god goes to Circe for a way to make Scylla love him and she supposedly gives him a love potion that will make Scylla fall madly in love with him. Except Circe was also in love with this god. Now some of the myths say he laced the potion into her tub and she soaked it up others that she was tricked or forced to drink either way the potion makes it way into her body and she becomes the monster she is known as.

Charybdis is banished to where she lives, trapped on the cliff, and she adopts the kid as her own (not in the myths but more my own interpretation if she is an adult)

Now for RoR

Similar to the Charybdis ask Scylla gives up her child to Valkyries because she can’t take care of Charybdis and it tears at her heart to leave the kid behind but she has no choice. She can’t protect the kid herself

But when Ragnarok happens Brunhilde approaches her with an offer, she needs her to be a Volundr for the first Einherjar in Ragnarok, Lu Bu

Scylla with her ability to break ships with ease and the tendrils with dog heads at the end she was perfect.

Scylla sees what Brunhilde is getting at, if Humanity is killed off it is entirely possible the Valkyries will be killed since they are only half gods, and that’s would leave Charybdis alone again. She won’t allow it

Lu Bu’s weapon will still be a halberd, but it’s more detailed and carries the power of one of the greatest sea monsters ever known

(Let’s also have this take place in the same universe as the Charybdis ask)

The fight with Thor ends in a draw, but Scylla is injured enough she misses the next two fights and doesn’t know about Charybdis, who made the choice to be a Volundr

What happens when she wakes up is up to you but here is the one thing I’d like to happen, Adam and Eve take a romantic interest in Scylla after getting to know her and seeing the love she holds for Charybdis

She even calls her Bis-Bis as a nickname and Charybdis calls her mom (no one’s says that child doesn’t deserve two moms and an awesome father)

-You couldn’t help but smile, seeing how happy Charybdis was, your little Bis-Bis, as you had rescued her from the bottom of the sea.

-You were not going to let a child suffer in eternal punishment for being hungry.

-You shared a similar fate, being trapped where you dwelled, across from Charybdis, banished after you were turned into the monster everyone knows by the jealous Circe.

-You resented the gods as they were so cold and cruel, but you did not let that anger, that hate, take over, as you knew there were a few good gods in the world.

-When you rescued Charybdis, you taught her how to retake her more human looking form, showing her your own.

-You skin was scaly, like a mermaid, and your hair was thick tendrils that you could control and call upon your beloved hounds if need be, you looked so unnatural, but at the same time, so unique, so beautiful.

-When you first showed Charybdis your humanoid form she gushed, saying you were like a mermaid, which made you laugh fondly.

-You knew something big had been going on in Valhalla, but you had no idea that it was something to the degree of Ragnarok.

-You approached the leader of the Valkyries, Brunnhilde, with Charybdis, requesting that they would take care of her, and she immediately accepted.

-Charybdis hugged your legs, “Don’t leave me mama!” you smiled softly, kneeling down, brushing her tears away, “It’s not forever, I just need them to take care of you until I can do that myself, but do to that, I need to make sure we’re both going to be safe.”

-She sniffled, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand as you smiled softly, leaning forward to peck her forehead, “I’ll still be around, and I will visit as much as I can.” She nodded and you sent a nod to Brunnhilde who returned it, giving you her word that she would do her best to keep Charybdis safe.

-True to your word, you visited often, and you felt so at ease, seeing Charybdis looking much healthier, getting regular meals with plenty of snacks and treats, and she was opening up more with the valkyries.

-You were stunned when you visited, seeing that she had bonded with Hercules of all people, treating him like a big brother and you quickly relaxed, seeing their bond, knowing he would keep her safe.

-When it came time for Ragnarok, you were stunned when Brunnhilde approached you, “Scylla, I want you to fight alongside the first Einherjar. I want you to perform a Völundr with Lu Bu!”

-You were hesitant, as you knew what that meant, you were putting your own life on the line to fuse souls with a human to create a holy weapon to fight against the gods.

-However, you realized that the other valkyries would be doing the same, at the risk of their own lives, and if they fell, nobody would be here to take care of Charybdis.

-Brunnhilde flinched only lightly when you realized this, as you weren’t going to take that chance. You refused to let your daughter be alone and you instantly agreed.

-She shook your hand, giving you a fierce, determined look, “Who’s a better person to make a weapon with one of the strongest warriors in history, than the fiercest sea monster in the world?”

-You grinned at her words before you parted, going to look for Charybdis, to tell her what you were going to be doing just in case you were to lose.

-You felt like garbage as she clung to you tightly, sobbing loudly, knowing what you were going to do, not wanting to lose you.

-You stroked her hair gently, your own tears stinging your eyes before you pulled her back, your thumbs brushing her tears away as she started to hiccup.

-Brunnhilde approached, kneeling beside her, trying to help you comfort her before you stood, flexing one of your arms, “I’ll be all right Charybdis, you have seemed to have forgotten that the strait we were on had two powerful sea beasts.”

-She sniffled softly, giving you a firm nod and you turned, heading for the arena.

-The gods weren’t expecting such a fight from Lu Bu, his halberd was chipping away at Thor’s Mjolnir.

-Lu Bu could feel your arms around his neck after he took a hard hit, appearing only to him, “I will aide you, prepare your strongest attack.”

-He grinned almost ferally, gripping his halberd at the end, preparing for Sky Eater and he instantly felt a rush of energy pulse through him, your power.

-As if your aura, your true form, surrounded his halberd, the dog heads appearing, howling out loudly and when it hit, the ground around both Lu Bu and Thor was torn to shreds, enveloping the two gods in a cloud of dust.

-When the dust cleared, the two warriors were both still alive, but unconscious, stunning everyone in attendance that a human managed to get a draw with one of the strongest gods in Valhalla.

-You were pretty damaged as well, reforming into you humanoid form, unconscious but alive.

-It was three hours later when you finally stirred, in the infirmary, feeling stiff and sore, but that meant you were alive.

-“Mama!!” you sat up and were immediately hugged by Charybdis, her arms around your neck and you smiled softly, squeezing her.

-You then froze as she pulled back, seeing that she was covered in wounds, bandaged up, your eyes instantly widened, cupping her cheeks, “Bis-Bis! What happened to you?!”

-Brunnhilde knocked on the door and you looked over, seeing her there with a human male and female there, peeking in, “Forgive me Scylla, but Charybdis asked to fight as well, to protect you like you do her. She fought and won as well, but not without a few minor wounds. You were the one who got the worst of it.”

-You wanted to shout at Brunnhilde, for endangering your child, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it, not when Charybdis cupped your cheeks, “You got a lotta boo-boos mama, but Big Sis Brunnhilde said you would be fine soon.”

-You relaxed as she hugged you again and you looked over at Brunnhilde, giving her a small nod, your eyes closing and she relaxed herself, seeing you forgive her.

-You noticed the two humans approach, both looked a bit curious with your unique looks as Charybdis spoke, looking over at them, “This is Adam, my new papa and Eve, my second mama! I fought with Papa against that meanie Zeus!” you were a bit surprised at her introduction to them, hearing her call them their parents, as she does you.

-You looked at Adam, “Thank you human, for keeping Charybdis safe.” Adam smiled softly, putting a hand on your daughter’s head, ruffling her hair lightly, “She kept me safe as well. We’re glad that you’re finally awake.”

-Eve was rather affectionate, sitting on the bed next to you, cupping your cheeks, a smile on her face, “Charybdis told us so much about you! You’re such a good mother!”

-You blushed only slightly at her praise, looking away which made her grin before Charybdis spoke up at you, “Mama can we live with mama and papa and all my big sisters and big brother Hercules too?”

-You giggled softly, pecking her forehead, “Once this is all over Bis-Bis, we can be one giant family!” she threw her hands up, cheering warmly and you couldn’t help but giggle as Eve mimicked her while Adam smiled at the three of you.

[chelledoggo]

My Analysis of "Lazarus Drug" by Meg Washington, and how it pertains to Bluey's "The Sign" [MASSIVE BLUEY SPOILERS]

(This post is going to deviate from my typical "all lowercase" typing style because I kinda want it to be taken seriously lol.)

So, I was doing some dishes earlier, and I started thinking about the song "Lazarus Drug" by Meg Washington. I started mulling over the lyrics and thinking about how it was used at the ending of the Bluey special "The Sign." The wheels kinda started turning and I felt compelled to attempt to present my interpretation and the thoughts I have about it.

Now, I'm not a music theorist or a seasoned philosopher or TV critic. I'm just about as much of a layperson as one can be. I'm just kinda calling things as I see them.

Although only the final portion of the song was used in The Sign, I wanna go over the full version of the song to give a better understanding of what all the pieces mean put together.

This probably won't be a play-by-play of every lyric (because I'm not that smart lol), but I'll do my best to get the point across.

Let's begin!

[MASSIVE BLUEY SPOILERS BEGIN BELOW THE CUT]

I am asleep, I am a slug I am a thief, I am a thug

The first lines of the song give the impression that the singer perceives herself as an impure person. She seems to bring attention to her vices of focusing too much on the self to the point where it could potentially hurt others.

You are grace, you are belief You are a Lazarus drug

This is where the song title comes in, and this section in particular is clearly very heavy on Biblical imagery.

Lazarus was a figure in the Bible, specifically the Gospel of John (John 11:1-45). He died of illness and had been in the tomb for four days. Jesus loved Lazarus so much, that he had wept upon the confirmation of his death. He then went to the tomb where Lazarus lie and resurrected him.

Note how the singer refers to the subject as a "Lazarus drug." When you think of a drug, you think either of something meant to treat an illness, or something meant to give someone a high. However, in this case, I think it's both.

Meg Washington said the following in an interview with ABC's (Australia) Double J radio station:

"'Lazarus Drug' is a song about love and euphoria and revival. It's really just an ode to whatever it is in your life – or my life – that makes you feel like rising up and floating in the middle of the air and splitting into light beams of happiness. "Writing this song was really special for me, because every time I sing it I feel the same way that I felt when I wrote it. I really wanted to make something that sounded like how we can make each other feel if we try very hard to share love."

The subject of the song is a loving, caring figure. You could even argue that they are a Christlike figure. The love and compassion that they extend to the singer not only heals their pain, but makes them feel high, as illustrated in these lyrics a few lines later.

And when you make A perfect circle in the sky I get so high I get so high I'm like a planet And I can't come down Oh, I can't come down

The next verse begins like this:

You are an angel And when you weep, the heavens rain I am a mermaid, eating at the sushi train

The "mermaid at the sushi train" metaphor is kind of up in the air, but I believe it might once again be highlighting the singer's selfishness.

Like, why would a mermaid be eating sushi? Why would she be eating her little fishy friends? Like imagine if Ariel was advertising frozen fishsticks... Oh wait...

It seems like a metaphor for thinking more about your own hunger rather than the needs of those you're meant to care for.

We sort of see this in both Bandit and Rad's subplots in "The Sign."

Bandit gets this high-paying new job in another city. He's going to have to uproot his family's life and take them away from the people they love and care about in Brisbane. However, Bandit doesn't really seem to consider too much how this might emotionally affect Bluey and Bingo. The way he sees it, he's doing the right thing. He believes he's guaranteeing a bright and comfy future for the Heeler family. He means well, of course. But in this case he's being so short-sighted that he doesn't seem to really take his family's feelings into account.

Likewise, Rad plans to move himself and Frisky out west after their wedding... Except that he didn't bother bringing this up to Frisky herself. His motives were arguably even more self-centered and short-sighted. He didn't bother asking Frisky how uprooting her own life would affect her. He just... assumed he could just smooth it over after the wedding. (I love you Rad, but... dick move, man. Dick move.)

But when you look in me With language in your eyes I get so high I get so high I'm like a planet And I can't come down

When the singer stops and looks at the subject, gazing into her eyes without needing to say a word, that "Lazarus drug high" comes back. She realizes that she's not in it alone. That there's people around her that love her and care for her, and they matter just as much as she does.

When Rad finally catches up to Frisky at the Lookout, they have this moment:

Now at surface level "I know you like it here" could just be referring to the Lookout, since it's one of Frisky's favorite places. But on a deeper level, I think we can tell what this really means. It's referring to Brisbane. You can even see the city in the background here.

Rad finally wakes up and realizes how much Frisky's home means to her. Neither one of them has to say a word about Brisbane for us to know that Rad's had a change of heart about moving. The way they look at each other during this scene speaks volumes.

Likewise, there's... the moment.

Moving day.

I feel it in the morning I feel how low it lies And then I hear you calling And then I start to rise I feel it in the morning I feel how low it lies And then I hear you call my name And then I start to rise

The Heeler house is all packed up in boxes, and the family is getting into the car to leave their driveway for the final time.

But just as Bandit's about to get in the driver's seat, he stops to answer a call from Bucky, letting him know that the Sheepdogs decided at the last minute not to buy the Heeler house.

After the call ends, Bandit walks over to peel the "SOLD" sticker off the "For Sale" sign.

He then gazes back at his family waiting in the car. No words are exchanged. He just takes a moment to look into their eyes. He's reflecting on what this move will mean for them. He remembers all the sorrow Bluey and Bingo endured over the revelation.

And suddenly his eyes are opened to what really matters...

And when I hear you calling Like you were always there I rise until I'm hanging In the middle of the air

He grabs hold of the sign, pulling it with the strength of two Bandits.

And when I hear you calling I split like I'm a snake With golden light like fingers And then I start to break Into a billion pieces

And...

...YEET.

Oh, I shatter into constellations Like I've never been more here Like I completely disappear

The ego shatters. Bandit foregoes the self and realizes his oneness with his family. That they all matter. That what they have in Brisbane is beautiful.

Sure, he could assure himself a cushy high-paying job and ensure a "comfy" life for his family.

But his family was already comfortable. More than comfortable, even.

His preconceived notions of what a "good life" could be disappear, because he knows they already have a good life.

I'm nothingness, but shining And everywhere at once I'm everything and everyone who is or ever was

Now this line is particularly interesting to me.

In eastern spirituality, especially Buddhism, there's a concept of "emptiness." Basically nothing and no one exists purely in and of itself. "Everything and everyone who is or ever was" exists because of interconnections through other factors. There's no inherent "thing" or "self." We're all one.

The words "emptiness" and "nothingness" in our western mindset seems to denote a feeling of despair and sadness. I think this is why Meg chose to word it as "nothingness, but shining." In the eastern mindset, "nothingness" is something that is shining and beautiful. It's not a sense of loneliness, rather a sense that you are not alone.

Bluey isn't a stranger to incorporating eastern spiritual thought into its episodes. Probably the most famous example is the episode "Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound," which is loosely based off the Buddhist story of Kisa Gotami. The episode "Hide and Seek" alludes to the practice of mindfulness meditation, which is a practice rooted in eastern traditions. You could even argue that the episode "Slide" has themes of Ahimsa, the eastern principle of nonviolence and not causing harm to other living things.

Even "The Sign" incorporates the Taoist parable of the Farmer, which teaches about accepting the unexpected of life, and not labelling anything as "fortunate" or "unfortunate."

I also personally see themes of the aforementioned principle of interconnectedness. The whole episode is basically a literal "butterfly effect." Every little thing, from Frisky leaving the wedding and the Heelers going to look for her, to Flappy (who originally appeared in "Slide." Oh wow, this goes deep!) flying into the Heelers' car, to Bluey finding a lucky coin, only for it to get stuck in the binoculars that the Sheepdogs later use to spot their new dream house... it all leads up to the ending.

The ending in and of itself can't really be labelled as a perfect happy ending, either. Bandit can no longer accept his new job, and will probably need to find new work in Brisbane. How will it go?

"We'll see."

And You're nothingness, but shining And everywhere at once You're everything, we're everyone who is or ever was, forever

The final lines are just a pronoun switch of the ones before them. This could be interpreted in multiple ways. The singer could be addressing the subject of the song, but she could also be addressing the listener.

The song ends on a reminder that we're all connected. We're affected by the circumstances we face, including the love we're shown by others. Likewise, the love we show others affects them and those around them.

Isn't that kind of one of the overarching messages of Bluey as a whole? How we treat others - our friends, our families, our children - goes a long, long way.

...

WHOO. That ended up being more of a ramble than I thought.

Anyway, I'm just calling this as I personally see it from my silly overthinking layperson perspective. You shouldn't by any means take what I say as gospel, but I do hope I've at least given you something to think about.

And, of course, feel free to share your own interpretations!

If you've made it to the end of this massive skyscraper of text, thank you so, so much. I love you. 💖

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Ok ok. Hear me out.

Little brainrot here.

We will soon get to explore Fontaine and discover its underwater treasures, right ?

So, what about Foul Legacy with merperson!reader ?

I often dream about being a mermaid myself, freely swimming in clear waters, diving through algae and kelp forests while dancing with the other fish ; and, last night, I actually had a dream about this that happened to take place in Teyvat.

I’d like to think that Fontaine is the perfect place to meet mermaids, even though you can also see them in deep rivers, lakes or even the other seas that hold their place in the world. Foul Legacy probably found himself lost in these watery lands once, maybe while trying to get to Liyue. The only person he thought would be safe to stay with would probably be Zhongli, and yet the voice in his head constantly whispering how this idea is the only one he has left to follow suddenly quiets down once he hears the melodious voices of seafolks bloom all around him, most of them being slightly muffled but the waters they like to hide under. Like with everyone else, they tend to be wary of him, staying away from his monstrous form even though he can see glimmers of curiosity in their dark eyes. And, terrified at the idea of frightening them even more -he wouldn’t want to hurt such beautiful creatures by accident !- he keeps his distance too, silently watching them from the shadows, trilling curiously from time to time.

Now, I think merpeople communicate with a wide range of sounds, going from the entrancing songs of whales or the sharp clicks of dolphins to sounds so deep even he has trouble them, marvelling at how ethereal all of this is. This language is a little bit similar to the one he uses, and yet he can’t really bring himself to understand the nuances. This is why it takes him a few seconds to realise that the inquisitive chirps that echo not far from him are those of a merperson trying to communicate with him until his eyes fall upon their elegant silhouette.

Despite the fear of hurting them and the quite peculiar language barrier, our cinnamon roll of an Abyss creature lowers himself to bring his masked visage to their level. He almost falls into the water when their small, webbed hands come graze the ridges of his crimson mask and horns, detangling his fluffy hair and mane, droplets of water going still upon meeting the thick, yet incredibly soft surface of his purple fur. What he can only interpret as being happy coos and trills cross the edge of their salt-covered lips, and Foul Legacy quickly finds himself talking back with an enthusiasm that only matches their own, starry wing fluttering in delight every time their voice start humming a song. And he is quite surprised to see other merpeople approach him after a few days of peacefully interacting with us, their voices and tunes forming an echo that could mesmerise the coldest of hearts.

Maybe Liyue can wait, after all.

- 🫧 anon

🫧 anon i love you so much thank you for this delicious MEAL!!! also i am soso excited for Fontaine especially underwater exploration!! it reminds me of the underwater areas in another game i play it's soooo pretty

Foul Legacy could spend hours listening to you talk- of course, all the merpeople have lovely voices, but you're his favorite, being the first to approach him without fear. you, like him, are quite curious, countless questions always glittering in your eyes, questions that he can't quite understand. but even with the language barrier, Legacy finds himself basking in your voice, the familiarity of something close to his own language making him purr in delight, craning his head back so you can scratch under his chin

luckily Foul Legacy still LOOOOVES water, even if he's not an aquatic creature himself. it comes with having a Hydro vision, but he loves to swim and can hold his breath for a very long time!! at first you'll simply bring him items you found that you thought were pretty, since you're very much aware that some tales paint merpeople as vicious and bloodthirsty; you only ask if he wants to come swimming with you after you both trust each other, pointing to him, then the water, and tilting your head with an inquisitive trill. and if he accepts you clap your hands in joy, a beam spreading across your cheeks and webbed ears twitching happily. you adore the look of amazement on Legacy's face, as well as how bubbles float from his fanged maw when he attempts to chirp underwater- plus, now he can see your scales and markings in the sunlight too!!

i think Fontaine and Liyue are going to be connected, by land and by water, so if you must, you'll also show him how to get back to Liyue via the waterways of Fontaine. you really don't want to- it's been a long time since you've had such an amazing friend- but you know he misses the safety of Liyue like a fish misses the sea, so you'll take him to the border between the two nations and point out the way he needs to go in order to return. before he leaves, though, you give him one final gift- a luminescent seashell you found years ago, waiting for the right moment and right person to give it to, since there's nothing better than watching someone's face light up as you give them a gift. he's sure to treat it carefully, cupping the delicate object in his claws and crooning his heartfelt thanks, giving you one final lick on the cheek, which you greet with a kiss of your own before watching him depart with a mournful smile

Legacy turns back once, for a final glance, but when he looks to the sea, you're already gone

[dent-de-leon]

Listening to "Bedtime" from the Little Mermaid soundtrack and just,,,, thinking about how Taliesin said Molly was based on mermaids and not having a soul but Ariel gets her happy ending in the disney version and Kingsley gets a happy ending with the Nein and just,,,,

Taliesin Jaffe how dare you do this to me on this, our pride month

AH yes I love that Mollymauk is Taliesin's interpretation of a mermaid so much, it's so fascinating and tragic and bittersweet. Also, I just listened to the song and it's lovely. Makes me very nostalgic.

But yeah, that clip of Taliesin explaining his initial pitch for Molly still just breaks my heart. His acknowledgement that, "Mermaids are fucked," because they supposedly exist without a soul, "Empty" and eternally doomed from the start...it's just so tragic. "I want a body where the soul left, and the body just kept moving. Whatever was in there got pulled out, and went to the Raven Queen. And they just kept walking, like a mermaid--no soul....just someone who was a total blank slate."

And while he does get the fairytale happy end and get to live on with his loved ones, I think Tealeaf's narrative very closely mirrors the darker aspects of Hans Christian Andersen's original version. Especially given the premise of a being without a soul--someone who was supposed to be forever Empty, yet still became whole--

And one of my personal favorite mermaid parallels: A deal made with a witch for an impossible dream. Offering up a vital part of yourself in exchange for a false hope that can never truly be. To me, it echoes both Lucien's own family bargaining away their child to a hag--as well as Lucien later offering himself to the Somnovem. He might not have known Azrahari always planned to keep him as one of her puppets--"My beautiful boy...I had hoped to make you mine one day. What a perfect specimen you would have made. Oh, how you would have been merry with laughter and dance..." But he always lived in fear that it was a possibility.

His parents abused both him and his siblings, were willing to offer up one of their two remaining children to a witch for some fantasy; they passively stood by while they forced Lucien to lure victims to a deadly hag as a mere child--marks who were often bandits, murderers, and monsters as surely as the witch. Abandoning Lucien to them and Azrahari both. Azrahari, who promises she can finally make Lucien happy, return him to those childhood days of song and laughter and dance, if only he would let her carve out his soul--

Again and again, Lucien is promised happiness and safety at the cost of his own freedom and autonomy. The witch can take all his pain away, he just has to surrender all his willpower to her. Exist forever as a hollowed out, Empty shell, her glassy-eyed cadaver of a doll to puppet and put on display.

And the Somovem can make all of his dreams come true, can make his fairytale Once upon a time and happily ever after a reality, he just has to submit to their thrall completely. And, like with the Little Mermaid, it will also come at the cost of unimaginable pain. A girl who can dance beautifully, but every step feels like shards of glass in her feet. The pain of her transformation never leaving her. The Somnovem promising Lucien the whole world, and when he asks what it will cost, they decree, "Pain and pain and pain. A dear price for a man, a pittance for a king, and nothing to a God, cosmically ordained."

And while the Little Mermaid longs to meet her love, she also mourns the fact that, while mermaids live far longer than humans, they have no immortal soul. No eternity or gods or heaven awaits them. They merely fade away, dissolve into seafoam and cease to be. (Just a body without a soul, an abandoned vessel. Hollow. Empty.)

I don't think it's a coincidence that's the fate that awaits all mermaids--and that when Lucien dies, his soul is scattered into dust across the Astral Sea. "It's one thing to be in a different body, it's another to have your very essence scattered. Your very immortal soul divided into pieces, like so much confetti. I believe you seemed to fall for one of those pieces that stuck behind..."

To me though, a parallel that really stands out is the narrative culminating in a decision where you have to either kill someone you love or turn that blade on yourself. Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid is granted a last gift at her darkest hour--a way out where she doesn't have to fade away into nothingness. A chance to live on with her family beneath the sea--a family who loved her enough to barter with the sea witch for one last chance at her freedom. And all it will cost is a dagger through the prince's heart.

But of course she can't bear to go through with it. She tosses the witch's dagger into the sea and falls after it to her death, choosing to sacrifice herself instead of the person she loves. And Mollymauk? When faced with the reality that he could only save the Nein by tearing apart Lucien--and himself along with him--he doesn't even hesitate.

He digs his claws into his own wound and lets himself fall to pieces. He never once thinks of self preservation, tries to barter or plead or find a way to save himself at the last moment. He knows either the Nein will survive or the Nonagon will--and perhaps through him, a part of Molly, even just a piece--but he chooses a painful, agonizing death over Lucien's warped perception of godhood and eternity.

All Mollymauk has ever wanted was to live--in spite of how harsh and cruel the world always was to him. He still wanted nothing more than to walk Exandria and fill that clawing Emptiness with joy and love, have just one more day out of the grave to live and feel and be almost real. And still, he chooses to offer up himself if it means sparing everyone else. When Matt narrates Kingsley's nightmares of Cognouza, he emphasizes that to Tealeaf, "It was worth it. It was worth it." As long as it's to protect the people he loves, letting himself pay the blood price will always be worth it--

"Looking out from within your prison, pushing against your invisible bonds--when your heart found the strength, giving all that you are to help those who gave you purpose in return. It was worth it. It was worth it...The moment you gave yourself and broke your prison. The lights, so many around you free to move on. The warm catharsis of letting go..."

Like the merfolk of the original tale, when Mollymauk sacrifices himself, it's not just death that he faces. It's total oblivion. Offering up all that he is. And he does it gladly.

But when the Little Mermaid sacrifices herself, she is welcomed by warmth, and light. Given a chance to earn an immortal soul through good deeds. And by the same token, when Mollymauk tears apart both the Nonagon and himself, he falls back into the Moonweaver's welcoming embrace. Given another chance by both her and the Wildmother--divine, higher powers that looked at this supposedly "Empty" vessel and saw a warm, bleeding heart. A "forgotten fragment" that was loved so much--and loved so fiercely and selflessly in turn--they became real and whole.

“Light gathers around the body, the magic attempting to reach out into whatever space holds the souls here in the Astral Sea, as so many go scattering outward now to search for one. A fragment of one. Or is it a whole one? If souls can grow from but a piece…”

I think it's both terribly tragic and heartwarmingly bittersweet that Mollymauk's ending echoes the Little Mermaid's own--a gutting sacrifice that leads to hope and a new beginning. A second chance and a soul made whole. Being saved and held together by the very love you sacrificed yourself for. It's also suitably a very romantic end to me, which fits Tealeaf perfectly. And the fact that the character who was inspired by mermaids goes on to become a pirate king...I do wonder if Taliesin did that on purpose, because I think it's adorable--

Anyway, I love Mollymauk, and all the Little Mermaid parallels, and wish we could listen to Taliesin talk about mer inspired Molly more. Also, this bit of character building makes mer widmauk one of my favorite au's--

[childofflamesandmoonlight]

I would really appreciate some help with interpretation on this deity identification reading! I didn't use a specific spread, but pulled one card from every deck I own - usually this works really well for me, but this time I can't quite put my finger on who this deity is. I have some vague ideas, but I would love to hear your interpretations.

Thank you in advance!

Here are the cards I drew (plus some notes from the imagery and the guidebooks):

Demon of the Day - Camio:

"Be mindful of arguments and disputes. It can feel good to win but not at the cost of a relationship."

Birds, blackbird, trush

Gaelic, Irish or Welsh origin

Dispute, eloquent verbal debate, persuasive argument

Understanding the language of animals and the noise of the water

Angels Among Us - Jesus:

Forgiveness, compassion, love, peace, kindness

Spiritual teacher, spiritual activist, healer

Christian origin

Higher wisdom

Without judgement

Goddesses Among Us - Atargatis:

Mermaids, mer-magic

Transformation, change

Deep diving

Assyrian or Mediterranean origin

Fertility

Protection

Heartbreak, challenge, powerful emotions

Ocean, water, depth

Grieving

Healing

Shadow work

Legendary Ladies - Estsanatlehi:

Transformation

Native American origin

Sky and earth

Linestrider Tarot - Five of Swords:

Conflict

Tension

Disagreements

Inflexibility black-and-white thinking

Compromise

Isolation

Defeat, failure

Interpersonal difficulties

Hollow victory

Selfishness, hurtful behavior

Resentment

Trust issues

Numbers: 5, 59, 14

Associated birthdays: January 20 to January 30

Associated plants: mistletoe, capsicum, calamus root

Pastel Mini Magic Tarot - Ace of Pentacles:

New beginnings

Opportunities

Potential

New financial or career opportunity

Manifestation

Abundance

Wealth

Business

Cat Tarot - Ten of Cups:

Happiness

Togetherness

Home

Family

Divine love

Blissful relationships

Harmony

Alignment

Star Spinner Tarot - The Hermit:

Seeking the truth

Introspection

Retreat

Assessment

Soul-searching

Being alone

Inner guidance

Mondays Tarot - Death:

Change

Ending

Rebirth

Renewal

Transformation

Under the Roses Lenormand - The Snake:

Snake

Deception, lies, tricks

Betrayal

Seduction, temptation

Jealousy

Manipulation

Disappointment

Difficulties

Distraction

Loss

Falseness

Hypocrisy

Indecision

“The other women”

Arcana Lenormand - Lily:

Bees and butterflies

Flowers

Sensuality

Sex

Virtue

Morality

Ethics

Wisdom

Thera-pets - “You don't have to be perfect to be lovable”:

Red panda

Mushroom Spirit - Rosy Bonnet:

Mycena rosea

Poisonous

Pink

Similarities

Details

Looking closely

Not making assumptions

Research

Don't be fooled by appearances

Looks can be deceiving

The Citadel - The Walker:

The Unknown

Journey

Birds

New experiences

Transition, transformation

Finding answers

Moving on

Voice of the Souls - Learning:

Palm reading hand

Evolution

Learning new things, new abilities and skills

Number 13

SOTW Imbolc - Consecrate tools:

"I will claim what is mine, what I see beyond the hidden. Gifted spirit, by tongue my words spill with purpose."

Establishment

Displaying spirit

Claiming ownership

Conscious decisions

Taking what is meant to be yours

Embracing what is before you

No doubts

Fully invested

Permanent fixture

SOTW Beltane - Maiden:

"Demand what is yours and take back what was taken. Reclaim until you've gathered all of you."

Bees and butterflies

Reclaim

Divine manifestation on earth

Powerful, sacred beings

Direct channels to the gods

Embracing your freedom

Power

Inner warrior

Divine feminine

Primal force of creativity

SOTW Litha - Sunbathing:

"The dance of stillness is calling for you to live in its embrace."

Flowers

Spiritual strength

Restoration

Rest

Self-care

Healing

Relaxation

Meditation

Prayer

Spiritual nourishment

SOTW Mabon - Crow:

"Pay close attention to the winds; there's a message making its way."

Crows

Something's coming

Messages

Pay attention

Important signs and clues

Warning

Trust your intuition

SOTW Samhain - Elders:

"Birthed from seed within the belly of the moon, they are the wise felt touches over our hearts and felt deep within the marrow of our spirit."

Wisdom

Experience

Storytellers

Keepers of knowledge

Compassion

Sage advice

Slowing down

SOTW Yule - Father Christmas:

"How did thy get here? Lost perhaps? No worries at all! Gather yourself and clear the frost for the good still lives in you dear."

Naughty or nice?

Kindness

Mindfulness

[hiswitchcraft]

id love to see your collection/list! my tarot niche is cat themed decks but i love seeing what otber people are drawn to :)

My Collection of Divination Decks

You're so sweet! You got it! I wish this post hadn’t taken so long. When it was halfway done I decided to take the pictures myself instead and got overwhelmed so I've done it a bit at a time. Anyways you guys remember that I'm always happy to help you find beginner decks that work for you or decks that fit certain ideas or themes! Rather if that's more inclusivity, certain vibes, the deck being based on animals, plants, etc. Don't be afraid to reach out!

Without further delay, the decks...

The Classic Rider Waite

This was my first deck as I'm sure it was for a lot of people. I heard a lot of people talking about it and knew a lot of other decks were based on it so I got it. I'm glad it was my first deck because it helped familiarize me with all the Rider Waite based decks yet to come in my practice and it's just a sort of neutral starting point. I could also see the appeal in getting a more themed deck which is why I offer to help beginners find one that fits their needs. The good deck is the deck you'll pick up and use!

The Linestrider Tarot

This was my first deck that's well... not just the plain old Rider Waite. I was 14 or 15 when I got it so it probably wouldn't be my first pick now, aesthetic wise, but I have a huge soft spot for it. It's always felt like I was in tune with this deck and I love little details like that The Fool has no face and the two of cups are cats! Like isn't that just the cutest? Also it wasn't that expensive and came with a solid box and a thick guidebook, which is always a welcome bonus in my opinion.

The Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle

Ah, my first oracle deck, as you might have guessed. It was also made by the same artist that made the Linestrider tarot, which you may also have guessed. I'm pretty sure I got them at the same time because I adored this art style so much. I like the way this deck is laid out. There's detailed illustrations of plants, and y'all know I love a deck with plants, as well as the name of the plant and the main theme of the card written on it. I need to use this deck more! Let me know if you guys have tips for doing oracle readings or using oracle decks more.

The Star Spinner Tarot

I was interested in this deck for its inclusivity. it's also a hopeless romantic deck in my opinion. It has a fairytale sort of art style and you can choose between four different The Lovers cards, two of which are distinctly gay. Also the two of cups are pink mermaids, what else could you possibly want?

The Avatar Arcana

This deck is based on avatar the last airbender if you couldn't tell or aren't familiar with that series. It's a fandom deck. I was such a feen for it when I found it online. I waited patiently for it for ages. I feel like the selections for what characters go with what cards, especially on the major arcana, are a little on the nose and show that this is more of a novelty deck. But hey, it's a deck themed around a show, I knew what I signed up for, y'know? Anyways I'm very happy to have it!

The Illustrated Herbiary Oracle

This deck is going here because I wanted to show all the decks in my collection. It was a gift and even though I don't wanna be ungrateful, I'm hard to buy gifts for, and picky about my decks. I usually like decks based on plants (and have several in my wishlist) but this one just isn't my favorite if I'm being honest. I think it's the borders. Either way it's in my collection, which makes it worth note, and who knows! Maybe someone else will love it or just generally be inspired to get a plant based deck.

The Dream Interpretation Oracle

The cards are unfortunately bent on this deck so there was a slight glare on a few cards, but even if they’re hadn’t been I feel like the cards here or any picture just couldn’t do this deck’s vibes justice. I got it at witchfest (which I'm so excited for this year, that's a whole different happy ramble) and I feel like it really captures the strangeness of my dreams. There are whole cards for things like shoes, or shouting. Shuffling the cards is a weird time indeed.

The Antique Anatomy Tarot

I feel like this deck is quite popular and for good reason. It’s exactly what it sounds like. It has vintage vibes, it has skulls, it has flowers, these are some of my favorite things to draw so of course they are some of my favorite artistic themes in a deck. I have multiple decks on my wishlist that are just based on skeletons or plants. I love how this deck combines the two. I also like how on the elixirs, the labels on the bottles relate to the card's meaning. Additionally the jumbling of body parts in a lot of the coins suit, particularly the four of coins shown is also an aspect I like. It just looks neat to me.

The Fyodor Pavlov Tarot

This is by far my favorite deck so this section will be so so long and I'm not sorry! This is double special interest material. I'm t4t and deserve to gush about my representation damn it. So I’ve been trying to stick to 6 cards max with maybe the back of the card's pattern or box shown for these pictures, however this deck is my favorite and just too good to contain with such restrictions. I worked so hard to get this deck. I saw The Lovers card online and fell in love. The card's artwork is t4t and I'm SO t4t and so in love with just The Lovers card as an art piece in general. Anyways after I found just that card somewhere online I said a prayer that a full deck by the artist existed, and went on the hunt for it. I found it. I originally found the kickstarter, which had stopped, and after some digging found out the artist had moved the sales to Etsy. The artist was packaging small batches all on his own. I tried to get it twice off Etsy and both times it sold out immediately. The deck has now had an official release and is a lot easier to get. I preordered that newer version and waited months and months for my beloved and it was by FAR so worth it.

I love that this deck is Rider Waite based but inclusive to various experiences. This includes the minority representation, but also details like how the queen of cups is pregnant. Maybe I don't look at a lot of decks but I feel like I don't see that very often and I think details like that are cool. As you'd probably expect, the artist is queer and trans and I love that and supporting them and that kind of artwork. He's also a tattoo artist and I feel like that shows in his work. I love artwork with ink, but I'm biased, because my artwork is usually ink based. Also I already put too many cards in the picture so they're not there but shoutout to Strength and The Hermit in this deck for being women.

Basically I love this deck more than I can put into words!

The Tarot of Pagan Cats

The newest addition to my collection! This is a mini deck that makes me want about ten million more cat themed decks. When I decided to take the pictures myself for this post I added some other cards. Originally I was just gonna have The Tower though. I feel like it tells you everything you need to know. This deck is adorable and charming. The Fool makes me laugh as well as The Tower and Strength. The Lovers, as well as the two and ten of cups are just precious. The design for Death is perfect. Fuzzy, and somehow still comes across as stern. I want more cat decks!!!

(Also side note down here real quick for that one person, someone asked if I could go over how the decks personalities differ from each other but I found I was very bad at putting that into words especially in this post so that will have to be something I talk about elsewhere if I do!)

This post was about gushing and the vibes but if you guys want beginner deck recommendations, help finding a deck that fits your niche, or for me to show off my wishlist in a similar style, just ask!

Thanks for letting me gush and reading the whole post. I had such a fun time making it ❤️

[sinning-23]

Not a request but could be interpretated as a want for more?? Help 😭 ur mermaid/ siren stuff is so good! I LOVE IT (do u ever plan on doing a taglist for all ur opla work?)

Omggg I'm very very happy you guys like my work it really fills me with joy lol! As for the request for more NEVER FEAr lol I have a shit ton of drafts that I am currently working on (including pt 2's and possible pt.3's to some of the siren series, more headcannons, and some Ex! Reader scenarios!).

On the subject of taglist, I have no idea how those work lmao but I will definitely be willing to make one/learn how to for those of you who want to see all the OPLA works! I will be adding an OPLA Masterlist link soon to my overall Masterlist Post so you can also see if anything new has been updated there once its up!

Again thank you for the love (BIG PHAT SMOOCH TO YOU) and if anyone has any questions comments, requests, or concerns, PLEASE feel free to ask away!

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Stilts(2019 Short Film)Watching Con-Tent for #? Days cause I need serotonin

Pre thoughts. The fact that we all make short jokes about Con makes this a necessary watch for me.

It's 7 minutes long. I would love for you to post your interpretation of it before you read mine, I want to see what y'all think.

It's 7 minutes long, just watch it before you read. This won't make sense otherwise. It's really fucking cool. A whole concept and world is built in a short film.

Also, below is an updated Con Ranking list including all the stuff I've watched! (Not this, it's just too short to fairly rank)

As usual, thanks to my mutuals who have seen this?

(special thanks to @kimmy2364 for the gifs)

@gydima @dianetastesmetal @ivegotnonameidea @treesofgreen

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Hey! that looks like Montana!

Also, walking on stilts is hard as fuck. As a stage manager, I did Little Mermaid and we had 2 Jellyfish guys on stilts. They almost broke their ankles multiple times. Not fun. It's impressive that the actors pulled this off.

Alright, so there's a society that walks on stilts?

Love the aspect ratio btw.

You are not making any progress on that at all my guy

Hi Con! Oh, giving disapproving father vibes.

Love the som just screaming in the background

Yeah, father, go check on him

I just love how this looks! Everything is just so tall, with so much empty room in the house. So fucking unsettling!

Earthquake? Monsters? Why is the world-shaking?

Love the TV with a whole channel of feet. Is he trying to see how 'normal' people walk?

Love Con's grunting in the background.

I?

The number of questions I have.

OOHHH Shit. It's a whole society of people who walk on stilts?

So??? Why does she(the sister) accept him?

ARE THEY GOING FOR THE FOOT ITSELF???? WHAT?????

WHY IS THERE BLOOD?????

Okay, this is giving, Religious Trauma, moving out of cult vibes.

Love the laughing.

UH, The way the son stumbles! GOD! The kid running without his stilts! That's exactly how people look when they step off of stilts after walking for a few hours. Just like how people look odd after taking off rollerblades, it takes a bit for your brain to catch up!

OH SHIT! DAD'S RUNNING AFTER HIM! RUN KID! ESCAPE!

GOD! Con using crutches to go faster with stilts is just so fucking Cool! makes him look like a creature!

I'VE SAID IT ONCE AND I'LL SAY THIS AGAIN! Con needs to be in more horror shit(ignore the 130k horror OFMD thing I wrote, I am unbiased and correct).

AHHH! FATHER'S ACCEPTING!! He probably knows his kid will never come back, but his kid will be happier for being gone. GOOD FOR HIM!

THE STACE! The dad looks so fucking alone watching his kid leave.

AHHHH!!!!! HE JUST WANTS WHAT'S BEST FOR HIS KIDS!!!!! Fuck, look at him! SMILING!!!! Encouraging her, even though he's scared. AHHHH!!!! I HAVE EMOTIONS!!!!! The fact that the credits are just over a long shot of Father trying not to cry!!!!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

OVERALL:

Due to this being 7 minutes long, I'll just wrap up with my interpretation.

The fact that there's a whole system where you must get chosen to get your stilts removed. You can't just want it, you need to be chosen, it has multiple interpretations.

Growing up in a cult and you finally decide to leave? Sure.

Kids finally leaving the nest and questioning their parent's view of the world? Yeah.

A family in poverty watching as their kids are finally given the resources to leave and grow up happy? Yeah!

Did some filmmaker have a really cool idea for a dystopia/horror world and built characters around it, Yeah!!!!!

BUT Con playing a stilt dad who just really fucking wants what's best for his kids is so GOOD! You get the sense that, while he doesn't want this for himself, he really just loves his kids.

I really fucking liked the cinematography and set design. They made a hospital feel off-putting and alien. The costumes! THE HOUSE!!! AHH!

I really fucking loved it for what it was, and want to see a whole movie/novel about this concept. Why is the exit an air hanger? Is that hospital linked to their society? Do they always need to ask to be let free? It's all just so cool.

Con's performance was just amazing, it has depth without any dialogue. He reads as sad, and scared, and proud and AHHHHHH!! It takes a lot to get me emotional, but they did it in 7 minutes and very few words. LOVE IT.

(Updated ranking)

[empressofthesunwriter]

Making Waves

You are a young mermaid, not ready for your adult responsibility when you find a secret underwater tunnel that leads to a secret cove. You couldn’t imagine how your life was going to change because of it. HiccupXMermaid!Reader

This is my first reader insert where I also will write probably smut. I’m excited and also scared. That’s why I made the age of the characters like in Race to the Edge also 18 so no trouble. This story starts with the first movie, but like I said Hiccup and the gang are 18. I think it’s actually more logical that young adults fight against freacking dragons than 16-year-olds!  

Also, the Mermaid-Reader will be my own interpretation of mermaids, I took some aspects from different sources and put them in one. ^^

I hope you will like it and leave some comments .3.

They make me so happy!

Chapter 1: The cove

It was so… tranquil.

Yes, that was the right word.

It was so tranquil.

Cozy.

Protected from prying eyes.

You looked around the cove. The trees, the stone formations.

It was like a little sanctuary.

Who would have thought that the underwater tunnel you have found today would lead you to this? You were deep in the forest which belonged to the land-dwellers.

Your [F/C] fishtail hit the water surface playfully.

This…was great.

A place just for you.

Away from your coven, who demand that you finally found someone to have children with.

You were 18 and it was high time you born a new generation. Like some of your friends already did. Just…non of the mermen in your coven had caught your eye.

You didn’t know yourself why you just couldn’t settle with someone. For what where you searching?

Signing you swam around the pool of the coven and then decide to sit on land, with half your fishtail in the water.

You hugged yourself, listing to the sounds of the birds chirping.

Yes, maybe you could live here alone for a while. Till you felt ready to try again with your suitors.

It was decided.

You would do this.

You needed a break and you would get it.

Smiling, you concreted, till your fishtail turned into human legs.

Careful you stood up.

It was always a weird feeling having legs.

You looked at yourself in the reflection of the water.

If a human would see you they surely would get a heart attack, since you were nude, but for your kind clothes were useless.

The only time you recalled wearing clothes was when your parents once brought you to a festival of the land-dwellers when you were young.

The land-dwellers didn’t know how often mermaids were under them since no one knew that the merfolk had this kind of power to switch between legs and fishtails.

This festival was one of your most precious memories.

It was held on this island and a lot of land-dwellers from different parts of the region came here to celebrate with the inhabitants.

The light, the food, the singing, and the dancing.

How amazing it had been!

But the most amazing thing was the little boy you had met.

He was tiny, with eyes so green like the grass and a mop of brown hair on his head. He was so sweet and shy, yet he had the courage to ask why you looked so different than him

You first didn’t get what he meant. Since when you took your two-legged form you looked perfectly human. The laughter of your parents and the whispered words of your mother still made you blush.

In land-dweller’s eyes the merfolk, even in their own human form, were beautiful and enchanting.

So the little boy had just found you beautiful and couldn’t better say it.

You were charmed, still.

You took his tiny hand in yours and he showed you his home.

You both enjoyed the festival together. Played games, eat food, and told stories about your families, till it was time for you to return to your parents.

Even with so many people around, you couldn’t stay long with the land dwellers. They would sooner or later notice that your family didn’t belong to either of their clans.

That’s when the little boy gave you shy a little bracelet he had made for you. You thanked him with a little kiss on the cheek, which left him paralyzed and you blushing and giggling run to your parents.

To return with them to the water.

Later when you fell asleep in the embrace of your mother, you remember you never even asked his name.

What a shame.

You stared at your reflection in the water and touched the necklace which hung between your full breasts.

It was made from the bracelet your little land dweller friend had made you. As you had grown the bracelet had become too tight for your pulse so you had turned it into a necklace.

You wonder if he still lived here?

How was he doing?

Was he married?

Had children?

Or had a dragon got to him?

You bit your lip and walked around the cove thinking.

Dragons and the merfolk were friends. The water dragons even loved to play with your people, but they did steal food from the land dwellers.

No one knew why.

It was not like you talked the tongue of the dragons.

You just know that since forever, that dragons and the merfolk were friends.

Again no one knew why.

It was just like this.

The dragons loved the merfolk and they stole food from the land dwellers.

While you were walking you found a little cave.

Oh, this would be a perfect sleeping place.

You could sleep underwater, but you wanted to stay a bit more above.

By the seven seas, once you made your decisions and had children you couldn’t anymore have little adventures like this.

Best to make of the time you still had.

So you got into the cave and prepared with leafs a comfy sleeping place.

After you catched yourself some fish from the pool, and eat them, you decide to go to sleep.

The night was approaching, it was high time.

Smiling satisfied with this little sanctuary you had found for yourself, you fall asleep like a babe.

Forgetting all the worries in the world. Just enjoying the tranquility.

It didn’t last long since a black dragon crashed into the cove.

So much for a relaxing sleep!

Next

[jules-and-rue-and-lexi-too]

So there's this post about the new Peter Pan and Wendy movie bemoaning the creative bankruptcy of the movie because of the reason for Tinkerbell not glowing. I can't exactly blame Tumblr for this line of thinking, given most Disney live action remakes are creatively bankrupt, plus the fact the movie wasn't actually out yet. I'd probably also have implicitly agreed with the post and moved on if it were about the new Pinocchio or Little Mermaid or something.

Peter Pan and Wendy is out now though, and I really liked it, which compelled me enough to check up on the context of that quote. And while it's not so different from what the tweet describes, I do think there's some nuance that deserves sharing.

Here's the full quote from SFX:

To me, this doesn't read like somebody who removed this particular aspect of Tinkerbell's visuals out of a completely shallow attempt at realism. Not only was it simply what was arrived at as the most fitting look for her, it doesn't even seem like removing the glow was much of a conscious choice. "That's something that never even occurred to me" doesn't make it sound like something he's taken a super hard stance against, as many seem to interpret it.

I also want to defend the decision as it relates to how this movie looks, both in terms of the movie's themes and just the cinematography in general. David Lowery, the director of the wonderful The Green Knight and the other-apparently-not-terrible-disney-remake Pete's Dragon, has not only done this purposefully, but it's his entire style. Green Knight and A Ghost Story are both acclaimed movies that deal with supernatural and mystical elements, but forgo effects and dramaticism in favour of a more low-key, spare and picturesque visual style. This isn't some $200m movie that Disney has filled to the brim with CGI garbage, as seems to be the case with Little Mermaid, and this isn't Cruella shooting scenes on green screens with flat lighting for no reason; this is a director with a purposeful style achieving such with real locations and practical sets and costumes. And while Peter Pan and Wendy's visuals aren't mindblowing or anything, I do think it manages to look quite nice at times.

Critical to all this, I want to emphasise that Lowery choosing to do a Peter Pan movie with a sense of realism is not merely some outdated idea that realism = more mature or something. It is an active component of the movie's themes. Neverland looks and feels like a random island out in the middle of nowhere because that's what it is in this movie. It is not the perfect paradise of fun and adventure that Peter makes it out to be, and Wendy recognizing this is a part of the movie's core message: that one shouldn't be afraid to grow up, because there is beauty and happiness to be found even in the mundanity of real life, not just in the fantastical ideas of childhood whimsy. Does Neverland seem so much less whimsical than that of the 2004 movie version? Sure. But that doesn't mean it isn't also beautiful. And that's how she realizes she doesn't need Neverland to be happy, that she doesn't need to run away, she can find purpose and happiness in the challenges and joys that growing up will put before her.

Tying back to Tinkerbell, all of this is to say that perhaps the toning down of her magical elements wasn't totally without nuanced thought. Maybe it could have worked, maybe it couldn't, I'm not the director and didn't see what they tried. But given how well I think this movie balances its realistic tone and its magical elements (it's not a complete rejection of anything magical; the fairy might not casually glow, but she is still blowing magic fairy dust on kids to make them fly from happy thoughts) I'm inclined to take him on his word that he knew what he was doing. Maybe trails of sparkling fairy light everywhere she went did come off a little too whimsical for how he wanted Neverland to appear. You may not personally enjoy that take, but I do think it's one born of creative intent, and it's one I like a lot. And isn't movies daring to take a stance over appealing to the widest possible common denominator something we've been yearning for?

I implore people, if you think you might be interested in this movie, go watch it. Pirate it, if you have to. It's a legitimately good movie that's being screwed over by a complete lack of marketing from Disney and internet chuds reviewbombing every online score because they're still mad about a black Tinkerbell. Trust me, even if the movie isn't setting the world on fire, it deserves better than that. Especially when Little Mermaid is gonna make ten bajillion dollars in a month.

[bookshelfdreams]

Hi, if there is (going to be) an essay on lighthouse/kraken to mermaid evolution will you share it with us?

Wish you a wonderful evening!

& @roseinmyhand

awww don't enable me (jk I love to be enabled)

I know people like to interpret the Kraken/Lighthouse metaphor as a dichotomy between Ed and Stede - dark vs light, depth vs surface, the coast vs the open sea, the unknown vs the guide, and so on. We like it when characters contrast, and so, compliment and complete each other.

But I think the Kraken and the Lighthouse are codifications of the similarities Ed and Stede share. Emotionally, both struggle with the same thing: loneliness, denial of personhood, the feeling of not being understood and truly seen.

Lighthouses are heavily associated with isolation. The job of a lighthousekeeper is a lonely one; he is supposed to keep his post no matter what, to set aside his own needs and comforts to provide a service to the people who might - not even are, might! - be out there, looking for his light. There is a reason lighthouses are haunted places, associated with madness. Isolation will literally cause lasting psychological damage, and the one who locks himself in this tower to make sure the coasts are safe to sail risks his life, his health, his sanity in service to others.

This is what Stede sees himself as: Someone who is trapped by duty to perform a role that slowly kills him. And even though both the priest who introduces this metaphor into his life and Mary talk about them being lighthouses for each other, Stede says he alone was supposed to be one for my family. Even in this huge estate, with all the comfort money can buy and surrounded by his beautiful family, he feels cast out and disconnected. What he wants, his own happiness, is unimportant, only that he fill the role society has cast him in, no matter how painful he finds it.

And then there's Ed. Ed who, at first glance, seems to have everything anyone could want, too. His name alone strikes fear into the heart of anyone who hears it, he is successful beyond the wildest imagination. He has respect and reputation; by all metrics he truly made it. But he, too, is unable to really connect to anyone. He has no peers on his own ship and the one person who should be his confidant and right-hand man rejects him when he wants to share his thoughts and interests. Nobody really seems to care about Ed. People care about Blackbeard, care about him being a good pirate, and he is good at it! He doesn't feel crushed and suffocated in his life as Stede does in his. But we should not forget that this is not a life Ed chose for himself. He was pushed into it at a very young age, by a horrible act he felt he had no choice but commit.

Away from the cosmos of his own ship and crew, people do not even really see him as human. He is a fucking viking vampire clown, a bloodthirsty killer, spawn of the devil, his eyes are coal and his head is smoke. The whole time he knew Stede, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, was waiting for him to see what he really is (a monster, that's what people like Stede always end up thinking), and then when he seems to do just that? When Stede rejects him, after he has layed himself bare, after he just started to believe that here might be one who really gets him, like no one has before?

Ed just sees proven true everything he has always believed about himself. He isn't a person who can have fine things, sweet and gentle things, the world will never let him have them. It wants to dehumanize him? Fine, let them do that, he will become the thing under your bed, the creature that drags innocent sailors into the depths. He will never win acceptance, let alone love, but he can force people to fear him and by whatever god is listening, that's what he will do. He will retreat into the dark abyss, alone, because a legendary monster needs no company, and feels no heartache.

One might see how both these ways of conceptualizing the self through metaphor might be a little bit maladaptive.

So. Mermaids.

A lot of people (especially children and teenagers) who are marginalized and/or feel disconnected from their peers will develop a fondness for certain mythological creatures at some point in their lives. Witches, faeries, vampires, mermaids. Creatures that are almost human, but not quite. A thing that moves like you and speaks like you but isn't you - a thing that's strange and alien.

A creature walking among the humans undiscovered.

Mermaids especially have stories of that sort associated with them. A beautiful person with an ethereal singing voice, that will eat you if you dare get too close. A pretty maiden at the dance, the hem of her dress perpetually wet: If you go home with her, she will drag you to the bottom of the river. Someone who sheds their scales like a mantle, whose touch will always be cold, who may have a tail and fish skin only once a month, a year, a decade, and who will leave you if you ever dare to see the true form of them.

Creatures that make ships crack up on the rocks.

And yet. That are social and never alone, are they? Beautiful and mysterious, feared, but it's a fear tinged with admiration, with envy. With their own societies, their homes that can't be reached by air-breathing folk. Mermaids are creatures both of the depths and the surface, who live as they please. Who are ungovernable.

This, I think would make for a beautiful resolution to both Ed's and Stede's character development. Reject the expectations that hurt you, embrace the weird and strange (the queer things) about yourself, but recognize there are people who will be your allies if you let them. Society thinks you are a monster (and I think it's significant that they both get called monstrous), let them think it. It doesn't mean they are right when they call you worthless. You will find your own gang of monsters to be weird and terrifying together.