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Beneath the Waves
An In-Depth Exploration of the Mermaidian Culture

By Camille Simeone
Period 5/6 Creative Writing
Final Project
Chapter One: The Introduction

Since the birth of man’s curiosity, humans have had the need to understand every species and race that has ever graced the earth. Creatures as terrifying as dragons and as comical as gnomes have been studied in depth in an attempt to learn anything and everything about these foreign beings. One species in particular has always sparked imagination in the minds of humans. We picture them happily beneath the waves, casting spells and joyfully singing magical songs.
Mermaidens (the proper term for mermaid) have always been an enigma to the human race. They are rarely seen alive by man, and have always had a secret culture almost completely unknown to us. But the damned curiosity of man has inspired us to dig deeper, and unearth all there is to know about our cousins beneath the waves.
In this book, you will be learning all there is to know about mermaidens: their religion, their anatomy, the many different races, their culture, and the roles the play for one another.

Language
Because mermaidens have a different culture from our own, the language used in this passage may become confusing. This is a quick lesson on how mermaidens refer to themselves and others:

Humans refer to themselves as “human” no matter the gender. “Man” gets tacked on at the end of the word because humanity has generally been thought of as a patriarchal culture. Mermaidens refer to themselves as “mermaiden” no matter the gender because mermaidian societies are all matriarchal. Thus, “maiden” is attached to the end. For example, if asked if he was a human, a male mermaiden would correct you and tell you that he was a mermaiden.

However, if asked his gender, a male mermaiden would inform you that he is a “merman.” A female mermaiden would tell you that she is a “mermaiden.” This is a bit of a language problem because it becomes confusing when conversing with a mermaiden. They do not really understand how both males and females are called “humans” when they are asked of their gender. Even though they use words like “male” and “female,” they have slight difficulty overcoming the fact that they are always “human.” Because of this, mermaidens have gotten into the habit of referring to males as “human” (like merman) and females as “humaidens” (like mermaiden).

Also, mermaidens will refer more than one human male as “humen” instead of “humans” or “men.” More than one female human, or humaiden, is “humaidens.”

Races
When people picture mermaidens, their initial thought is Ariel from The Little Mermaid: green scaly tail, seashell bra, perfect hair and white, human-like skin. This little fantasy picture couldn’t be further from the truth. Just as different races of people have appearances that reflect adaptation to living conditions, mermaidian races have adapted to live in every corner of the ocean.
There are three main species, or tribes, of mermaiden, and they are commonly known as the Great Races. These tribes are not necessarily the most abundant of all mermaidens, but those that hail from the Great Oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean. Respectively, they are called Atlanteans (at-lan-tee-ans), Indians, and Arctecians (ark-tek-ee-ans).
Their cultures and their roles will be looked at in greater detail later, as well as a look at the other slightly lesser races of mermaiden and their respective roles in mermaidian culture.

The Waters
The three main oceans in mermaidian culture are the Atlantic, the Indian, and the Arctic. When referring to the Great Oceans, these are the ones being mentioned. The more powerful of mermaidens inhabit these Oceans, and it is generally understood that because these are the three oceans that are connected, they are powerful and close together in a sort of spiritual sense.
Aside from the Great Oceans, there is one other ocean and the rest of the earth’s waters are either seas, bays, or freshwater. The Pacific Ocean is home to many nomadic tribes, called Pacificians (pa-si-fik-ee-ans). In freshwater rivers, such as the Amazon and the Nile, tribes of smaller mermaidens live. Even in the colorful coral reefs, childlike and highly decorated mermaidens swim and play.

The Rest of the Book
In the following, you will learn all there is to know about the mermaidian society, or at least all that we know so far. Cultures and races, origins and practices, all will be unraveled as we proceed with the rest of the book.

Chapter Two: The Mythology

Despite obvious distances between clans, merpeople are surprisingly unified by their faith. While each tribe has their own slight variations on the goddesses who guard them, their creation, customs, and beliefs are very much the same.

Genesis
The genesis story for each tribe is the same, no matter where their location. From the icebergs of the Arctic tribe to the murky waters of the Amazonians, all of their beliefs stem from the Great Goddess, Suuh and her creation of the world.

In the beginning, there was nothing but an empty world. The sky was all that was present in this dark void. The one conscious being, Suuh, looked upon this empty place from her heavenly plane and decided it deserved more than such an empty existence. She descended from the heavens in her most beautiful form and found herself comfortable in the earth’s night sky.
The Great Goddess Suuh slowly slid through the sky, trying her best to see through the darkness that was all around her. As she drew further and further from the heavens, she caught a glimpse of something beneath her. She was surprised that what she saw was two sleeping females, peacefully entwined around one another. Suuh settled herself near them and gently ushered the eldest from her sleep.
The first of the Two Sisters awoke, rubbing eons of sleep from her eyes and stretching her long and shimmering fin. Suuh looked upon her and saw that she was great and wise, and decided to appoint her an important task. “I shall call you Fyrena, for the water, and you and your body are suitable to do what I ask. I wish you to be the goddess of all the waters: goddess of the sea, the rivers, the lakes and the streams.” Fyrena was happy, and in her joy cried out into the empty void all the waters of the earth.
The second of the Two Sisters was abruptly pulled from her sleep by the cool water that now filled the earth. Being with legs and without a fin, this younger Sister struggled with the rising tides and reached out for help. From beside her, Suuh reached out and grabbed her hand. She saw that she was young and full of spirit, and decided to appoint her with an important task. “I shall call you Aydne, for the earth, and you and your body are suitable to do what I ask. I wish you to be the goddess of all the earth: of the mountains, the sand, the rock and the soil.” Aydne was happy, and from her laughter all the earth was conjured, and with her joyful dancing, it was placed.
“Fyrena, Aydne,” said the Great Goddess, “You Two Sisters are the heart of this world. Never bicker, never fight. You two must always work in harmony, and always join somewhere. For you, the shore will be a sacred place, for that is where you will become one, and sleep in one another’s arms, as you always have.” Fyrena and Aydne smiled and were at peace.
“Now, then, my Sisters,” spoke the Great Goddess, “My new and empty world must be filled with life.” Aydne, pacing around on her newfound soil, decided to pour her heart into the earth. Placing her hands on the ground, she urged the sleeping life from within to come forth, just as she had. Instantly, trees and grass, flowers and vines sprung from the soil and filled the world with green. When the world shimmered with an emerald color, Aydne looked to Suuh for approval.
“My Sister, the world is filled with lush green, and I am pleased. But who is to walk this earth and care for what you have summoned?” Aydne looked upon the world and agreed that it needed more. The kind of life needed to bring spirit and knowledge to the earth could only come from her. And so, from her womb, Aydne bore all the living creatures of the earth. All from the lowly mouse to the mighty lion to the wise human are children of the Earth Goddess, Aydne. Suuh looked upon Aydne’s sons and daughters and was pleased. Her world was quickly filling with new life, and she told Aydne that she was proud.
“My Sister, Fyrena,” said the Great Goddess, “Your Sister’s element is full of life and potential. Can you fill your waters with such wonderful creations?” Fyrena swam into her oceans and spread her arms. With all her heart, she summoned life from the sands and the stone. Forests of kelp sprung forth from the depth, covering the barren seas with green. She summoned weeds and grasses, mosses and coral, and colored the depths of the oceans with life. When she was finished, she turned and looked to Suuh for approval.
“My Sister, the ocean is filled with tough and durable green, and I am pleased. But who is to swim these waters and care for what you have summoned?” Fyrena looked again upon her oceans and agreed that it was still empty. And so, from her womb, she bore all the creatures of the sea. All those from the lowly minnow to the wise mermaiden to the powerful whale are children of the Water Goddess, Fyrena.
Because she was older and wiser than Aydne, Fyrena’s sons and daughters were mightier and more impressive. Aydne had not borne anything as majestic as the whale and her heart grew jealous.
“Why must you do this?” asked Aydne to Fyrena. “You must always best me, and now you will earn all the love of the Great Goddess. She will favor you and not me, and my children will not know her love!” Filled with childish rage, Aydne pulled open the seams of the earth and poured its molten blood into the ocean. Fyrena struck back, throwing giant waves upon the earth, sending rocks and soil tumbling from their resting places.
“My Sisters!” cries Suuh. “Please do not fight. Your sons and daughters are all great and beautiful, and I shall give each and every one my blessing.” Suuh blessed them all, but Aydne was still jealous of her Sister.
“Now then, might I bring life of my own unto this world?” The Great Goddess wanted to bring something of her own to make the world bright and full of wonder, something to bring harmony to the world and the Two Sisters. With all her heart and spirit, Suuh concentrated all of her heavenly powers as one and poured all her love and hope into her womb. From there, Suuh bore the Great Daughter, whom she named Setharae. Setharae was as beautiful as her mother and greatly outshone her in radiance. Her presence illuminated the sky far more than her mother, and instead of an inky black, the sky was a bright and joyful blue.
“My daughter, Setharae, whom I have named after the dawn of new light, you are my most wonderful creation. You shall take to the sky and live beside me in the heavens for all eternity. Your beauty will shine onto my world, and you will nurture and care for all that lives beneath us.” Setharae smiled, and her joy brightened up every corner of the world. Her light was stunning and divine and made the Sisters forget their petty arguments, but they could not look upon her.
“My Goddess,” said Aydne to Suuh, “Your daughter is too great to look upon in your presence. Both of you are too divine. Our frail eyes burn to look upon you together!” Fyrena nodded in agreement, and all the sons and daughters of both water and earth turned their heads from the sky. Suuh looked down upon all the children of the world and saw that they could not look and her heart was filled with sadness.
“What am I to do, my Sisters, my children? Must I send my Daughter away? Must I myself leave this world? Surely I cannot destroy this world I have nurtured. Have I no choice but to destroy my only daughter?”
“My Great Goddess,” said Fyrena, “Perhaps you may both stay, but at different times. We need the light of your Daughter to nurture and care for this world, but we need your guidance to carry us through each passing day. We wish we could have both all the time, but for now, could Setharae visit us for a portion of each day and you could visit us for the rest? That way, we could see you both equally, and be filled with the presence of both of our Goddesses.” Suuh thought hard, and was pleased that she had chosen a goddess of such wisdom to rule the great expanse of water in her world.
“My sister Fyrena, you are wise, and my sister Aydne, you are honest. Thank you both for helping me to overcome this. My daughter Setharae will take to the sky before me, and we shall call this time the Day, after her name. I shall follow her into the sky as she leaves, and we shall call that time the Night. I only ask that I may look upon my daughter’s face as we change our places, so that I may see her beautiful face. During this time, the sky will burn red with my joy and my sorrow, so we shall call these times Dawn and Dusk.” Setharae kissed her mother goodbye and dutifully hid herself behind the great mountains of the earth. When Suuh could no longer see the light of her daughter, her heart grew sad and weary. Her sky was empty and dark, and in an effort to alleviate her sorrow, she bore many younger, smaller daughters, and soon their numbers filled the Night sky. Suuh knew that no number of daughters could ever measure up to the greatness of Setharae, but they helped her to light up the dark sky.
Suuh knew now that her work was done. She had two skies, a Day and a Night, and each was guarded by a loving deity. She had an Earth and a Water, and each was tended to by a wise and caring goddess. She had life living in both realms, each being nurtured by the skies and the elements. Her world was in good hands, and she could rest.
“My Sisters and Daughters, my world is complete. Care for it and one another as I have cared for you. Our world will be peaceful and filled with harmony, as I will watch over you from my throne in the Night sky.”
And thus the world is complete.

The main focus of this etiology is to establish two things. The first is the origin story in general. Each culture and religion has an origin consistent with the actions of their respective gods. Without some sort of origin story, a culture wonders how they got to be where they are. The astounding thing about this origin story is that it is the same in all corners of the ocean. Each mermaiden believes in Suuh as the Great Creator, and each believes in her daughters and the sisters.
The second is to establish the Goddesses and their personalities. Experts have concluded that this origin story is important to the mermaidian culture because it creates a sense of humanity, if you will, within the divine entities of their culture.
Each goddess is written in this genesis story in a way to represent all of the aspects of mermaidian culture. By this story alone, we can see the origin of the mermaidian matriarchal society. There are absolutely no male gods, and typically in their society, males do not attain positions of power and are generally viewed as less than the female counterparts. Also, we can see parts of their natural mortal society in the goddesses, such as sorrow and regret, jealousy and pride, joy and grief, and knowing and unknowing. Having the divine beings being stricken by these human and mermaidian emotions make them more relatable.

The Goddesses
Suuh
Suuh (soo) is a typical figure for a Great Goddess. Her actions in the genesis story establish her as a beautiful and all-knowing being who can do no wrong and who is clearly of a much higher status than the others in the story. Simply by her place in the sky, we can determine that her position is intended to make it obvious that she is the greatest of all the entities in mermaidian society.
Suuh’s name stems from an ancient mermaidian word for moon. As the moon goddess, her role in mythology, aside from being the divine Great Goddess, is to guard the night. Her position in the dark sky is what fixates mermen and mermaidens on the moon itself, making it their most important deity. It has been generally concluded that mermaidian affinity towards night originates from a need to travel safely. Since humans and humaidens used to have a tendency to hunt and fish during the day, mermaidens have used the cover of darkness as a way of getting about and avoiding capture near the surface. Thus, mermaidens worship the moon for protection, and so the goddess Suuh became the most revered of all goddesses.
Appearance-wise, Suuh has always been represented in a similar fashion. Since there are very little colored artworks by mermaidens, one can only speculate as to the skin tone or hair color of Suuh or any of the other goddesses. However, stone carvings display shading and etchings that indicate that she is believed to have light, if not white, hair and skin. Her hair is always long, as if it has no end, and falls in thick, ropelike sections around her head. Two of these pieces always drape in front of her eyes. Suuh’s eyes, for whatever reason, have almost never been depicted.
The most fascinating thing about her appearance is the debate about the lower half of her body. Nowhere in any variation of the Genesis has there been any mention of legs or a fin. Genesis clearly mentions Fyrena with a fin and Aydne with legs, but not once in the story does Suuh walk, swim, or even touch her body to the earth. Because there has been no clear explanation, Suuh is very frequently depicted without any lower body. The lower half of her body is often obscured by hair, clouds, other beings, or occasionally, wings. Mermaidens have associated birds and other flying creatures with Suuh, who reigns over the sky. This has inspired artistic depictions of white, feathered wings wrapped around her lower body like a dress.

Fyrena
As the Goddess of Water, Fyrena (fee-ren-uh) rules over all of the waters of the earth. This includes every ocean, river, lake, pond, swamp, etc. Oddly enough, her realm does not include ice or snow, which due to its solid nature is considered walkable earth.
Fyrena is typically viewed as a higher goddess than her sister, Aydne, for many reasons. The first and most obvious is her position as the goddess of the water, which most mermaidens feel a stronger affinity to. Due to her sister’s behavior, though, Fyrena is also viewed as more intelligent, and her name commands more respect from the mermaidian community. Religious Bible-like stories credit her with the blessing of underwater breathing, the Great Flood, and the initial cause of night and day (as suggested in the Genesis).
The word Fyrena is a play on the ancient word for water. Like Suuh who guards the night, Fyrena takes care of all the creatures that dwell in water. Her rage is said to start storms and her joyful tears are said to bring new streams and rivers into the world. Even her longing to be near Suuh is said to pull the waters closer to the heavens whenever the moon appears.
The Water Goddess has always been depicted as the simplest of mermaidens. While the many races of mermaiden vary based on their location, Fyrena has always been a simple human-like torso on a fish-like body. Her skin has never shown color variation, so it’s wise to assume her skin was pale, and her hair was long and unruly. She has no webbing on her fingers and her ears are slightly pointed.
Aydne
Aydne (eye-dnay) is the younger of the Two Sisters. Her realm includes the mountains, deserts, volcanoes, the soil, and icebergs. This Goddess of the Earth has always played second fiddle to her older sister, and has made more mistakes than she has.
As somewhat of a child herself, Aydne has always been a sort of Goddess of the children. Her actions are less godly, and young mermaidens from every ocean feel her struggle not only to live up to her sister, but also to impress the Great Goddess. When creating the humans, she failed to successfully make them in her image, an intent she had in order to assure them that she had borne and loved them all. She could not compare to her sister and from the moment Suuh met her, she was struggling. Despite all that, she has remained a powerful mistress of her element and cares for all things that grow and live on land. Although to some mermaidens she is considered a lesser goddess, she is an important and almost inspiring figure to many more.
The name Aydne comes from the ancient word for earth, and she does a good job living up to her namesake. Aydne is a perfect goddess to care for the earth because like her, the earth is fresh and new and always growing. While the waters of the ocean haven’t changed since the dawn of time, the earth has been creating more of itself, growing and shifting. Arctecians feel strongly associated to Aydne because they are disenchanted by the stability that the Water Goddess offer and enjoy unpredictability. They, and the Amazonians, also feel close to Aydne because they tend to frequent the land, and as the Earth Goddess, she protects and cares for them.
The younger sister is always depicted as a tall, slim humanoid female. Her hair is short, as if she has yet to age enough for it to be long. Her skin always appears a bit darker than her sister’s, so it is assumed that she had a somewhat ethnic look about her. Her dark hair and eyes also reflects that assumption. Her ears are slightly pointed, like her sister’s.

Setharae
Setharae (seh-thuh-ray) is the eldest and most beautiful of Suuh’s daughters. Like her mother, she is striking and powerful, and sits above the earth in a golden, heavenly throne.
Setharae’s name literally means “daybreak,” and is a perfect reflection as her role as the Sun Goddess. Before she was born, her mother dimly lit the earth, and little could be seen. But the power and love that was poured into her being was bright and warm, illuminating the world and beckoning more life to spring from the earth. Although it was with reluctance, she her place in the Day sky, far from her mother, and balanced perfectly the times of Day and Night. During the Night, she sleeps inside a great volcano, where she is kept completely from sight.
The Great Daughter was always depicted like her mother. Her golden hair is long and seemingly unending, her skin is pale, and the lower half of her body has never been decided on. Her eyes, however, are always shone, and are said to have been brighter and clearer than any crystal of the earth.
Saekred
Although she is largely forgotten amongst the Great Goddesses, Saekred (say-kred) is one of the more important lesser goddesses. Saekred is the ancient word for “star,” and she is the eldest of the many daughters that Suuh bore in her longing for Setharae. Because she is one of the Other Daughters, her name is usually unknown, as none of these Other Daughters seem to have names at all. Her story was that she was able to lead her mother though the Night sky towards Dawn when she was disoriented by her mourning. Suuh is constantly moving through the sky, and therefore, her location was never a reliable guide when traveling. Saekred, however, is the brightest star in the sky, and has thus become the usual reference point. Her permanent position in the sky has made her the protective Goddess of travelers.

Chapter Three: The Races

There are three main races of mermaiden, each living in one of the Great oceans. Even though there are only three main races, there are many others to learn about. Each race inhabits a different part of the earth’s waters, and appearances and jobs are all quite different. While we don’t quite know everything about all of the different races and tribes, we do know a great deal about many of the more important races.

Origin
The true evolutionary origin of the mermaiden has been hotly debated for some time now. Evolution in general is a fairly accepted and understood theory, and it makes perfect sense when it is applied to humans. With mermaidens, however, there are two theories that have been presented for their evolution into such curious creatures.
The first theory was presented some time ago, back when humans were theorized to have come from the water. If evolution is correct, we began as a fishlike creature, then grew small legs, then ventured onto land. The theory involving mermaidens is that instead of heading onto land, some of these fishlike creatures decided to stay in the water. From there, they evolved into a long fish with functioning appendages where arms would be. Over time, the mermaidens schooled to their present locations and developed into slightly humanoid beings that are suitably adapted to their environments.
The second theory is slightly redundant, but seems to be more likely in the development of the humanoid upper body. After mammals had been established on earth, humans slowly evolved into the form they have today. Along with them grew the oldest ancestors of today’s mermaidens. When heavy rains made a section of the earth marshy and flooded, some of these ancient people were forced to adapt to new conditions. They began to work well with the rising waters and were soon fully capable of living almost completely in the water. By this time, ancient mermaidens had probably developed gills and webbing on their fingers. By the time the waters had begun receding, these beings were so comfortable that they preferred to live in the water. They soon found themselves living in oceans and rivers and over long periods of time, they developed fins where legs should have been.
Experts so far have not been able to decide between the two theories. The first one is a more likely evolution of a water dwelling creature as it never left the water, but the second is more likely in developing the humanlike qualities that make mermaidens so mysterious. All agree, however, that once the evolution had reached a point where it could be considered a “mermaiden,” groups of these creatures traveled to different parts of the water and developed into the races of mermaiden that you see today.

Atlanteans
The Atlantean race is the most abundant of all the Great Races. As a tribe, they are the most devout and are considered to be a more holy race of mermaidens. As such, their females are not much as hunters or gatherers, and their society relies mostly on trade and the ability of their males to keep their villages functional.
Their appearance is one of the more peculiar of the mermaidian races. Because their natural surroundings are so extreme, Atlanteans had to develop some extreme features of their own. Atlantean mermaidens live almost exclusively in trenches at the ocean floor. Since most villages are set around one large vent or a series of smaller ones, heat and temperature is never an issue amongst them. There is, of course, no light, and so Atlanteans developed a luminescent pigment that covers their scales and fins. In order to remain stable and balanced in the high-pressure environment, they have developed wide wing-like fins that protrude from the back near their shoulder blades. Their tail fin has developed into three tiers, used for steering and power. The two smaller fins flex in and out to steer in different directions and are effective in areas of high pressure. For some reason, Atlanteans, both male and female, almost never grow hair on any part of their body. When it does, however, it is pale in color and carries the same luminescent pigment as the scales. Atlanteans also have very weak eyes, and while they can see quite well in darkness, they have trouble traveling anywhere near the surface.
Because of some of their features, they believe themselves to be close with the Goddesses. Their light producing bodies mimic the way both Suuh’s and Setharae’s gave off light, and the fins on their back look like wings, which they also believe connects them to heavenly beings. Their self-proclaimed divinity has created many temples and priestesses in their villages, and has also inspired a great deal of respect from other mermaidian tribes.
There is very little evidence of accomplished hunters hailing from Atlantean tribes, so one can only assume that their diet consisted mostly of plant life. With the warm heat of oceanic vents, there is an abundance of vegetation, as well as shellfish and scavengers, like crab and small fish. Since mermen are not permuted to attain priestesshood or be in any way involved in religious practices, they are typically the ones who gather and prepare this ocean floor food.
Arctecians
Arctecian mermaidens are the least conventional in mermaidian sense because their bodies are the only ones who so closely resemble that of a mammal. While other mermaidens clearly resemble fish, Arctecians have features very similar to that of a walrus, complete with fur and tusks.
The average mermaiden is about the size of an average sized person, not including the end or fin of a tail fin. Arctecians, however, are usually double in size and possess a great deal of girth. Since their habitat is usually very cold, Arctecians have to make due by packing on the blubber. This is the cause of their great size. Also in an effort to keep from being cold, Arctecian mermaidens have grown thin but tightly woven layers of fur over large sections of their body. Their ears are furry and pointed, and both mermen and mermaidens have bony tusks on their shoulders. Mermen tend to have longer tusks, however, and use them as a way to attract mates. They have brownish skin and dark brown fur, and their hair and eyes are usually a dark brown as well. Their lower body is not like a fish, but mammalian, and instead of a traditional fin, they have walrus-like flippers, complete with separated toes and claws.
The Arctecian body type has made them ideal hunters and warriors. Their size and tusks create an intimidating image, and the traction of their fur allows for greater control when moving about on land.

Indians
Indians have one of the more simple body types. Being without a need to adapt to unusual living conditions, their bodies have not changed much since they became mermaidens.
Their tail fin scales tend to be a ruddy color, usually brown or orange, to help them blend into the mud and stone where they make their homes. Their fondness of the surface and their proximity to the equator has given them brown skin. Instead of dark hair, however, most Indians have very light hair. Experts have guessed that the lack of hair pigment may be due to a recessive genetic gene that continued to reproduce itself after Indian tribes began to isolate themselves. Their ears, like all the others, are pointed.
As a peaceful gathering tribe, there isn’t much to be said about them. They reap the bounty before them on the ocean shelf and live very quiet lives. One difference in custom, however, is that they also tattoo the arms during the Rite of the Maiden. More on the Rite is found in the next chapter.

Pacificeans
There also isn’t much to be said about the Pacificeans. Again, we have a tribe with a simple body type. Their skin is usually lighter in color and their hair tends to grow long and dark.
One thing that sets them apart is their body size. As a nomadic race, Pacificean bodies have grown hard and sinewy over many years of constant travel. Other than that, there is nothing left to mention about the.
Amazonian
Amazonians tend to be just the slightest bit smaller than the average mermaiden but again, very similar in appearance. Their ears are longer than most and their fingers are webbed and clawed like the Arctecians. They are known by their habit of never cutting their hair as even mermen grow it out very long. They also have a second eyelid, a common trait among river-dwelling mermaidens. The second lid helps to protect the eye during periods of time where fast-moving currents toss up large amounts of soil and sediment from the river’s bottom.
Amazonians are similar to the Atlanteans in that they are considered to be closer to the Goddesses. Their location and their ears give them a unique ability that no other tribe can claim they possess. The technique is called “Listening,” and it involves the Amazonian priestesses communicating with the Goddesses. Whether it be by request or for some sort of ceremony, a priestess will leave the water and climb onto a fallen log or branch that drapes over the water. There, the priestess will close her eyes and enter a trancelike state in order to concentrate on the sounds that the river makes. If all the conditions are ideal, the priestess will use her long and sensitive ears to pick out the voices of the Goddesses from the constant babbling of the river. This divining of sorts can be used to tell a fortune, to secure the blessings for the upcoming year, or to ask for guidance.

Reef Children
Even though this race has never done very much, it has always stood out as a fascinating little creature. As a full grown adult, they never grow to be much bigger than a three or four-year-old human child. Their small size allow them to slip in and out of coral reefs easily, and the bright colors on their large and frilly fins help them to blend in and keep safe from predators.
Reef Children are notoriously uninvolved with any sort of society, and tend to live only with their mate and offspring, rather than with a whole community. They don’t take too seriously the teachings of the Goddesses and they enjoy their lives without any sort of structure.

Selkies
Although they are not mermaidens, they play an important part in mermaiden society and therefore, must be mentioned.
Selkies were first noticed by northern human tribes, and their discovery is usually credited to Celtic myth. A selkie is a mysterious creature who can take both forms and therefore, be a member of both the earth and the water. On the land, a selkie will appear as a beautiful woman who walks alone on beaches and near the waters edge. In the water, selkies swim about in the form of a seal, a walrus, or an otter. Celtic legend says that these strange animals take off their skin to reveal the woman underneath. When not in their animal form, they are said to hide their animal skin so that it is not stolen. If a selkie’s skin is found by a human, the selkie then belongs to that human until she can get her skin back.
In mermaidian cultures, selkies are holy beings that act as a bridge between the two elements of earth and water. To mermaidens, these great enigmatic beings are shapeshifters, changing their form from one to another, and they are the most revered of all living mermaidian beings. They are powerful shamanesses and are the only ones permitted to bless you mermaidens during the Rite of the Maiden. They also work like the Amazonians and claim to be able to communicate with the Goddesses.
Selkies know that they are always needed near mermaiden villages, so it is not unlikely to find several of them living on islands nearby.

Chapter Four: The Culture

Different races tend to have different practices when it comes down to profession and living conditions, but most mermaiden tribes have the same basic rituals, especially for the more important steps of life. Each tribe has a stepping forth rite, each has rather like marriage ceremony, and they all treat mermen and royalty in a similar fashion.

Villages and Dwellings
Each tribe can become completely flexible when determining a suitable living space. Some tribes hew dwellings out of stone while others don’t bother with the trouble of construction. Every race has discovered the most practical way of sheltering themselves from predators and the ever-moving water.

Atlanean
Atlantean dwellings are simply crevices in rock walls. Since the Atlantean mermaidens live in the deep trenches of the Atlantic Ocean, they are always surrounded by tall canyon walls. These tribes gather at the very bottom of these trenches and work their way into the canyon’s walls. Each Atlantean tribe has a sort of village center, usually a large vent, that acts as a meeting place as well as the starting point for the village. Atlantean families start from this center and swim out usually no further than three miles from it and create their home in the rock wall or in a small cave on the ocean floor.
When observing an Atlantean village, you can see the obvious radial pattern that they use to locate a home. From the starting point, families swim out in every direction, so you could observe their individual dwellings creating a rough circle around the town center.

Arctecian
While Atlaneans live in generally the same place, Arctecians will live in a small number of places depending on their role in society. Because it keeps them close to prey and predators, warrior maidens and huntresses tend to live on the underside of icebergs and glaciers. A single tribe will dig a fantastic network of passages and caves in ice, some completely submerged in the water and some traveling high enough to be above the surface. Most of these interconnected passages belong to a single tribe, though if an ice flow is big enough, more than one tribe will live there, usually peacefully alongside the other. All of these villages have some sort of passage outside of the ice, either downwards or sideways towards the water or up through the surface of the ice.
The other members of an Arctecian tribe may choose to live further from the surface in order to remain safe. Since this other half consists of mothers, children, craftsmen, and other members who are unlikely to engage in combat, they prefer to dwell in small caverns made of rock and ice on the ocean floor. Typically, these two sections are a part of the same tribe. Those who live in the ice and those who dwell on the floor work together as part of the same village. Occasionally, the second half of the village will join the warriors and huntresses in the ice flow if the tunnels and passages are big enough to ensure protection. Otherwise, the two separate halves work very well apart from one another.
Indian
These are some of the more peaceful of mermaidens, and live close to the shores of their ocean. The Indians tend to dig in the thick and sturdy mud and create their homes on the immediate drop-off of the ocean shelf. This gives them an extremely close proximity to gatherable recourses and to the shore itself, which is desirable for mating purposes. Also, the closeness to the shore and the natural covering of the shelf creates an ideal shelter from predators.
Indian villages stretch along the shelf for miles, often times intermingling with other tribes. There is no set meeting point, but dwellings tend to be layered not only next to one another, but above and below as well. This gives the tribe a feeling of togetherness and security.

Pacifician
This nomadic race uses vast expanses of open ocean floor as their home. Very rarely do the Pacificians create permanent or even semi-permanent shelters, as they tend to move about with migrating schools of fish.
Ideal settling conditions include nearby islands or large formations of stone. Islands create natural caves and outcroppings where mermaidens can rest with a sense of security and with little risk of disturbance.
When it comes to hand made shelters, Pacificians will make the effort when in the presence the every young, the sick, or when a member of their tribe is preparing for birth. If there is no natural shelter that is easily available, the mermen of the village will gather a number of rocks and stone and create one large structure, as opposed to many small ones. Those who are well will remain outside to gather or guard, while those with any sort of ailment will remain inside, safe from danger. This temporary structure is used until the party is well or able to travel, and is often used by other traveling tribes if it is found empty.
Pacificians rarely stay in the same place for more than a month, and when staying at a place for an extended period of time (three weeks is considered long), they prefer to stay in a natural shelter than a hand-made one.

Amazonian
This elusive race tends not to settle in one set place. The constant changing of the river makes building a home impractical, as it would likely be washed away by the daily flooding and the rapid change in current flow. Fallen logs and branches are occasionally arranged in the form of a shelter, but the Amazonian tribe usually just rests near the banks, protected by still-living tree branches. They also like to sleep outside of the water, draped across a fallen log or nestled in low-reaching branches.
When an actual shelter is required, for reasons such as injury and childbirth, Amazonians search for strong tree roots that they can swim inside. Predators, like alligators, are not lithe enough to squeeze inside these natural bars, and so the roots make ideal protective force.
Occasionally, tribes of Amazonians discover ancient sunken human cities, and when given the opportunity, they like to form villages around them. Most Amazonian tribes are loosely nit, with small gatherings of mermen and mermaidens at an entangling of sunken trees and whatnot. Small but tightly knit communities are formed at these places near the middle of the wider rivers. However, if presented with a large area where a human city had once been, large groups will flock to the place where they will have a lot of shelter. Sunken houses, bridges, palaces, and roads all form great places to protect themselves from predators.

Reef Children
There is little to be said about the Reef Children. They like to burrow in the sand immediately beneath large formations of coral and, if available, they will live in the coral formations themselves. The coral or small burrows are excellent shelters from anything that poses a threat.

Gender
In all of the mermaiden societies, males are considered inferior to females. This mentality comes about based on the Genesis and their contribution to a tribe. In general, mermen are viewed as not good for anything except siring children.
Mermaidens take care of everything, including hunting, gathering, fighting, and being members of the priestesshood. This attitude stems from the belief in the Great female Creators, and so since the Goddesses brought all of the things like prey and plant life into the world, only a female could have the honor of taking it from the world.
Male jobs in society are usually of a secondary nature. They tend to either be builders of shelters or creators of some kind, fashioning weapons or repairing broken ones. Still, any merman that makes a warrior’s weapon has been given a great honor. Usually, they will construct smaller homely items, such as knives or spears for hunting or gathering. If allowed to create something for a warrior maiden, they are expected to do a most spectacular job. In this sort of scenario, the male has been the apprentice of a female smith for sometime, and giving her apprentice an important job is really an honor for her. When she retires, he likely takes her place as a fully respected weapon craftsman, assuming he did and exemplary job.

Rite of Passage
The most important moment in any mermaiden’s life is her rite of passage. The event, known as The Rite of the Maiden, is the bridge between a mermaiden’s maidhood and her maidenhood. Any young mermaiden is referred to as a “maid,” be it male or female. When female mermaids receive this rite, they are called “maidens” and are considered adults in the tribe. Young male mermaids are granted the title “merman” when they reach the age of fifteen. However, no ceremony is performed in their honor.
By ancient traditions, the Rite of the Maiden takes place on the eve of a young maiden’s thirteenth birthday. In those times, each young mermaiden would leave on this journey by herself, but as a newer age has come forth, all of the young tribesmaids go together during their thirteenth year.
Usually, the Rite begins on the night of a full moon, in order to secure Suuh’s protective blessing. All of the young mermaidens gather at the center if their respective village and together, they leave for an island in their ocean. Each tribe leaves at a different time because it is not guaranteed that a tribe will have any mermaidens of age at any particular time. Their destination, however, may very well be the same place. The group of young mermaids swims to the island near them that is home to a Selkie. As sacred creatures, the Selkies will bless the young mermaidens and officially announce them as full-grown maidens. The newly named mermaidens travel back to their village, where they are met with a celebratory feast. When all celebration has ended, the final part of the ceremony begins. Each young maiden is brought to the surface of the ocean to be Marked.
In an attempt to accentuate their female features and associate themselves with the Goddesses, each young mermaiden is marked with animal grease and dark earth. A mixture of the two ingredients creates a thick, oily substance that is rubbed into shallow wounds carved around each of the mermaidens’ breasts. When the wounds heal, each mermaiden has distinct tattoo-like patterns around her breasts that not only signify that she is an adult mermaiden, but also that she is close to her Goddesses.
Marking is an ancient tradition that is highly revered as a necessary act. If a mermaiden is clearly of age and is not marked, she is considered inferior and undesirable both as a mate and as a member of the tribe. Reasons for being Unmarked may be illness or banishment from a tribe, some reason that a maid would not be able to complete the journey itself. A young Unmarked maiden may also be the offspring of a criminal and does not deserve to be recognized as a member of the tribe, or of a couple who is in great mourning, and does not feel that their role in the tribe necessary anymore.
The only other reason a mermaiden may remain Unmarked is based on what tribe she hails from. Atlanteans, who tend to separate themselves from the other Races do not bother with what they think is a barbaric act. Their bodies are naturally beautiful, and so they believe marring them is a sacrilegious act. The Goddesses created their bodies without marks, so their bodies are not missing them. Reef Children also do not bother Marking their bodies, but they never tell anyone why they do not. Experts speculate that it is their vanity that keeps them from carving their flesh, as Reef Children are overly proud of their extravagant fins.

Mating
Once a year, mermaidens leave their villages and gather on the shores nearest to them and prepare for the mating season. This event takes place usually in early spring, and always on the night of the full moon. The mermen are the first to crawl onto shore, where they lay on the beaches and await a potential mate. Since the mermen are the ones who are waiting for the mermaidens, they do what they can to become more desirable, and try to prove that they will father strong, healthy, female mermaidens. Oil glands above the hips and below the ears secrete a shiny liquid that accentuates fur or scales, indicating that the male has a shiny and healthy complexion.
The female mermaidens divide themselves into two groups: those who already have a mate and those who have never before mated. Those with mates go ashore and lay beside them, while those without mates survey the beaches and decide on a mate that would be suitable to them. The ages of young mermaidens who have never mated ranges from about fourteen to eighteen. Typically, a mermaiden has mated by her eighteenth year. The age of a young merman is usually similar to that of his mate, and also do not usually wait until after eighteen to mate.
After mating, previous mates, who call themselves “partners,” return to the water to await the potential child. Those who have never mated return with their new mate and present themselves as a pair before the village priestess, who announces them as partners. The merman from the new partnership receives a marking on his face, which is a shallow cut from cheek to cheek and stretching over the nose. This mark signifies that he is no longer a bachelor. Since mermaidens usually mate for life, this mark on a merman’s face is an honor. However, if a mermaiden finds herself unsatisfied by her partner, be it that he has given her no daughters or is a generally undesirable mate, she my choose to end her partnership with him. In this instance, the male receives a second marking, a cut that runs from the middle of the forehead down to the end of his nose. This mark indicates that he has been rejected, and it is generally understood that he is not mate material.

Royalty
Although there are far less than there were in ancient times, the Great Oceans, along with those of the Amazon, bear tribes that continue to have royal families.
Those of the highest status amongst the tribes is always the queen. In most instances, the queen of a tribe will be the high priestess of their villages temple, signifying that she is not only of royal blood, but that she is close to the Goddesses as well. The queen is respected by all, and due to her link with the Goddesses, she is occasionally worshiped and referred to as the Queen Goddess. Her king is the mate that her mother had chosen before, in order to secure a strong and healthy leader.
When it comes to royal children, young princesses have the upper hand. As a child, she is pampered but well prepared for her impending role as queen. Her mate is picked for her and her life is fairly simple and conflict-free. Young princes, however, have a much more difficult time. When a prince is born to a queen, it is generally a somber time. Male children born to the royal family means that the leader of the tribe will not be close to the goddesses, and that bodes as an ill omen. Because it is shameful for a tribe to have their royal heir be male, royal families tend to disguise the gender of the child.
At birth, the prince is given a female name and is usually named after one of the Goddesses, in order to emphasize the link between him and those deities. He is usually raised by trusted attendants who have taken a vow to never reveal his true gender. As he comes of age, he will undergo a mermaiden’s traditional Rite of the Maiden, and his mother will select for him a male mate to whom he will be married. The partnership is simply to disguise the young prince’s gender, and the typical wedding gift from queen and king is a harem that will ensure that the next heir to the throne is a female. Under ideal circumstances, the princes identity is never discovered, and his title as “Queen” is usually passed to his daughter as soon as she has attained the Rite of the Maiden.

Chapter Five: The Conclusion

It will be years before anyone can properly complete this book. Despite all we know now, we have barely begun to scratch the surface of this terribly fascinating culture.
So many questions go unanswered: how can the customs of an Arctecian tribe be virtually identical to those of an Amazonian tribe when the two races have almost never crossed? How did this culture go for so long without anyone knowing anything about them? How can they breathe both water and air without difficulty? When did their societies originate, and how many are left? Only time and research will ever unravel these mysteries, but of course, there is no rush.
Over the next few years, researchers hope to unearth more pieces of this genetic puzzle and help put together answers about a creature that has astounded humans since we have first laid eyes on them.

Sat, 20 May 2006 05:18:55 GMT

Thanks alot, Mairin...

I was bored and decided to go on YouTube, like Mairin said she does when she's bored. Now my eyeballs hurt...

Ow...

The Da Vinci Code was really good and super predictable and apparently nothing like the book. Twas a pretty good movie, though. Ian Mackellen is awesome and Tom Hanks is boring.

I stuffy. I go to bed.

Sat, 13 May 2006 23:29:17 GMT

Hi. This is Emi. I <3 you Cammella.
Tell me what you think of you're new layout, sweetie.
I'll try and fix anything you don't like.

Also, I saved your previous style, if you'd like to revert.

I hope you like the image I picked out.
If you want a different image you'll have to tell me.

♥♥♥

I Think I'm Back!

Tue, 09 May 2006 23:44:54 GMT

Hey, everybody! Have you all forgotten about me? (It's Cammie, btw) I think my last Livejournal post was over a year ago, but I think I'd like to make a comeback! I always log onto the computer with nothing to do, so I think I'm going to start posting!

...as soon as someone tells me how to LJ cut...

::sob::

Anime Boston!! Kero-chan Reports it All!!

Mon, 02 May 2005 02:27:22 GMT

Kero-chan’s Travels

Looky! I’m updating my livejournal! I never do that!! (SORRY ABOUT NO LJ CUT!! I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO IT!! DEAL WITH IT!!) But I feel that I must do something to tell you guys about Anime Boston.

Cuz it was freaking awesome!!

I think I may have had the most fun ever and I never wanted to leave! So here goes, my re-cap of Anime Boston!!

Friday Morning: Ok, so Friday morning we woke up and I put on my costume and watched Sena put on hers and then Lizzi knocked on the door and I answered because Sena was still putting on her costume and then I told Lizzi she looked hot in her Irvine costume because Irvine is hot *and* she was wearing a heavy coat. So then we went upstairs and were goofy until Emi showed up, and she looked so cute in her Sakura costume and then Sena finished putting on her costume and we piled into their car and started driving. We listened to Avenue Q and Disney songs on the way to Boston, which was fun until Sena’s parents couldn’t find the hotel. There was some swearing and tempers ran high, but we all got their in one piece.

About Noon: We got to the con around early afternoon. We went into the hotel and peed and then I took a few pictures of some cosplayers in the hotel lobby. Emi, Lizzi, Sena and I went from there to the convention hall, where we wandered around until we found the registration room. We bumped into Danny in there, where we discovered that he makes the best Ash ever! I got my tag and someone asked to take my picture, and then we continued onward. We wandered around Artist’s Alley and the dealer’s room for a while. I took pictures of everyone with cool costumes, including an incredible Lynx from Chrono something, and this really accurate Tidus. After looking as his picture, he’s not as hot as I remember, but that’s ok, he was still pleasant to look at. I befriended the guy selling the yaoi, you know, ‘Don’t keep this boys in the closet,’ ‘Harry Butt-hole Potter,’ and ‘Butt-Pirates of the Caribbean.’ I went to his booth once and didn’t buy anything, I went back again and asked for Gojyo and Hakkai loveliness, which he found for me, and I named him the Porn-Peddler. I asked if I could call him that, and at first he said no, but then he liked it. I bought my porn (two out of three are fluidless, but dirty, and the third is sweet, but I don’t know what’s going on…) and then waved at him a lot. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

That Evening: After not really eating dinner, we took more pictures and then headed off to ‘Whose Line is it Anime?’ I found it quite enjoyable. There were 4 guys, including the host, and a girl who kinda sucked. So one guy was a comedian from Australia who was dirty and funny, the unfunny airhead girl, some guy who does a voice for someone on FMA and got Angelina Jolie and Lara Croft mixed up, and this adorable purple-haired happy-boy who does the voice of Goku on Saiyuki. He was funny, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the purple-haired boy strip to his boxers and do dirty things with the FMA guy. After that, we wandered more and then went to the dance. We hung with Kupo-chan near the front of the line, where this HOT guy dressed as Shuichi (he didn’t really look like him, but that was totally ok) wanted to hug me cause he said I looked cute. So I hugged hot Shuichi and then danced with Danny and Emi. I went to go request a song that they didn’t have, and then I realized that the DJ was the hot Tidus from before. He was hotter in his DJ gear, with the skullcap and large headphones. I took a picture, but it was too dark; it didn’t come out. I still have him being boy band Tidus, so I’m still happy. After that, we went back to our room shoeless and went to bed.

Saturday Morning: Emi and I got Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast and then we tooled around in the dealers room again. I waved at Mr. Porn-Peddler, bought some manga, and then I felt sick. I went back up to my room an layed down for like, 45 minutes, and then wandered back down to Artist’s Alley to find Emi and Danny. While I was looking for them, some girl selling evil hamsters tossed one in the air and hit me in the head. She apologized and let me have it.

That Afternoon: Emi and I caught up with Kupo-chan because hot-creepy-stalker-skeevy-DJ-Tidus was stalking her. We all headed up to the Gaia panel, where the guys and girl were quite funny and where Emi won me a poster. It was supposed to be one without hot girls on it, but they gave me that one anyway. I don’t really mind, it’s still a cute poster. After that, we both went to the Tokyopop panel, where we learned that Kingdom Hearts is going to be a licensed manga, Saiyuki will come out monthly this summer, and I won a Warcraft manga for answering her question about ‘the little white dragon on Saiyuki.’ After that we went out for Pizza and then headed back up to the main hall.

The Blessed Evening from Heaven: We waited in a deceptively long line to go see Bad Luck perform, but it was worth it. We sat in the back for the first part, and then moved to one of the side sections were we could see better. The cosplay band was pretty good. They sang by themselves and played some instruments, but not all of them. They were all girls, and being such, the Shuichi couldn’t sing that low very well, but she did nicely on all of the middle notes. When the songs were over, she latched on to Yuki’s chest and was quite cute. K-san had lots of guns, too, and we were all happy. When the band was over, the masquerade started, and that included beautiful walk-ons and some cute/funny sketches. Our favorites (the ‘our’ is the unanimous group of screeching fangirls) were the ones with Hakkai and Gojyo and Bakura and Marik. The one with H/G was cute, but inaudible, except for the line that Gojyo said before the screaming started, which was something akin to “I don’t know about you, the priest, or the monkey-boy, but I am not and advocate of abstinence,” and then he made out with Hakkai! Whoo! So what if it was girls dressed as boys?! It was hot both ways!! Bakura and Marik did a Mentos commercial and made out too. The entire auditorium must have gone mute screaming for all the boy kissing. All in all, we were all quite happy. When the amazing costumes were over, we had to leave, but I bumped in to hot Shuichi on the way out, where he asked for a hug again and Sena took our picture. Then we left.

I’ve never had so much fun in my entire life, and I want to go back so badly!!

nevermind ^^

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 15:40:14 GMT

nevermind... if anyone read that last post, which was in fact, deleted, please disregard it.

its weird. im okay.

completely ^^

anyway, i took a mental health day today. as of this very second, im am sitting in front of my computer, wearing nothing but black panties, my JCS t-shirt, and a black fedora from the play, and eating pizza.

this is awesome ^^

too...much...stuff....

Mon, 28 Feb 2005 22:03:16 GMT

eh.

i hate being back at school. im totally praying for snow. sorta.

if we get snow tomorow, that will be one less day i have to get my ccy materials together. mrs. higgins is writing my second recommendation, and if i have to wait until wednesday to get it back, im not sure how much time ill really have left...

the sats are in like, 2 weeks. goddamn, my future just lept up and bit me on the ass...

but some happy news is that the spongebob movie comes out tomorrow on dvd. that makes me warm and fuzzy inside. that and the fact that my sims game just shipped. i hope i get it soon!!

*LUBE!!*

did we have 'shudder,' 'shiver,' 'arch,' and 'grope,' on our list?

damn, i haven't been here in a while...

Thu, 10 Feb 2005 14:10:38 GMT

whooo! im on livejournal! haven't been here in months.

so....

i had my birthday party. lube, i just used your gift card on amazon to order some yaoi. if you'd like, you can have first dibs ^^

just registered for the march SATs. i also just recieved 4 THOUSAND emails from colleges just about everywhere. convinient.

the pill is not relieving any of my violent pain, which is why im home today. it is making things...easier (for lack of a male friendly term), but i feel really nauseous.

and the finale is i sprained my ankle AGAIN tuesday evening. playing ddr. its not as sad as when i sprained the same one falling down the STAIR, but now that i had been having a ddr obsession, i cant play anymore. i think that may actually be irony...

Sun, 26 Dec 2004 02:48:19 GMT

merry christmas!! i got presents!!

i got:

*DDRMAX
*a kick ass dance pad
*prince of persia: warrior within
*jak 3
*kingdom hearts: chain of memories
*a slinky
*shrek 2
*candy
*pajamas
*return of the king extended edition
*more candy
*a gift card to FYE
*and lots of money!!

id say we had a good crop of presents this year. im quite pleased with everything.

i woke up at 7 to bake breakfast for everyone and then we opened all out presents and went to grandmas and ate food. but between presents and grandmas house, we played DDR. considering that i suck, im doing pretty well. my three fave songs on the game so far are 'matsuri,' 'sandstorm,' and 'exotic ethnic.' ive gotten 'B's' on all of them on light mode, an accomplishment im pleased with for an hour and a half of work.

but im sleepy and i wanna go to bed. merry chistmas!!

i think...

Sun, 07 Nov 2004 16:06:04 GMT

i think....

i think....
i'm lost
i don't know what's going on
i don't know where i am

i think....
it aches
no pain, no sadness
an absense of something

i think....
i want
but i'm not sure
i yearn for something not all of me is ready for

i think....
i hope
perhaps to touch what i cannot
this isn't me at all

i think....
i see
something i cannot have
something as blind as i

i think....
someone
is invading my mind
all my thoughts have whirrled around one

i think....
it hurts
i cannot figure out why
i did not ask for this

i think....
i need
someone to help me
someone to hold my hand until i can find myself again

i think....
i'm lost
i don't know what's going on
i don't know where i am

i think....

paper....

Wed, 27 Oct 2004 21:36:14 GMT

so im writing a position paper on the patriot act, which in itself doesnt require a whole lot of thinking. but because im trying to concentrate (sorta), i have the tv on mute. i shouldnt have the tv on at all, but since it's spongebob, i kinda have to watch it, ya know? but anyway, when my tv is on mute, it has closed captioning at the bottom. i turned to look at the screen just about the time that both 'panting' and 'whimpering' were on the bottom of my tv ^^

not only is spongebob really gay, but now its really gay porn!!

speaking of gay, mike was writing more stuff about kowalski yesterday:

if kowalski was a basketball hoop, hed have less balls on his rim than he does now

if kowalski was a basketball hoop, hed be slammed by the black guy less than he is now

and then soj decided to join in on the fun and say something about mike, and i dont quite remeber what he wrote, it was something like 'if mike was a basketball hoop, his rim would be smaller than it is now...' soj got all defensive and said it was his first one ^^

my mom schedualed conferences. fuckbeans. i am so screwed.... now shes gonna know i didnt ever do my math homework...

im so grounded

Wed, 20 Oct 2004 21:10:48 GMT

ok, lube, this is mostly for you, just to point out what youre missing by not being in chorus ^^

izzie walked into waes heil the yesterday and fuums was writing all these things on the board about sam. soj saw them and covered them up with the projector screen. we all filed in and sam kowalski was sent to the piano to do warmups so his back was to the board. soj pulled the screen back up and we all laughed as sam behind his back.

here's a sample of what was written:

if kowalski was a table, he'd be on all fours less than he is now

if kowalski was a jail, he'd have less men in him than he does now

if kowalski was a bar stool, hed have less butts in his face than he does now

if kowalski was eating an eclair, he'f have less cream in his mouth than he does now

if kowalski was George Washington Carver, he'd have less nuts in his face than he does now

if me or izzie remember any more, im sure we'll be happy to contribute more ^^

Mon, 18 Oct 2004 18:45:20 GMT

i think im starting drivers ed tomorow...

im gonna be drawing my picture of sora and riku ballroom dancing, too. definately looking forward to it and the finished product. ^^

sean said the single funnies thing ever today. at lunch, he nicked his finger on his chair and it started to bleed. so he gasped and shouted 'oh no!! now im going to die of tetris!!'

i laffed so hard i was tearing up ^^

Tue, 05 Oct 2004 21:01:50 GMT

hey, lube, 'member when we were all at emi's or something and you told everyone about DMP manga and the yaoi series they were coming out with?

remember?

i have the eariliest released title, 'only the ring finger knows.' it is, without a doubt, the most deliciously fluffy boy love ive ever read.

:internal, piercing girly squee:

now that thats passed, im done.

oh, emi!! read penny arcade today.

its funny ^^

www.penny-arcade.com

Sat, 02 Oct 2004 23:17:08 GMT

so i just got back from the mall after a full evening and morning of SIMing with sena. hehe, happy boys spread the happy ^^

anyway, at the mall, i got some new manga: evils return 2, gravi 8, and legal drug. i'll bet you cant guess what K's real name is ^^

legal drug has been on my 'have to get list' ever since i found it was coming out. another clamp masterpiece about some pretty men who obviously wanna sex eachother silly. well, it seems like they do... but its clamp, so it really is good. for those of you who have read xxxHOLIC, the two guys from this new manga had a cameo in it.

and ive been seeing comercials lately for 'drawn together,' the worlds first animated reality tv show. there are like, 8 different characters and it looks totally hilarious. its gonna be on comedy central the 27th and i must watch!! the guys are like, a cliched song singing princess, a buff frat like superhero, a mystery solving musician, a pikachu ripoff, a silly watchamacallit, an old 20's black-n-white fat chick, a dirty pig, and a videogame hero. a totally gay videogame hero. a bishilicious videogame hero ^^

a total link wanna be ::squee!!::

i tell you what K's real name is if you guess ^^

Fri, 24 Sep 2004 02:03:44 GMT

::prances around happily::

loookyloookyloooky!!

::waves piece of paper to crowd::

i gotted my permit!!

i gotted my permit!!

i gotted my permit!!

::gasp gasp gasp::

::calms down::

i got my permit ^^

Fri, 03 Sep 2004 20:39:12 GMT

eh, i dun wanna clean my rooom...

but!!

i just got this email from this yahoooo comunity i belong to that has graciously informed me about a new project that kevin smith is working on:

emily, sena, izzie, this is for you:

clerks II

yes, folks, the sequal to the cult fave, clerks, is schedualed to start shooting in january. titles, the passion of the clerks, this movie chronicles whats happening to dante and randal now. today. right now!!

aaanndd!!!!

by the time its out in the theaters, ill be old enough to see it without my mom!! w00t!! assuming that its rated r, which it will be. even if it ends up being nc-17, ill still be able to see it!!

yay ^^

w00t!

Sat, 28 Aug 2004 02:18:03 GMT

check it out, ma peeps!

*shows everyone yellow belt*

ta-da! it took me a whole month and the weirdest test ive ever taken in my life, but ive moved up a rank in my kempo class. i had no idea id have this much fun in this stoopid cult, but here i am, a whole rank... higher ^^

anyway, ill be off to boston tomorow, and i get to go to the lord of the rings exibit at the science museum and you dont. naga-noooch!!

bye bye ^^

Thu, 19 Aug 2004 05:35:19 GMT

hello everyone!

i just got back from new york. i had the best time ever.

my aunt and her roommate took my to coney island and then to a comedy club (two drink minimum!!), and then told me stories about when my aunt used to manage a comedy club in san fransisco and how her roomate was a stand up comic. they were telling me bout all the comics who had gone in there while they ran it; dave chappelle, brian regan, sabrina mathews, mitch hedberg, all people ive heard of and you never have.

i was suposed to go home sunday night, but i didnt feel like it. so my aunt dropped me off at my other aunts apartment where i stayed for two more nights. this morning i spent $50 on the most awesome tickets for chicago: i was 5 rows from the stage and one seat from the inside of the isle. i was so close to the stage i could see the run in this girls fishnets.

godDAMN all those boys were hot. the best bodies, tall, tanned, half shirtless and in massively tight pants, all dancing, almost grinding, and i was close enough to see their packages, i swear to god.

good trip ^^

Fri, 13 Aug 2004 02:06:40 GMT

doo doo doo...

i'm bored.

my room is messy, im unmotivaded, and i havent even begun to comprehend how much reading i have left to do.

BUT...

the sims 2 is coming out in a month and im SOO excited!!

oh, and im going to visit my aunt tomorow in new york.

but i totally just saw the funniest icon:

harry potter: "So you're a werewolf?!"
prof. lupin: "Yes, Harry, I am."
harry potter: "Are you fucking serious?"
prof. lupin: "Yes, that too."
harry potter: "...What?"
prof. lupin: "Oops. Too much information..."

long time, no type!

Thu, 05 Aug 2004 23:50:08 GMT

god, its been so long since ive posted. a LOT of crap has happend, i think...

where to begin...

aj convinced me to join her dojo, so i am officially a member of her kempo class. i dont even have my gi or white belt yet and i can almost test for my yellow belt! hehe, now i can OFFICIALLY kick your asses ^^

moms friends came up to visit from florida and massachusets (spelling?). her friend from florda, debbie, brought her daugher, taylor, who is a year younger than me and she looks old enough to drink ><. her friend from massachusets, susan, brought her two young children, 6 and 4, megan and forrest. forrest is the CUTEST THING EVER!! hes gonna grow up to be the next elijah (he has his eyes ^^)

so anyway, we went to mystic seaport and mom pretended to be a lesbian. yes, my mother pretented to be a lesbian. she got a pass to get in for free if it was one family and children. so she took susan and her two kids, me and taylor, and we were one, big, happy gay family. my mom is insane ><

so then we went up to new york city. we saw beauty on the beast on stage. it was wonderful! gaston was the living cartoon, he was the best, right after lumiere (spelling again!) and lafou. they rocked. belle stunk, she couldnt sing... she wasnt following any of the rules of singing; she fucked up the dipthongs and stuff... but what can u expect from the voice of kim possible? beast sang well, but he was kind of a loser. i supose he didnt wanna scare the kids in the audience...

more later ^^

Mon, 19 Jul 2004 21:22:08 GMT

omg, you HAVE to look at this:

http://thedevilspanties.keenspace.com/comics/20040719.GIF

and if you dont know what shes talking about, i so dont know you anymore ^^

Sat, 17 Jul 2004 16:51:07 GMT

ive been on sort of a binge lately... just watching kevin smith movies... alot.

the other day, i watched all 6 of my brothers clerks episodes, and moms gonna bring home the movie for me tonight. i even drew a pic of dante and randalls cartoon verison. came out looking pretty good, if i do say so myself ^^

plus, last night, kish slept over and we watched Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. that movie is pure fucking genius ^^

i love silent bob. hes my hero <3

btw, have any of you actually seen that movie? if you have, you know that theres a website on which jay and silent bob are totally blammed by randall and other annonymous guys.

http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/old/news.html

ta da!! thats the site that was actually in the movie!! if you click on the part that says shooting range towards the bottom of the page, you can see where randall posted his bash of jay and silent bob, and then their retaliation, the one that makes the news in the movie ^^

kevin smith is my hero, too ^^

Tue, 13 Jul 2004 22:29:56 GMT

ok, im gonna give you guys a sanario, and i want you to tell me if you think ive lost my mind. i mean, you know, officially.

lets say mom and dad just got some new deck furnature and it all came in this big ass box. lets also say that they just threw it into the garage. now, lets imagine that i dragged the big cardboard box into my basement, took a steak knife to it, and cut some windows and a door and made something resembling a... fort.

would this go under reliving my recent childhood or losing my mind?

hey, weezie, when are you geting back from smart camp?

Tue, 13 Jul 2004 04:21:50 GMT

hey, lebanko... that gorgeous adrogenous man you were drawing... he wouldnt happen to be a singer named gackt, would he?

LAUREN I WANT THOSE KISSING BOYS!!