The mer nostalgia thread

[AniaR]

So with quite a few of us old timers around I was chatting with another mer about "the old days". And I realized the old days don't just refer to what was around in terms of pro mermaiding, but also just mermaids in culture in general! I thought we could have a thread to remind each other of all the interesting stuff from the past and it might serve as a time capsule to newer mers. Our community has evolved SO MUCH in the short time I've been involved. It's crazy.

So here's a few things I remember from my personal life:


that ariel doll in the early 90s that had a motorized tail haha
one of my very first toys at 5 years old was a sea shell with ariel inside. you put some kind of a tablet in it and then the shell popped open and ariel swam to the top. I remember my dad taking me to a pool to try it
I had a sled with ariel on it (so Canadian)
I remember watching this old mermaid cartoon was it by Saban? it was sorta anime.
I coudln't find any mermaid accessories anywhere not that long ago. One year when Sean when to work in Switzerland for a few weeks he brought me back a custom made silver mermaid one of a kind pendant. For years it was the only thing I owned that had a mermaid on it... then BOOM hot topic exploded and got on the mermaid trend
I tried to make a mermaid top like hannah frasers out of pasties decorated and held together by fishing line lol
I used to message photographers that had worked with her questions on her tops :p
The mermaid episode of any TV show, I remember Aladdin TV show had a mermaid!

In the community I remember this stuff:

mermaid networking on myspace, yahoo groups, and messaging everyone on deviantART I saw with a tail
sea tails!
only ever seeing hand made fabric tails for the longest time
re-watching those mermaid commercials anytime they came on tv. taping them so I could watch them again
anytime splash came on TV
when I first discovered Annette Kellerman thanks to one of the first mermaid companies ever: Mermaid FX (who I bought their last tail ever made from)
searching for mermaids on webcrawler, before google existed
not even knowing monofins were a thing
when we all thought caulking was the be all end all of tail making
Before gopros existed and underwater point and shoots first came out and cost a fortune and had the shortest battery life ever
re watching hannahs videos over and over
how making fabric tails was the biggest hush hush thing ever
fan videos made of hannah, mertailor, linden and a few other originals where people synced up all their footage to make a music video!
the mer yuku deviantART page haha
customizing your theme for mer yuku
when you first discovered mer yuku
the first time you met someone else interested in mermaids online
That time Eric apologized to the community (http://mertailor.blogspot.ca/2010_12_01_archive.html), and publicly to me
the day mer yuku was officially deleted (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=366737230066097&id=178252078914614)
when we all learned about createx!
when we all realized createx came off pretty darn easy
random mermaid (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?1836-Randomermaid)


What do YOU remember? Personally, or within the community?

[SeaGlass Siren]

I remember when they introduced swim able mermaid Barbie dolls. And the colour changing mermaid tails and hair. They need to bring those back...

[Mermaid Wesley]

Oh gosh I had one of those and I accidentally scratched the tail and it messed with the color change I was so upset D:


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[Mermaid Alea]

Haha I was re-watching Hannah Fraser videos over and over again today. I wish I would have found out about mermaiding sooner. I love learning about the history.

[Ashe]

Religiously watching Hannah and Linden, swimming through MerYuku, not having to worry about all the different types of tails :p

[Princess Pearl]

Back in the 80's I had a mermaid Lady Lovelylocks doll who had a purple tail. The tail could turn into a skirt or it could come off and she had a bathing suit underneath. She also had hair clips shaped like little seahorses.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e2/40/0f/e2400f9b5e692ef40b3980fe722a99cd.jpg

25 years later I have a purple mermaid tail. Coincidence?

[SeaGlass Siren]

I also remember religiously watching disneys the little mermaids on VHS. The first vhs was so worn out and old that my mom surprised me with a new one with Jodi benson singing in the credits/ music video. I also watched Hans Christian andersens the little mermaid anime but I didn't make it very far because I was upset that she didn't have red hair. (As a kid I thought she was the fake little mermaid lol I was an idiot)
then I remember watching a retelling of the little mermaid on TV. Animation was slightly creepy to me and a bit gothic but I remember them glorifying her death.

[Taniwha]

When did Mermaid Meshpa disappear? I've realised I haven't seen her in Merbellas pics for a few years now! Also did Selene ever get her money back from Adam Martyn?

I remember when it all (was/seemed) so much simpler, on yuku when so many people were making their own tails out of alex plus and the scammers were mostly known. The community seems a lot darker these days, more people trying to rip off others and more drama. I'm a frequent lurker - I was always more of a lurker even back in the mer.yuku days ;) but not into so much mermaiding these days, took a job in conservation which is keeping me busy.

[Ashe]

How funny! I was just thinking about Mespha earlier today. She kind of just vanished... Anyone have information?

On another note, I have to agree with your second statement, te community has become kind of a tricky place. I guess it's inevitable, we've grown so fast in such a short time with this new mermaid fad.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

If I remember correctly, she split from Merbellas a while back to pursue other endeavors.

[Mermaid Momo]

I agree! I now see the community like I see the ocean. There's the part in bright blue waters that you can see clearly and have fun and stuff, then there's the deeper darker, lesser known parts where scammers and scummy merms like to hang out. and where you're more likely to be eaten by a kraken.

[PearlieMae]

I remember searching for mermaid images in the early days of the interwebs when most webpages looked like this:

34126

And sewing my first fabric mermaid tail in 1983:

34127

[OceanRose]

... did Selene ever get her money back from Adam Martyn?

I wonder the same thing. The first time I heard of mermaiding was because of a NZ news segment, explaining how she's been scammed.
(also, my mouth dropped open eyes glued to the screen because obviously mermaiding is THE best thing ever and I never knew about it until then)

[AniaR]

When did Mermaid Meshpa disappear? I've realised I haven't seen her in Merbellas pics for a few years now! Also did Selene ever get her money back from Adam Martyn?

I remember when it all (was/seemed) so much simpler, on yuku when so many people were making their own tails out of alex plus and the scammers were mostly known. The community seems a lot darker these days, more people trying to rip off others and more drama. I'm a frequent lurker - I was always more of a lurker even back in the mer.yuku days ;) but not into so much mermaiding these days, took a job in conservation which is keeping me busy.
Meshpa left them back in 2012. They went their separate ways. They may work together in the future.

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[AniaR]

I wonder the same thing. The first time I heard of mermaiding was because of a NZ news segment, explaining how she's been scammed.
(also, my mouth dropped open eyes glued to the screen because obviously mermaiding is THE best thing ever and I never knew about it until then)
I was briefly in that segment lol she showed my photo

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[AniaR]

do any of the oldies remember that video made about mertailor that was the Hitler meme? where Hitler was freaking out and someone subtitled it about mertailor??? LOL I just saw that original video pop up on youtube and it reminded me of it. Now that was a funny one

[Mermaid Lorelei]

do any of the oldies remember that video made about mertailor that was the Hitler meme? where Hitler was freaking out and someone subtitled it about mertailor??? LOL I just saw that original video pop up on youtube and it reminded me of it. Now that was a funny one

YES! Freaking loved that video.

[AniaR]

we need to find it cuz some of the people who joined in the last two years will lose it. I legit cried from laughing so hard the first time I saw it

[PearlieMae]

Did Arion do that?

[AniaR]

Nope. Mer Vee Dee did. (who is a real person I met at merfest.) A guy who hated me used to publicly accuse me of being mer vee dee as an alt account! Because mer vee was pretty good at calling out crap in the community back when not many did. But you know, I've never shyed away from that haha so no need to have an alt account. Anyway, it was hilarious but it wasnt on youtube. I was trying to google mernetwork archives because I know the link was posted a few times on here. I might see if I can track Mer Vee Dee on facebook and see if he still has it. Because it was GOLD.

[AniaR]

OH MY GAWD I FOUND IT!!!!

http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/Mer-Vee/media/HitlerHatesTheRecentExpansionOfCompetitionInTheMer .mp4.html?o=0

[Dancing Fish]

*dies and iz dead* omg. :lol:

[SeaGlass Siren]

Oh my god I'm dying LOL

[Spindrift]

OH MY GAWD I FOUND IT!!!!

http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/Mer-Vee/media/HitlerHatesTheRecentExpansionOfCompetitionInTheMer .mp4.html?o=0

I remember this!

[SiaTheMermaid]

That seriously made me laugh so much 😂

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[Fun123joker]

THOSE MOTORIZED MERMAID DOLLS NEVER WORKED

mernostgila when all of my mermaid content and mercommunity were all in youtube channel comments on famous "preteen life as a mermaid" shows

[Fun123joker]

ooo oooh i got one!

i remeber when it was warm enough to go swimming (SCREW WINTER I WANT TO SWIM IN MY TAIL!!!!!!)

[Starfrit]

OH MY GAWD I FOUND IT!!!!

http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/Mer-Vee/media/HitlerHatesTheRecentExpansionOfCompetitionInTheMer .mp4.html?o=0

Holy sweet Keiris-lookin' MerJesus this is art and I am hyperventilating from laughing so hard

BLESS THIS MEME

[Vrindavana Starfish]

Back in the 80's I had a mermaid Lady Lovelylocks doll who had a purple tail. The tail could turn into a skirt or it could come off and she had a bathing suit underneath. She also had hair clips shaped like little seahorses.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e2/40/0f/e2400f9b5e692ef40b3980fe722a99cd.jpg

25 years later I have a purple mermaid tail. Coincidence?

OMG Lady Lovely Locks! I was obsessed with these dolls. I remember begging for this one.
I also had every My Little Pony seahorse in existence.

I remember my friend and I fighting over the orange dive ring when we swam in her pool. We would put it around our ankles to keep our legs together. The color of the dive ring represented the color of our "tail," and of course, we both wanted the orange one like Splash.

[Vrindavana Starfish]

OH MY GAWD I FOUND IT!!!!

http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/Mer-Vee/media/HitlerHatesTheRecentExpansionOfCompetitionInTheMer .mp4.html?o=0

hahahahaha! This is the first time I'm seeing this.

[AniaR]

you win the comments

[Mermaid Mystery]

Holy sweet Keiris-lookin' MerJesus this is art and I am hyperventilating from laughing so hard

BLESS THIS MEME

oh my god this is the best thing I've ever read

[Mermaid Alea]

That was so awesome! It is still valid as well...

[AniaR]

it's sad that it's still valid. change a few names and there you go

[Mermaid Wesley]

Cracking up


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[PearlieMae]

OH MY GAWD I FOUND IT!!!!

http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/Mer-Vee/media/HitlerHatesTheRecentExpansionOfCompetitionInTheMer .mp4.html?o=0

Holy f*** THAT'S FUNNY!!!!

[Mermaid Alea]

Last night I remembered that one of my favorite Barbies that I had when I was a kid was this one:
http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=34661&stc=1

Even today I still love her tail!

[PearlieMae]

Last night I remembered that one of my favorite Barbies that I had when I was a kid was this one:
http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=34661&stc=1

Even today I still love her tail!

Aw! It says the image is broken!

[AniaR]

I TOTALLY FORGOT SOMEONE WROTE A SONG ABOUT ADAM MARTYN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPg3H6l5QP0

[AniaR]

my first website: http://lexandrianghh.wix.com/mermaidraina

[Celesteofthewaterlilies]

my first website: http://lexandrianghh.wix.com/mermaidraina

oh gawd lol i tried so hard to make it cute and friendly.

[AniaR]

oh gawd lol i tried so hard to make it cute and friendly.

I loved it. it was cute. *hug*