Youtube LOL

[Echidna]

no idea how I found it, but here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzPGlqJf_q8

I know there's thousands like it, but actually I found it funny (and sad at the same time)

[Winged Mermaid]

Urrrgh. I so hate the "mermaid spell" and "mermaid potion" crap. I've had many rants on the forum about that. :eye twitch:
Just.. no. :no-no:

[Mermaid Wesley]

Ah yes. These crack me up


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[Coradion]

Most of these videos are from younger kids with imaginations who are finding their own creative outlets for expressing something they think is fun. If they want to believe in magic and think that they can share spells and potions with people I'm all for it. You don't have to watch their videos if you know what's coming and will only be annoyed by it.

I think what's sad is when grown adults judge kids for the way they imagine and dream. This is a forum for freaking mermaids, encourage imagination and creativity don't belittle it.

[Mermaid Adriel]

COINS? O_O that's crazy xD

[AniaR]

There are plenty of adult mermaid spell videos trying to scam these kids out of money Mr judgey. One woman went so far as to make a website.

Ive had kids ask me to sell them potions and spells.

I always thought it would be fun to make a spoof spell video. Of the say h20 a billion times then touch water

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[Winged Mermaid]

Most of these videos are from younger kids with imaginations who are finding their own creative outlets for expressing something they think is fun. If they want to believe in magic and think that they can share spells and potions with people I'm all for it. You don't have to watch their videos if you know what's coming and will only be annoyed by it.

I think what's sad is when grown adults judge kids for the way they imagine and dream. This is a forum for freaking mermaids, encourage imagination and creativity don't belittle it.

I agree that if it's harmless, then it's fine. What you apprently haven't seen is my rant on me seeing kids having very and very intense emotional torment because these "spells" and "potions" don't work, and they think there's something wrong with them becuase it didn't, when everyone else claims and swears up and down that it "really works". Also sometimes that they want it so badly that there is very real and even dangerous separations from reality thinking they are REALLY mermaids with REAL magic. We're talking full on emotional meltdowns for both of those situations, even talk of suicide from those who couldn't get it to "work". Disassociation from reality is actually not that uncommon for kids in bad life situations, and things like this aggravates it. I've seen it, and it's very disturbing and makes me worry greatly about all of these "magic spells" and "magic potions" all over the net.

[-Annwyn-]

Most of these videos are from younger kids with imaginations who are finding their own creative outlets for expressing something they think is fun. If they want to believe in magic and think that they can share spells and potions with people I'm all for it. You don't have to watch their videos if you know what's coming and will only be annoyed by it.

I think what's sad is when grown adults judge kids for the way they imagine and dream. This is a forum for freaking mermaids, encourage imagination and creativity don't belittle it.


Agreed. I think it's perfectly innocent and anyone with any sense of rational logic would know magic isn't real anyway. But it is fun to play pretend (duh! We are experts at that!) I think it's cute, let them have their but of fun and don't overthink it. :)

[-Annwyn-]

I agree that if it's harmless, then it's fine. What you apprently haven't seen is my rant on me seeing kids having very and very intense emotional torment because these "spells" and "potions" don't work, and they think there's something wrong with them becuase it didn't, when everyone else claims and swears up and down that it "really works". Also sometimes that they want it so badly that there is very real and even dangerous separations from reality thinking they are REALLY mermaids with REAL magic. We're talking full on emotional meltdowns for both of those situations, even talk of suicide from those who couldn't get it to "work". Disassociation from reality is actually not that uncommon for kids in bad life situations, and things like this aggravates it. I've seen it, and it's very disturbing and makes me worry greatly about all of these "magic spells" and "magic potions" all over the net.

I've seen kids having intense emotional torment meltdowns because they discovered Santa wasn't real. Children have to realise, to some extent, at some stage in their life that there is no man behind the curtain, that you can't make soup out of a stone and that the emperor really is naked. In my opinion, the preteens who make these videos are at a stage in their life where they are trying to cling onto the last shreds of their childhood whilst trying to find their place in society as they begin to enter adolescence.

Honestly it's a bit of a generalisation that these videos aggravate underprivileged children (not saying it doesn't happen at all, I just don't think it happens as often/severely as Iona claims.....unless Iona has statistics maybe.......?)

Personally i I can think of far worser organisations scamming people with fairy tales. But overall, I'm not that worried about potion videos really...it's not the slippery slope you think it might be :3

i totally get how it's annoying though!

[AniaR]

Lol I just have to lol because child and youth development is my speciality there's loads I can say to back up Iona's points but if I agree with Iona on any thread then we are biased and ganging up on you and it gets written about all over the Mer forum :p

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[-Annwyn-]

Lol I just have to lol because child and youth development is my speciality there's loads I can say to back up Iona's points but if I agree with Iona on any thread then we are biased and ganging up on you and it gets written about all over the Mer forum :p

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Whoa, that was a tangent. I never said anyone was ganging up on me. I was participating in a discussion about kids making potion videos on YouTube. I wasn't even disagreeing with Iona as a whole, either.

You can lol all you like. I'm not here to argue with you.

[Ariadne]

Somebody might want to tell her to change that to lots and lots of mama and daddy's "shinny" coins...that's how she got her mermaid tail.

[Aziara]

Here's my mermaid 'spell'
Buy fabric and buy/make monofin
cut fabric to your measurements and sew it up
Put it on and go swimming

So sorry if that does not work for you, lol!

[-Annwyn-]

Here's my mermaid 'spell'
Buy fabric and buy/make monofin
cut fabric to your measurements and sew it up
Put it on and go swimming

So sorry if that does not work for you, lol!

What is this witchcraft of which you speak?! Lol
(nice disclaimer by the way!;D)

[Ashe]

On the topic of these, I had come across a girl on Instagram claiming she was a mermaid in training. Not like us, I mean a 'real' mermaid in training. She was making some fairly (obviously fake to someone who knows all the tricks) believable statements and a slew of young girls were asking her how to become a mermaid and all that jazz. I became curious as to what it was all about so I messaged her and I found out a lot of things worth sharing.

Their supposed 'leader' (sounds like a bit of a cult) was the only one to make a full transition. They went as far as to back it up with some fairly believable pictures. I lost them, but one was a fairly blurry picture of a girl in a tail. Either it was a photo manipulation or a really nice tail hit with just the right lighting, but it was VERY realistic. Any girl could fall for it - and many did.

But here's where it gets interesting. To become a mermaid, theres no spell, no potion, no chant. You simply have to become the mermaid you want to be. By this I mean that she said you first have to slowly work on your personality. If you are a happy, fun loving mermaid, then you must be cheerful all the time. But, if you are a darker sort of mermaid, you have to act like that. No more making jokes, wear dark colors, think about how much fun it would be to drown sailors. But what really got me worried was when she went as far as saying you must isolate yourself from friends and family as dark mermaids have no friends.

But then it gets worse. You then have to change your diet. If you are a tropical mermaid - you may ONLY eat fruits and crab. An Atlantic mermaid only eats fish, etc. But at some point, you would have to let go of any 'human' food, and only eat the food of your said mermaid. Obviously if an oblivious young girl tries to stick to this diet, that wouldn't be very good at all.

After a couple of minor things you must do to earn your right to be a mermaid, she simply said "you will lose some close friends and your family might hate you, but it will all be worth it in the end"

Anyone have thoughts on this? Im no child expert, but I feel like a few who are desperate after trying all the spells and potions may actually try this. I mean the girls had a website and everything (don't ask me where it is, I have no idea). I mean I've seen the ones where you must drown yourself at midnight and all that jazz, but this one was actually very well put together.

[Mermaid Sirenia]

Wow that worries me Kalani, the fact that it's asking a girl to change who she is as well as her diet is frightening.


~Mermaid Sirenia~

[AniaR]

I have seen loads of that and it is an example of what Iona said. I'm not home ATM but I'll link some of the bad ones I've seen.

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[PearlieMae]

Here's my mermaid 'spell'
Buy fabric and buy/make monofin
cut fabric to your measurements and sew it up
Put it on and go swimming

So sorry if that does not work for you, lol!

HEY!

That's my spell!

:eye twitch:

[Mermaid Wesley]

This isn't quite the same thing but have you all seen this video? (Probably have. It's old and easy to find)
http://youtu.be/Fg3JuYrtqF4


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[Mermaid Adriel]

never seen and never heard of her, lol

[Mermaid Wesley]

Also I'm 60% sure that's some sort of plaster on the tail..... Idk. Even the cheapest silicone is going to be more than 100 bucks.


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[Echidna]

well, horror.
All the posters before Iona and Raina are completely clueless.

Why don't these kids just sew a tail if they want one so badly?...

[MermaidMichelle]

So we go from spells to scammers...not too surprising in a thread with the vague name of "Youtube LOL"....

Regarding the former, it is quite possible to innocently dabble in the mysterious and unreal. Even Joan of Arc, who stated that she would rather die than use magical charms, played at the Fairies' Tree when she was little. In fact, I believe I will relate a story from my own childhood....

In early December of 1987 I met a fellow 7-8 year-old who took his play very seriously and attempted to impress me by stating that he actually was a Sectaur; that is to say, one of these:

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(In the cartoon, Peter "Optimus Prime" Cullen did the voice of Mantor....)

He endeavoured to convince me that he was born both purple and immortal (he was no longer purple), insisting that it was not possible to be a Sectaur and a mortal. Thinking swiftly, I replied that while never purple I was certainly not mortal, and this boy then proceeded to give me detailed instructions as to exactly how I, too, could become a Sectaur (which involved the eating of far too many squashed praying mantises for my ethical taste).

It became rapidly apparent that he had no idea what a Sectaur actually was beyond the description which I had already provided in very few words. Rather, he simply wished to be the dominant member of our relationship. That is what truly worries me about this sort of thing, and thus I must concur with Raina and Iona as I have always been inclined to do (and not because they're the dominant mers on this network....)

Of course, it could be fun to be mermaid Sectaur, too; imagine riding a giant pistol shrimp or normal-sized sea scorpion from the Silurian period (when they could grow as large as a race car)!

[Mermaid Wesley]

Aw that reminds me of when I was a kid. My whole elementary school was obsessed with leprechauns around st pattys we all tried to convince each other we were part leprechaun and it got to the point where people were staining their skin green with fun dip and acting like they were trying to hide it and for a week or so we all kindof believed that our grade was full of leprechauns. But there is a fine line. I have seen people with horrible self esteem and deep seeded issues try to use magic to fix their problems. They convince themselves that if they say the right incantation they will be pretty and loved by everyone and that sort of thing only hurts. (I won't go into modern day witchcraft and Wicca and paganism because it's really a completely different deal.)


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[lynsea]

^ the dying the skin green and trying to hide it sounds hilarious!

[Mermaid Momo]

This isn't quite the same thing but have you all seen this video? (Probably have. It's old and easy to find)
http://youtu.be/Fg3JuYrtqF4


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Yeah, I found her video right when it was new. I think I commented on it about it not being real silicone which can be dangerous and posting links to good tail makers and the forum but she had deleted it later.

[Mermaid Momo]

On the topic of these, I had come across a girl on Instagram claiming she was a mermaid in training. Not like us, I mean a 'real' mermaid in training. She was making some fairly (obviously fake to someone who knows all the tricks) believable statements and a slew of young girls were asking her how to become a mermaid and all that jazz. I became curious as to what it was all about so I messaged her and I found out a lot of things worth sharing.

Their supposed 'leader' (sounds like a bit of a cult) was the only one to make a full transition. They went as far as to back it up with some fairly believable pictures. I lost them, but one was a fairly blurry picture of a girl in a tail. Either it was a photo manipulation or a really nice tail hit with just the right lighting, but it was VERY realistic. Any girl could fall for it - and many did.

But here's where it gets interesting. To become a mermaid, theres no spell, no potion, no chant. You simply have to become the mermaid you want to be. By this I mean that she said you first have to slowly work on your personality. If you are a happy, fun loving mermaid, then you must be cheerful all the time. But, if you are a darker sort of mermaid, you have to act like that. No more making jokes, wear dark colors, think about how much fun it would be to drown sailors. But what really got me worried was when she went as far as saying you must isolate yourself from friends and family as dark mermaids have no friends.

But then it gets worse. You then have to change your diet. If you are a tropical mermaid - you may ONLY eat fruits and crab. An Atlantic mermaid only eats fish, etc. But at some point, you would have to let go of any 'human' food, and only eat the food of your said mermaid. Obviously if an oblivious young girl tries to stick to this diet, that wouldn't be very good at all.

After a couple of minor things you must do to earn your right to be a mermaid, she simply said "you will lose some close friends and your family might hate you, but it will all be worth it in the end"

Anyone have thoughts on this? Im no child expert, but I feel like a few who are desperate after trying all the spells and potions may actually try this. I mean the girls had a website and everything (don't ask me where it is, I have no idea). I mean I've seen the ones where you must drown yourself at midnight and all that jazz, but this one was actually very well put together.

This reminds me of some of the young goths I've met at my school. They usually approach me and my group of friends hoping to be coached on what it means to be goth (or what they think it means) And they're usually so surprised to see that we don't push people away, that we make jokes, that we have friends outside of our goth circle, that we watch normal tv , that my room actually wasn't black; but was princess themed (I like being a kawaii princess, fight me lol), and when we ask why they're surprised; they say that they've read on the internet that to be goth you had to be dark, brooding, mysterious, anti-social, satanic, and a few even think that we sit around and drink blood instead of food! I don't really know how people can fall for all of these things that ask you to change who you are. I guess that sometimes they just want to feel like they belong to a group that's hard to get in? Sort of like a secret club?
Usually we try to get these people to let go of all the wrong and harmful ideas they have.

[Mermaid Momo]

I agree that if it's harmless, then it's fine. What you apprently haven't seen is my rant on me seeing kids having very and very intense emotional torment because these "spells" and "potions" don't work, and they think there's something wrong with them becuase it didn't, when everyone else claims and swears up and down that it "really works". Also sometimes that they want it so badly that there is very real and even dangerous separations from reality thinking they are REALLY mermaids with REAL magic. We're talking full on emotional meltdowns for both of those situations, even talk of suicide from those who couldn't get it to "work". Disassociation from reality is actually not that uncommon for kids in bad life situations, and things like this aggravates it. I've seen it, and it's very disturbing and makes me worry greatly about all of these "magic spells" and "magic potions" all over the net.

I haven't seen torment caused by the spells not working, but I have seen kids..no let me rephrase that: I've seen TEENS have meltdowns and temper tantrums because I've told them that these spells won't work. As someone who admins a group on facebook for teen witches and pagans, you can probably guess I've seen my fair share of people claiming to have done spells or potions or charms that can change them to something that's impossible or that can achieve the impossible (even though it's stated in the rules that that is not allowed in my group!) I've gotten members who believe they're vampires (now, I'm aware of the vamp sub culture. but this person obviously didn't know anything about it because she was really defensive when I asked her questions about it, and even left the group in a rage.), people who claimed to be the last of some pure line of mystical peoples, people who claim to run covens (which I try my best to explain to them why they can't have a coven at their level.),people who say they're dragons, people who say they have spells that can bend other's wills... and offer to hand out said spell, people who post potions that are supposed to make you shape shift which have poisonous ingredients, etc.

And one thing I have noticed when I've gently (emphasis on gently. because I'm aware my group is a learning group and I don't want to scare them off to someplace where they get harmful information) they throw tantrums, or seem to be really really mad that I; some "mere human" they don't know has dared to challenge them ,"the last descendant of the great water people, great psychic , Angel sister, Dragon speaker" !
And that has made me realize how far some of these teens and kids take their "make believe" and "imaginary play" (I know, I know, this coming from a girl who runs a group for witches lol)

[Fun123joker]

HOW DO YOU SWALLOW A COIN?!?!?!?!!?

honestly i like looking at spells and magic and things like that, fake or not. gets my imagination running. but not to extremes. this gives me an idea. i say a person here should make a video that looks like the spell video but the instructions would be good positive things like be yourself, take care of yourself, you have to believe you can finish that test or something like that.

[Mermaid Wesley]

I haven't seen torment caused by the spells not working, but I have seen kids..no let me rephrase that: I've seen TEENS have meltdowns and temper tantrums because I've told them that these spells won't work. As someone who admins a group on facebook for teen witches and pagans, you can probably guess I've seen my fair share of people claiming to have done spells or potions or charms that can change them to something that's impossible or that can achieve the impossible (even though it's stated in the rules that that is not allowed in my group!)

:thumbs up:

[Echidna]

there was this "how-to-become-a-mermaid"-spell which was basically a detailed suicide instruction.
whoever came up with it obviously knew what they were doing, because they described the effects of drowning very well and emphazised how it was important to "get through that stage and not panic, and eventually the unpleasant feelings go away and you grow a tail".

I don't care whether some people think fantasizing children and teens are harmless and cute.
Making stuff up, lying through your teeth, and potentially endangering others is scummy, whatever your age.
Children can play what they want, but they still need to learn at a very young age that they can't do something that will harm others or themselves.


And I agree about making a spoof "spell"-video that goes something like this:

"the only way you really become a mermaid! all other things are fake!!!
ingredients: spandex or bathing suit fabric.
needles and thread.
a youtube tutorial on how to sew a mermaid tail."
etc. :p

[Mermaid Wesley]

I did see the one youre talking about. a young girl asked on google answers for a working spell and someone else (probably some internet troll) gave them those instructions.

[Mermaid Momo]

there was this "how-to-become-a-mermaid"-spell which was basically a detailed suicide instruction.
whoever came up with it obviously knew what they were doing, because they described the effects of drowning very well and emphazised how it was important to "get through that stage and not panic, and eventually the unpleasant feelings go away and you grow a tail".

I don't care whether some people think fantasizing children and teens are harmless and cute.
Making stuff up, lying through your teeth, and potentially endangering others is scummy, whatever your age.
Children can play what they want, but they still need to learn at a very young age that they can't do something that will harm others or themselves.


And I agree about making a spoof "spell"-video that goes something like this:

"the only way you really become a mermaid! all other things are fake!!!
ingredients: spandex or bathing suit fabric.
needles and thread.
a youtube tutorial on how to sew a mermaid tail."
etc. :p
I found a whole website (I wish I still had it! I found it just last year!, even had a forum to it) With spells like this. It was spell upon spell upon spell. And the worst part is, A blog that a lot of people got their mermaid photos from on tumblr had posted the website! there was a link right at the top of the page to it! I skimmed their forums and there were children and teens of all ages doing these spells and asking for help with their spells or why their spells won't work. There was even one post where the user mentioned that they'd tried a lot of spells and since non of them worked they would try a spell that was essentially drowning themselves! and the other users encouraged them! (and there were a few posts with odd safety reasoning like " make sure when you do it, you have a light on in your bathroom so you can find your way back, because I've heard that when you turn, you'll leave and go to the ocean! safety first!") I wish I would've made an account and went about correcting them. If I find the website, I'll post it here.

[Echidna]

that sounds so delusional, I doubt they'd listen to someone rational coming along.

the worst part is, one should think guys posting such stuff are smaller children, and maybe some are, but most are in their teens and I bet there's also adults among them.

There are loads of internet subcultures which are entirely delusional, believing themselves to be vampires (sharing info on how to safely drink blood without contracting diseases from their "donors" and how to use their awesome secret "powers"), people thinking they are werecreatures, aliens, intelligent crystals, you name it.

After reading through some of that stuff, I doubted my own sanity.
And yes, these sites are run and used mainly by adults.

[Kishiko]

...because being open-minded suddenly makes tin cure silicone safe to use as tail, right?

troll harder.


Oh my God I just laughed so hard

[Jeblily]

Ok guys this is no scam you must beg the voodoo-wizards who turn fish into mermaid tails, pay them a fine for their magic (upwards of $1500), and wait for the day they finally send you a REAL mermaid tail in a box....
They go under pseudo names such as mermaid Raven, JMB FX studios, mermaid Kariel,etc.. But remember they are actually voodoo-wizrds!!!!!

ps. If you spam their Facebook page, incessantly email them begging for free tails, post ridiculous YouTube comments you risk their wrath and they will turn you into a newt.. You may also be ousted from the mermaid community and be ridiculed on a mysterious portal on the inter webs called mernetwork... BEWARE!!!!

[AniaR]

^right? lol

[Echidna]

ps. If you spam their Facebook page, incessantly email them begging for free tails, you risk their wrath and they will turn you into a newt..

ROFL.
I love it!

[Ashe]

That's what it really is xD

[Coradion]

HEY!

That's my spell!

:eye twitch:

Magical minds think alike ;)

[Aziara]

Ok guys this is no scam you must beg the voodoo-wizards who turn fish into mermaid tails, pay them a fine for their magic (upwards of $1500), and wait for the day they finally send you a REAL mermaid tail in a box....
They go under pseudo names such as mermaid Raven, JMB FX studios, mermaid Kariel,etc.. But remember they are actually voodoo-wizrds!!!!!

ps. If you spam their Facebook page, incessantly email them begging for free tails, post ridiculous YouTube comments you risk their wrath and they will turn you into a newt.. You may also be ousted from the mermaid community and be ridiculed on a mysterious portal on the inter webs called mernetwork... BEWARE!!!!
If that were true, there would be a lot more newts running around.... hilarious.

[Winged Mermaid]

This isn't YouTube but this just happened..

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Keeps happening more and more in the FB groups as mermaids grow in popularity.

[Echidna]

I can't see it clearly as the picture is so small, but I'd say the first poster is a young child.

It's strange though that so many would claim to be "mermaid shapeshifters", especially since mermaids are not even that mainstream.

Don't think I've ever seen someone claiming to be a sparkling vampire :p
(I have seen wannabe "werewolves")

[Mermaid Momo]

I can't see it clearly as the picture is so small, but I'd say the first poster is a young child.

It's strange though that so many would claim to be "mermaid shapeshifters", especially since mermaids are not even that mainstream.

Don't think I've ever seen someone claiming to be a sparkling vampire :p
(I have seen wannabe "werewolves")
Be ready to be amazed! Once I get home, I'll take a few screenshots of some of the dragon shifters, and vampire posts i've gotten.

[MermaidMichelle]

I saw that FB post an hour or so before Iona posted it on here and was tempted to tell Ms. Lizee Warner-decker the harsh reality of the situation. The fact is that I've met the Otherkin; people who claim to be or have been fairies, dragons, angels, etc. and I know a number of people who are "real-world vampires". I know a woman who claimed to have been possessed by a demon at a Pagan summoning which she attended, and of all these claims that seems the most reasonable! I also have known at least two Joans of Arc....

I think my favourite was a high school student at my second Practicum at the Faculty of Education. She claimed to be "a mermaid from the future". (Because apparently being a mermaid from the present just wasn't hardcore enough....) :sweat drop:

[Talia]

I think my favourite was a high school student at my second Practicum at the Faculty of Education. She claimed to be "a mermaid from the future". (Because apparently being a mermaid from the present just wasn't hardcore enough....) :sweat drop:

:lol:

[MermaidMichelle]

It is rather ironic that, whereas in less scientifically-advanced eras a great number of people might believe in magic and all sorts of fantastic and fabulous creatures, our modern Misinformation Age allows a great many ridiculous beliefs to pop up as fringe communities.

What do I mean? Consider how you reacted mentally when you first read the phrase "ridiculous beliefs"; everyone is entitled to believe what they wish, and with so many conflicting sources of information a wide range of possibilities are finding support. With access to so many communities of belief - especially online - people can always find those who will accept and support their interpretation of reality.

The truly outlandish cases of teenagers and adults who believe the sort of thing which we have been discussing tend to have one quality in common: isolation. In another display of irony, being around a huge number of people alienates the individual normal person and makes them feel unnoticed, insignificant, and helpless (and not in the enjoyable way). Creating a mental persona for oneself or seeking an undiscovered aspect of the world gives one a sense of importance and uniqueness, and sometimes people can simply not tolerate the awareness that what they are doing is all fantasy. Actually being part of another, better world then becomes worth any risk (hmmm, that sounds a bit familiar.... :mermaid kiss:)

[Echidna]

Be ready to be amazed! Once I get home, I'll take a few screenshots of some of the dragon shifters, and vampire posts i've gotten.

seeing a screenshot of someone shifted into a dragon would be super-cool!...
oh wait, you meant a screenshot of someone saying they are a dragon xD

I bet they all have sound reasons why they cannot prove their claims to anyone.
("it's invisible/only I can see it/it's on the astral plane" etc. right?)

[MermaidMichelle]

Nowadays that there are so many fakers that one wonders who would believe the real Joan of Arc (if she were to come back for whatever reason....)

...Of course, she had to deal with fakers even back in her​ time period!

[Mermaid Momo]

I have returned. lol
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I left the ages on some of them so you can see how old some of them are. Now, I know it's a group for teen pagans and witches but come on!

[MermaidMichelle]

Ms. Frost: "Your Cleric has been raised to the 8th Level; it's time for you to learn how to really cast spells."
Debbie: "You mean, you're going to teach me how to use the real power?"
Frost: "Yes. You have the personality for it now."

*One Witch Coven of Diana meeting later*

Debbie: "It's not a game anymore! I cast my first spell last night."
Frost: "Which one?"
Debbie: "I used the Mind Bondage spell on my father. He was trying to keep me from playing D&D."
Frost: "What was the result?"
Debbie: "He bought me $200 in D&D products."
- Jack T. Chick, Dark Dungeons

While that was a comic-book style tract fabricated entirely as Protestant propaganda (yes, we Christians can have propaganda too), it played upon overblown exaggerations of actual "witchcraft" accounts. In short, it never really stops being a game for people who think that emotional persuasion is magickally "bending the thoughts of others", but it is disturbing when such people stop believing that it is a game.

Admittedly, I played Advanced Dungeons & Dragons a LOT as a teen, and while my Paladin did reach the 8th Level before I officially joined the religious life, I do not believe there was a connection.... :meditation:

[Echidna]

I have returned. lol
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I left the ages on some of them so you can see how old some of them are. Now, I know it's a group for teen pagans and witches but come on!

ohmygosh.
here's hoping some of them are jesting. or roleplaying.

I bet the wicca of olden times would be in entire disbelief seeing such claims lol.

I'd take the girl/guy from Romania saying they "also are a vampire" with a grain of salt though, because the traditional romanian vampires are very different from the hollywoodian type.

(vampires/revenants are nothing special in tradition, everyone can become one after death or even while still alive. it's nothing to brag about though, because it's a really bad condition :p )

[Fun123joker]

I heard of a murder case where some teenage boy claimed he was a vampire and fell in love with this girl but the parents didn't approve of it so the "vampire" killed both with a shovel and "drank their blood" they tried the run but it was a no hope effort for you cant run away from the law. I think I saw it on the discovery channel.

[Mermaid Momo]

ohmygosh.
here's hoping some of them are jesting. or roleplaying.

I bet the wicca of olden times would be in entire disbelief seeing such claims lol.

I'd take the girl/guy from Romania saying they "also are a vampire" with a grain of salt though, because the traditional romanian vampires are very different from the hollywoodian type.

(vampires/revenants are nothing special in tradition, everyone can become one after death or even while still alive. it's nothing to brag about though, because it's a really bad condition :p )
Oh, she's not really from Romania, She's from somewhere in the US lol. She put Romania for the whole vampire thing I suppose.

[Mermaid Momo]

I heard of a murder case where some teenage boy claimed he was a vampire and fell in love with this girl but the parents didn't approve of it so the "vampire" killed both with a shovel and "drank their blood" they tried the run but it was a no hope effort for you cant run away from the law. I think I saw it on the discovery channel.
Oh yeah, I saw that too (and everyone turned and stared at me like I was on the same road when they said something about him being obsessed with gothic things and the occult lol. Stare at the one goth girl lol)
It's just so crazy how far people will take their fantasies. If I remember correctly, he got started from a roleplay game called like vampire ball or vampire masquerade or something like that and eventually he began to believe that he was really a vampire like his character. He then started up his own little cult of poor goth teens trying to seem edgy and who believed he was really a vampire. Or am i thinking of a different person?

[Echidna]

Oh, she's not really from Romania, She's from somewhere in the US lol. She put Romania for the whole vampire thing I suppose.
:doh:
right then...ignore what i said lol.

there's a vampire game with a massive fanbase, where you pick a vampire "race" and try to blend in with the humans.
Masquerade, Bloodlines, something like that.

and somehow I'm glad I discovered gaming only late in life :p

[Fun123joker]

the games sound fun.it is a game after all but just making it more then a game is too much

[MermaidMichelle]

"MASQUERADE! Paper faces on parade! Masquerade; hide away so the world can never find you...."

I also played the game of which you speak, VAMPIRE: The Masquerade, when I was in high school. I do not recall my character's name, but she was my girl/best friend's lesbian lover and "sire" (the one responsible for "embracing" (vampirizing) her). Her skills/interests included the Occult (because I had to be edgy) and Religion (because I had to be me). She herself was "embraced" at 18 (and still looked it) but was now much older (I wanted to make her ~2,000 so she could have known Jesus Christ personally, but the game wouldn't let her be older than 50). By the end she was a 10th-generation vampire of the Tremere clan (the first of which reportedly having cast a spell to make them a vampire).

The game can be played tabletop (like traditional Dungeons & Dragons​) or live-action, and I have heard of people playing the latter just so that they could wear dresses (one of whom was male, the other female).

[Fun123joker]

20878

Found this on tumblr

[Echidna]

hey, at least he was attempting to be modest, with the half and demi instead of going full-blown :p

I've known several people believing themselves to be a god/demon/superman.

don't see how one could blame them if billions of "normal" people believe similar things, but it's accepted because it happens to be some established religion's stuff.

[MermaidMichelle]

Ah, so now is my chance to disagree with you on something, caltuna, just like Raina before me...lol

At least, if you're referring to Christianity as "some established religion". You see, as amazing and frightening as it may sound in light of so much that has happened since the Turn of the Millennium, religions are still not just for the blindly indoctrinated but also for those actually seeking the truth. Established, mainstream religions have gained their influence through many means (not all of them pleasant), but the more freedom is allowed by the culture, the more one should consider why that culture's dominant religions have somehow managed to endure even when people are freely permitted to abandon them.

I really would like to leave it there, as this is a forum for merfolk (and I'll be the crazy little mermaid who believes in immortal Christian souls and will risk everything as a result ;)). Religion is kind of my life, so I am a bit sensitive about this sort of thing (I've little choice when in the precarious position of "transsexual Sister-in-training"...lol)

Honestly, if anyone reading this doesn't believe in supernatural entities, you are free to lump me in with the angels and Joan of Arcs and have fun with it. I'm known online as "Maiden Paladin".... ;) :mermaid kiss:

[Mermaid Momo]

Okay, I figured that this sort of goes here too. The group has a rule about posting about spells or anything that have "powers" that aren't really possible (like controlling someone, or instantly killing someone. Just think Harry Potter spells basically lol) and I got this little gem yesterday.
20898
Ah, telekinesis.
I haven't responded yet because I don't know how to respond! I want to tell them that this group isn't the right place to post something like this, but I can't really decide on a way to word it lol. And it doesn't help that being the occult nut that I am, I know of a few instances in which it's claimed that someone did have the power of telekinesis (and there was even a whole CIA sector for psychics who had this ability and others like it that were being studied in I think the 60's but don't quote me on that time lol,) so don't want to go in and say that it's impossible.

[Echidna]

You could say:
"I've never, ever known or seen anyone who could do that, and those I've heard of claiming they could, never produced any proof they really had any power, or they were found to be scammers.
In short, I don't think there's anyone in the world who could teach you this."

but you're right, wicca is not about such "powers", it's about visualisation and the mind, so...it's probably tough to discuss things with the modern TV generation. :p

[SeaGlass Siren]

shouldn't have done that-
"MASQUERADE! Paper faces on parade! Masquerade; hide away so the world can never find you....".


MASQUERAAAADE! Every face a different shaaaade! Masquerade! Look around there's anooother maaask behind you!

[Ariadne]

Sigh...and to think, these people will be running our world someday. And, what are tripp pants????

[Mermaid Momo]

Sigh...and to think, these people will be running our world someday. And, what are tripp pants????
Tripp pants are these baggy pants with lots of buckles on them commonly sold at hot topic for an arm, a leg, and your first born son. Usually (in the goth scene
) people who were them are known as mall goths (usually teens who hang around the mall/ people who buy lots of mainstream goth clothing.)
they look like this:
20913

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Yikes! They look like something out of a manga comic!

[Ariadne]

Well that goes a long way toward explaining why so many of them think they are really vampires/werewolves/whatevers... :/

[Echidna]

*looks at pants*
*looks at comment*

eh...how do the pants explain that?
are they infused with intoxicating substances? :thinks:

[Mermaid Caidence]

I remember when I was 8 or 9 I completely believed in the "spells". I'm 16 now and I'm thinking "Oh god why...how could I be so stupid?". But honestly the people who made me believe in these spells were very convincing.
http://www.43things.com/entries/view/3088083 I remember this was the forum thing I was always following. And now I have this "spell" burned in my head. I can literally repeat it from memory.

Insouciant inclemency
Redoubtable mediocracy
Refutable humanity
Make me what I wish to be…
A MERMAID
Witches one and witches all
Give this power to me

I also remember seeing this photo and "knowing" that the spell would work. It does actually look pretty realistic.
http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h387/_Caitey_/505041pw600_zps000bb61a.jpg (http://s1107.photobucket.com/user/_Caitey_/media/505041pw600_zps000bb61a.jpg.html)

But time goes on, and you realize the closest thing you can do is make a silicone tail.

[Echidna]

so strange, I never heard about spells until now. I must have been living under a rock :lol:

however, I just stumbled over a site where all members are dragons from space.
yes, you heard that right.
20916

don't ask how I got there :/

[Fun123joker]

Tripp pants are these baggy pants with lots of buckles on them commonly sold at hot topic for an arm, a leg, and your first born son. Usually (in the goth scene
) people who were them are known as mall goths (usually teens who hang around the mall/ people who buy lots of mainstream goth clothing.)
they look like this:
20913

sorry i wasnt able to fit the picture in the screen shot but that was the exact picture in the post. honestly i think these look cool but i cant pull them off

[Fun123joker]

someone added on to the tripp pants post. i think this one is abit cruel but

20945

[MermaidMichelle]

...and this is why we Catholics have a Canon; so every story about Jesus isn't automatically accepted as Gospel...lol

As for the Annunaki, I am quite familiar with them. Intelligent aliens are to us what fairies were to those living centuries ago: things which might exist but which have no empirical evidence to support their existence. They stem from one of the oldest recorded mythologies: that of the Babylonians in the Cradle of Civilization (Mesopotamia). The Annunaki gods included such famous (and Biblical!) figures as Marduk and Ishtar and due to their location and role many are tempted to take the Stargate approach and believe that they were real beings who had influence over human progression and development.

I have often encountered the Annunaki (and the reptilian aliens, gray aliens, etc.) embraced by Unitarian Universalists. As they hold to the ideal of all existing faiths being equally valid, visitors from space seem a reasonable inclusion. Who knows? Maybe they do​ exist....

[PearlieMae]

<--- Ex Catholic. I have a Nikon.

;)

[MermaidMichelle]

/\ Cute. Mega Churches with megapixels! :mermaid kiss:

[Aziara]

Someone on etsy looks like they're trying to make money off of gullible people... https://www.etsy.com/shop/metarelics?ref=l2-shopheader-name

[Echidna]

Someone on etsy looks like they're trying to make money off of gullible people... https://www.etsy.com/shop/metarelics?ref=l2-shopheader-name

:lol::lol::lol:

"Extreme Genius intelligence and IQ spell! No studing ever!"
^^seems like they should use that one themselves instead of selling it.

[MermaidMichelle]

Those prices should be in GP (gold pieces) or Gil (Final Fantasy currency from installment VII onward and retcons), and they should clarify what Experience Level characters need to be.... /sarcasm

[Mermaid Momo]

I'm surprised that they actually sold some. And at those prices no less.

[Lorelei]

As someone who practices Wicca, some of these "spells" are just embarrassing and a bit insulting. :/ Sad to see people get sucked into it.
And now I feel awkward because my boyfriend wears "trip pants"... He's not goth at all and the style of pants really work on him though. We usually find them at anime conventions, had no idea they were called "trip pants," he just calls them his sexy pants. XD

[Ilyena]

Sad to see those people buying 'spells'. But I find it amusing that they write " Generally a spell like this can take about 40-50 days to fully manifest"....isn't that approximately the amount of days to file a paypal claim for 'faulty' items??. So what I'm saying essentially they're removing the ability for quick money back from unsatisfied customers.

[MermaidMichelle]

I was thinking the same thing. It apparently doesn't matter what the era is, there are always those who would try to use charlatan magic tricks to cheat people of their money.

[Mermaid Wesley]

As someone who practices Wicca, some of these "spells" are just embarrassing and a bit insulting. :/ Sad to see people get sucked into it.


Yes this I think is the only problem. Many different religions have a witchcraft/spell craft aspect to them but this person is very clearly trying to cheat gullible people out of their money. It's unfortunate because they really give the pagan/new age/witchcraft community a bad name. Which is sad. I know a bunch of really cool people who are witches.


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[MermaidMichelle]

I also am especially annoyed by that "Gender Change" spell, speaking from a transwoman's point of view....Thanks, Ursula! :cthulhu:

[Mermaid Wesley]

Speaking as a cis woman, yeah that's f*cked up.


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[Mermaid Miel]

I get really worried by how many of these spells list Salt water as a main ingredient. One even stated that if it didn't work then you need to drink More Salt water.... That's Dangerous and can lead to Serious Health Risks. (talking about the free spells on YouTube... not the pricy ones on etsy. That's just wrong.)

[AniaR]

I just had someone post on my video that advertises my book, say they can't wait to use my spell and hope they get a green tail. I am literally sitting there reading from my book, explaining how you can become a professional mermaid. It has nothing to do with spells. I don't understand how someone can open the video and then comment that. Even if they didnt watch it, the second you open it you see me reading from my book lol

[Echidna]

They obviously think it's a spell book! duh.

[MermaidMichelle]

We do live in a world of confusion for the youth, it seems.... You'll just have to resort to revealing your past dealings with Raven of the Hurricane Peninsula (Raven Sutter of Merbella Studios) and how your tail came about through the expensive working of her craft....

Warn those little beasties, though; not everyone can pay the price! :jelly: :pearl::mermaid kiss:

[Echidna]

At any rate, the old "how did you turn into a mermaid/get a tail?"-question can be answered with:
"same as the little mermaid got her legs, just the other way around!
you go to a "witch", pay her with your most prized possessions...and then she gives you a tail in return!"

makes one wonder how the "real" little mermaid story might have gone.

[Trade Winds]

Making or buying a tail is so much easier than having a physical tail. No worrying about having to hide it, being captured by the government, having to avoid water contact when in public or any of that nonsense. Only thing to worry about is your tail aging and having to replace it one day! There's already a strong merfolk community (such as here), so why bother? I'm glad there's some teens on here who are over this junk.

[Mermaid Mhara]

*raises hand slowly*
As much as I hate these 'spells' and such...

Whenever I get a 'Make a wish!' moment...I always wish for a tail whenever I submerge myself in water...:$ I'm 18. yes, I am that hopeful and silly that I still long to be a real Mer :')

I WISH there was a spell. Unfortunately there isn't but we've got the next best thing.

[Echidna]

ye, so

21732

where do people get these kind of ideas?
and even before Mrs Meyer wrote her book about mermaids.

(btw, I realized this entire thread should be in the "Mers on the Internet"-subforum.)

[Trade Winds]

I usually take it to be teens/kids who have nothing better to do; want to feel better about themselves and come up with all this 'I am X' bs; want to attract to attention for popularity, coolness, being bad ass, etc. Rarely someone delusional, but I have seen a looot of people (ex: I knew a group of people in college who thought they were a group preparing for against the end of the world which was some big angel/demon fight. One of the girls believed her 14 yr old brother was a werewolf, and he was convinced of this delusion as well. Two totally separate people were 'Wiccan' and believed themselves to be nonhuman, and I heard one of them talk about her 'other form'. They both bashed humanity as if they were above it. And this is in COLLEGE!!!) actually think they're nonhumans who can do crazy stuff so delusional might not be too far off.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Let's not forget that Wicca is a legally recognized religion and not just some delusion.


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[MermaidMichelle]

There are a great many people who describe themselves as "Wiccan" yet believe radically different things. Of course, the same could be said of "Christians"....

Oh, and caltuna, I believe the answer to your question is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. This reminds me: I need to go add a picture to the Marina (On Stranger Tides) page I created on the Disney Wiki....

[Mermaid Wesley]

Well actually Wicca is a closed religion and one can only be a true Wiccan if one is initiated. NeoWicca is actually what these people are and if they don't follow the basic tenants of Wiccan belief then they are more likely some other form of pagan or simply secular witches. (I've done a whole bunch of research on the topic) the vast majority of online 'wiccans' are more likely witches or neowiccans. There's not many young initiated wiccans and there's a bunch of misinformation out there about Wicca.


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[Winged Mermaid]

Well actually Wicca is a closed religion and one can only be a true Wiccan if one is initiated. NeoWicca is actually what these people are and if they don't follow the basic tenants of Wiccan belief then they are more likely some other form of pagan or simply secular witches. (I've done a whole bunch of research on the topic) the vast majority of online 'wiccans' are more likely witches or neowiccans. There's not many young initiated wiccans and there's a bunch of misinformation out there about Wicca.


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That's true, but honestly I haven't met a single Wiccan (outside of one certain coven) who agreed with Gerald Gardner's "true Wicca". In fact most of them don't have much respect for him, and with good reason IMO. And the one coven that I spoke of took advantage of people in the same way Gardner did, and were generally very cultish. I dunno, just seems to me "true" Wicca was a miss, and the core idea of it became the center of the religion as time has gone on- meaning the general beliefs and not Gardener's vision.
But anyhow, yes most Wiccans are mostly Pagans with Wiccan influence. And most of them know the difference, but honestly most don't want to stand there and explain all that to someone most of the time, so they just say they're Wiccan.

[Mermaid Wesley]

^exactly :)


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