#Whale did

[firstumcschenectady]

“We Hope for What We Do Not See” based on Jonah 2 and Romans 8:18-25

Despite my enjoyment of the “Who Did” song1, I haven't preached about Jonah often. I may even have groaned when I looked at the texts for this week – even though I was the one to pick the essay from “We Cry Justice” and the accompanying recommended scriptures. I fear, though, that my avoidance of this text is unjustified.

Because, the issues I have are really quite silly. Here we go:

Whales don't eat people. Nor do large fish.

Stomachs have acid, but not a lot of air, making them uninhabitable

You know, stuff like that.

But it turns out that taking a story literally and objecting to the pragmatic details is a really great way to miss powerful symbolism and deeper meaning within a story. So dismissing this story has only had the impact of keeping me from attending to the wisdom it has.

Which I noticed when I actually read the 2nd chapter of the book of Jonah, which is rather surprising. You may recall that in the first chapter Jonah was asked to to to Nineveh and tries to run away instead, gets on a ship going in the other direction, a storm comes up, Jonah suggests that the storm is God's way of saying he isn't listening, he suggests he be thrown into the sea, the sailors try not to do so, but finally they throw him in hoping the rest of them will live, and the storm quiets and the sailors are converted.... and then the whale did swallow Jonah. Down. ;)

So, given that chapter 2 is a prayer of Jonah from inside the whale, I think there would be just cause to assume that the prayer is either a lament that God put him in this horrid situation OR a plea for help, a request for forgiveness that results in Jonah being released from said whale? Right?

But it isn't. The prayer of chapter 2 is a prayer of THANKSGIVING, whereby Jonah seems to have already concluded that the whale is a means of salvation, and is thanking God for God's gracious actions. And that's a place where I noticed that there is something useful in this story, because … well, I'm not sure I'd have gotten there.

I think that if I had a sense of God asking me to do something I vehemently didn't want to do, that resulted in my very near drowning, and then gasping for air inside an enormous beast I couldn't talk to or control, I'd have missed the memo that said enormous beast was a gift from God. Really. I mean, maybe, 3 days in, hungry, thirsty, and still wet but shockingly alive I might have figured it out, but that's even kind of doubtful.

But Jonah's prayer starts with “I called to the Lord in my distress and [God] answered me.”(NRSV 2a) So, it seems like he got it immediately. (We're working with symbolism here people, let go of any assumption of factuality and let a good story be a good story.) And, the prayer is even specific, “The waters closed over me; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head...yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O LORD my God.” (5,6d)

Wow. Jonah is sinking to the bottom of the sea, hopeless, and helpless, and then experiences God as lifting him up from the place of death, of bringing LIFE out of DEATH. And, I'm kinda familiar with THAT metaphor, right? But this is a different angle on it.

For me, the incongruities of life in the belly of the whale finally recede to make space for the questions of life and faith. When have we been floating down to the bottom of the sea, out of air, and out of hope? There are a lot of possible answers to that, right? And our lives are different, so our answers are different. Grief can feel like sinking to the bottom of the sea– anticipatory grief and the utter horror of waking up and realizing someone you love isn't there Depression can feel like sinking to the bottom of the sea. Job loss and financial hardship can feel like sinking to the bottom of the sea. Loss of relationship. Abuse. Illness. Injury. Car accidents. Becoming unhoused. Failing. Flailing. A lot can feel like sinking to the bottom of the sea.

And what was the thing that picked you and kept you alive when you could no longer do so for yourself? Who or what was the whale? Was a phone call from a friend who cared? The arrival of flowers? The long, hard, careful work of a therapist? An unexpected welcome? An offer you couldn't have anticipated? The life restoring work of first responded and medical professionals? Someone showing you the ropes you couldn't figure out on your own? A good Samaritan?

How long did it take you to realize that you weren't at the bottom of the sea anymore, and you could breath (if only a little bit), and there might be a hope for dry land again someday? Was it immediate? Did it take 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 years?

I wonder, if sometimes the darkness at the bottom of the sea is so scary that we block out the memory of it, but with it we then block the memory of being scooped up. Especially because being eaten by a whale does NOT immediately seem like rescue. Right!?! At the bottom of the sea, one condolence card can't really make a difference – except sometimes it can. Sometimes knowing that someone else grieves with you, or sees you, or can share a memory that gives you a new story about a person you loved – sometimes that can be the whale.

Several years ago during a stewardship campaign, I was gifted the task of asking participants in some of our ministries what our ministries meant to them. As previously mentioned, I have a problematic tendency to be overly pragmatic, and while I delight in our breakfast program, I'm aware that it offers 1 meal out of an wished for 21 for a week. However, our guests assured me that the 1 meal matters.

Similarly, at that time we had Sustain Ministry, where we gave out soap and toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, and diapers to those who needed them. (Note: other organizations now do this work – thank God – and the need we were responding to then has changed.) I asked those waiting if they'd be willing to be interviewed, and I asked them why what we did mattered. One woman said that the resources we offered made the difference for her between being able to take care of her kids on her own and being financially forced back into an abusive relationship.

I loved Sustain ministry, but I thought it just made things a little easier for people whose lives were really hard. I didn't know it was whale picking someone out of the bottom of the sea.

In the fall of 2021, after about a year and a half of ministry during a pandemic, while adjusting to being a new parent, and with a few other significant stressors in my work life, I was a hairsbreadth away from leaving ministry. Truthfully, I had been, on and off, for 2 years by that point. More so, I didn't really know it. I knew I was really tired. I knew I felt like my ministry didn't matter. I knew every day of work was a fight, and I didn't want to fight anymore. But I actually didn't know I was near the bottom of the sea in my work, until our District Superintendent looked at me and said, “what you've dealt with isn't normal, you need a break. How long do you want? I'll find coverage and money to pay for it.” She was the whale, or maybe the 8 weeks I took off were. Maybe both? Let's go with both.

Sometimes I still meet people who know that I took that break – the announcement of it was shockingly popular on YouTube- and I watch them carefully dance around asking me if I'm still a pastor, or still a pastor here, or really what I do in the world now. They're often shocked to learn I'm still in ministry and grateful for it. (That's fair, a whole lot of people have exited ministry since then.) I continue to think I have a lot to learn to be in ministry in life-giving and sustainable ways, but the way I knew I still wanted to be a pastor and YOUR pastor was that once the day-to-day pressures were relieved, I found myself dreaming of what we could do together, and missing you. I'm been in those weeds at the bottom of the sea, pastorally, but I just needed some gulps of fresh air to be able to find the dry land. I'm really thankful there was a whale. And, yet, I didn't know how important the whale was when it arrived.

Romans 8 speaks of hope particularly directly, reconsidering the struggles of people and the world as labor pains of the kindom of God being born. While I don't want to sanctify the pains or struggles of the world, it would be really great if they were productive like that. If they mattered, and made new things possible. The essay from “We Cry Justice” today talks about the pain of ecological destruction, and the power of the people to stop horrible decisions, EVEN when money is on the other side. That people, together, have power. Which is a good example of the ways that the pain of the earth can become motivation for healing the earth. It is a way that pains can be labor pains.

Romans 8 also speaks famously about hope. “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” None of us can see the whale coming when we're at the bottom of the sea. Nor, even, could we know it is a saving whale if we did. But hope involves knowing that God is with us, and God is creative, and there ARE whales sometimes, and we can BE whales sometimes, and no matter what happens, we know a God who brings life - again and again.

Dear ones, sometimes God sends whales when we are at the bottom of the sea. Thank God. Amen

1For the uninformed: https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/10499923/100+Singalong+Songs+for+Kids/Who+Did+%28Swallow+Jonah%29%3F

February 25, 2024

Rev. Sara E. Baron  First United Methodist Church of Schenectady  603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305  Pronouns: she/her/hers  http://fumcschenectady.org/  https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

#thinking church #progressive christianity #fumc schenectady #first umc schenectady #schenectady #umc #sorry about the umc #rev sara e baron #lent #hope #Jonah #Who did? #Whale did

[plaguedocboi]

I still think about the time months ago I was advertised a book that was being marketed as a “queer horror retelling of Moby Dick” like. Girl. I don’t think you have any business “retelling” a story if you clearly don’t even know what the original story was about.

#like I’d argue the three main things Moby dick is about is whales horror and gay people #so what did you add to this retelling exactly #less whales?

[esspurrr]

#stuff i drew #eye strain #i had fun with this :) been really trying to merge angels and the deep sea lately so i did the most literal interpretation #whale fall

[n3rv0usn0v4]

i know I’m late but NIMONA GUYS NIMONA NIMONA ITS NIMONA

#\m/ METAL \m/ #nimona #genderfluid #lgbtqia+ #THAT WAS SICK #OH MY GOD IT MADE ME CRY #WHALE #WOAH THATS A LOT OF LIKES #WHERE DID YALL COME FROM

[amnhnyc]

Meet the long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas)! Reaching lengths of up to 25 feet (7.6 meters), it's the second largest member of the dolphin family; the orca is the largest. This nomadic cetacean is widely distributed, and can be seen throughout the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere. It wanders in search of food such as squid, fish, mollusks, and other sea critters. This species is highly social, with family units called pods consisting of up to 100 members. Pilot whales have even been observed participating in multi-pod gatherings with more than 1,000 individuals congregating at once!

Photo: titouan_roguet, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

#science #nature #natural history #animals #mammal #whales #pilot whale #did you know #fact of the day #ocean life #dolphin #cetacean

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

Any time I see someone worshipping Ingrid Visser I remember the time her organisation, under her advice, kept an orca calf on a mattress in a horse trailer overnight because they wanted to “rehabilitate” him/put him in a makeshift sea pen to treat like a pool toy until he died.

I remember when videos showed up of newly named Toa vocalising (usually a sign of stress) and her cooing and making nonsense noises at him. And the comments were like “she’s talking to him!!!”

Ingrid also insisted of making Toa interact with people despite him being a very sick baby orca who was slowly dying.

This was later confirmed by people who were there:

I remember when untrained volunteers were crowding this stressed sick orca calf, bragging about swimming with him and bonding with him and ignoring advice to stop habituating him.

They had young kids in with him that didn’t know better and were told by Ingrid to interact with him like this. They were also laughing about how he “snored.” (Cetaceans don’t snore - anything that sounds like snoring is respiratory distress).

(Funny how waterwork is only okay when they do it with the stressed and dying orca calf but not in SeaWorld.)

The pathetic attempt to rehabilitate this dying calf by treating him like a pet, putting him in a tub of freshwater that quickly became toxic with ammonia. Signing off feeds with belly rubs and formulas changed behind the backs of the actual experts from Wellington Zoo and the experts consulted overseas who actually have successfully rehabbed calves.

How Whale Rescue (Ingrid’s organisation) lied again and again about Toa’s health and chances to be rehabilitated and released. How they misrepresented information about habituation when rehabbing whales and how Ingrid wanted to “train” Toa, despite plans to release him. How they demonised SeaWorld and claimed they weren’t involved despite records showing that SeaWorld and Loro Parque vets had provided their formula recipes and calf rearing protocols.

None of this is true - Ingrid has never rehabilitated any whale from a marine park. All the information she was getting was from DOC and the advisory group team

I could go on but I hit my image limit.

Basically: Ingrid’s “expertise” misled the New Zealand public, bullying out the actual experts so she could play orca trainer with her new pet.

#I have the receipts #I’ll never forgive what she did to Toa #or any of the orca calves that were unfortunate enough to be Rescued by her only to be treated like a pet #Toa #orca #killer whale #Ingrid Visser

[rynulle]

this might be a corn plate post but i just noticed ahab's harpoon is backwards clock and im normal

stubb, pip, starbuck, queequeg....and ishmael would have been the fifth high level employee to sacrifice....

#ik the narrative is that ahab would never kill Her Whale but it's interesting to consider that she actually....did have a plan #outside of being delusional of course #i love this hag. #ahab lcb #limbus company #lcb #lobotomy corporation #project moon #pjm #lobcorp #backwards clock #cicada buzzes

[drconstellation]

Come Back When You Can Make A Whale

This is going to contain some speculation for S3, so you know what to do! Or not do!

SITIS: What did God say? JOB: Um... I'm not sure. I didn't understand much. Things too wonderful for me. Ostriches came into it. SITIS: Ostriches? JOB: And whales. God's very proud of the whale. Went into some detail about... how great whales are. SITIS: But did They explain? JOB: [shakes head] I think the point was, if you want answers, come back when you can make a whale.

Whales, huh?

If you aren't well read, this could be quite the misdirection. It should be reasonably obvious, given who is doing the talking - Job - what he is actually referring to, then we can join a couple of dots to make some speculative leaps.

You still with me?

No? Then let us start with how do you make a whale?

By giving it another name.

Leviathan.

Chapter 41 of the Book of Job is all about the Leviathan, a great sinuous sea serpent with impenetrable scales and breath like fire. It sleeps beneath the sea until the end of days. Over time it came to be associated with any sea monster, then anything large, and what is the largest animal ever known to have lived? The whale.

The top of the matchbox is also worth a look. We have a skull and crossbones, which is classic Memento mori symbolism, fitting in with the resurrection theme of the Second Coming - but look at the way the address of the pub is spelt! Now, this not the same way it is spelt on the record single Maggie gives to Aziraphale; Goatgate is spelt as one word, not two. A little bit of searching reveals the meaning behind this fictional address that backs up and reinforces the quote on the side of the matchbox.

Strong's Concordance for 66 gives us "wild, savage, fierce." Goatgate is an interesting one, because it turns out to be a relatively modern term from the urban dictionary, and I'm just going to refer to the polite version of it here - it's another word for "mouth." So 66 Goatgate is a "fierce and savage mouth." Yes, that does sound about right - in more ways than one, once you know who it is. (If you want to look up the impolite version, go ahead - I'm sure you will still find the connotations very amusing.)

Our metaphorical Leviathan is Crowley. He gave the game away at the end of S1 during the appearance-swap.

This also means Aziraphale is his counterpart, Behemoth. Why - well, I made a bit of joke in my post here that he was playing at being a "river horse" while he wallowed in the bath of holy water during his part of the appearance-swap scene. Modern day scholars think the description of Behemoth in the Bible may be that of a hippopotamus in real life history. If that is so, I'd still be betting this is what the "dark horse" comment from Nina in S2E1 is foreshadowing.

Maybe none of this new to you if you've been hanging around the the fandom for a while. That's fine, I'm just trying to establish the scene. And the next bit we need to talk about is this one, where Job gets a lecture from God.

During this sequence, we hear lines that come from Job 38 and 39.

GOD: Job, if you have questions for me, I have questions for you. Do you know how I created the earth? Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth, Job? Were you there when all the morning stars sang together and all the Angels shouted for joy?

These lines are paraphrasing some of the beginning of Job 38.

Then we have:

GOD: Do you know the rules of the heavens? Did you set the constellations in the sky? Can you send lightning bolts and get them to report back to you? Did you give wings to peacocks, Job, or teach the ostrich to run?

These lines are again, paraphrasing Job, half from 38 and half from 39.

So then, we need to ask, why highlight these lines in particular?

Job 38 is mainly about setting the boundaries of the universe around us. The Earth might seem impossibly huge to a human, but it started with a single stone at its foundation. Earth and the other planets obey certain laws as they move around the Sun. The patterns of the stars in the sky take so long to change that it seems like they are set and inconstant. Even the chaotic form of lightning respects its Creator and returns to its point of origin.

From the last part of Chapter 38 to the end of 39 God challenges Job with a list of animals. The theme here is about freedom and wildness. Whether it is a noble lion, a loathsome crow, a nimble mountain goat, the head-strong wild ox or the willing war horse, they all flourish upon the Earth under the sight of the Almighty. Even the mightiest and most fierce beasts of all, Behemoth and Leviathan, have a place, although only God has the means to control those two.

None of this needs a human to be involved. We are so often the center of our own universe, and try so hard to control every aspect of the world around us that we lose sight of the bigger picture. Shit happens. Some things are out of our control. That doesn't mean its your fault and you're wicked and damned to go to Hell because of it. And that was the point God was trying to make to Job. The world is a far bigger, wilder and chaotic than you can imagine, but its also incredibly beautiful, and it runs itself within the rules and limits that seem to be set by invisible forces you can't see.

So back to the script from the show.

The first set of questions from God could apply to both of the duo. They were both around when Earth was created and were more than likely there when the "morning stars" (the highest angels, such as Lucifer, Gabriel, Michael and angel!Beelzebub) sang together.

The second set of questions are the ones that seem to have got the most attention so far, with ops cross-matching them to things Crowley does in S2.

Do you know the rules of the heavens?

Did you set the constellations in the sky?

Can you send lightning bolts and get them to report back to you?

Did you give wings to peacocks, Job...

(I make a suggestion this has something to do with Michael, but also see comments below)

...or teach the ostrich to run?

The first three of those questions are fairly straight forward, and I doubt many would dispute what they are referring to. But the reference to the peacock and the ostrich are more subtle and curious, and I would like to take a moment to look at the actual verse - because it is only one verse that is providing both questions - that is being paraphrased here.

Job 39:13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

Did you realize that the King James Version of the Bible is the only one that mentions peacocks in this particular verse? All the other versions mentions the first sentence of that verse in relation to the wings of ostriches: "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly." The ostrich is considered a cruel and witless bird in the Bible, pleased with the way it looks, and seemingly careless about its young.

Why does that sound familiar...

Shax thinks this ostrich feather-clad angel in disguise isn't too smart either.

So using the peacock line is a curious choice in the script. Other than the "eyes" in the tail of the peacock having a connection to Michael's many watchful eyes on the world, it's still not clear how Crowley helped them upwards. Unless both lines are supposed to refer to Gabriel, and how the vain peacock was helped to both fly and run to a distant location in the stars.

Edit: Since I first wrote this, @beebopboom pointed me to some more peacock lore, and this helped me delve a bit deeper into them. Peacocks were associated with wealth and royalty, but they were also associated with immortality in early Christian beliefs. There was a belief that the flesh of the peacock did not decay after its death. The bright colours in its tail came from its eating venomous snakes, which reminded people of Christ becoming sin for humanity's sake (think of Crowley downing the laudanum to save Elspeth from Hell in the crypt in 1827, its a similar action.) The "eyes" on the males tail also represented the all-seeing eye of God. So we have a connection with both royalty and resurrection here.

(Oh - just as an interesting connection here - a number of the newer versions of the Bible not only don't mention the peacock in this verse, they compare the ostrich to the stork! The meaning is meant to be that the stork cares more for their young than the ostrich, but if you read the words at face value, you could take a double meaning away...)

Let us return to questions, answers, and whales.

Questions. Always questions. It's like the proverbial toddler who's always asking a never-ending string of "but, why?" for funsies and you just want them to shut up for a moment and think about the last thing you said first. They, too, are a bit like Job. They are the center of their own universe at that age, having not had much experience of the world. They have no grasp of how far it extends beyond them, and how little even we as adults know.

If at this point you're going "oh, no, no, no, no, op, please don't tell me the point of this meta is it's all ineffable," relax. I'm not.

The point was to set you up for some nice, juicy, awesomely sweet S3 speculation.

Because I believe Crowley will finally get to ask his questions of God.

(oh lordy, I made the mistake of taking a break to have a shower before trying to finish this off, because I was having trouble seeing how to finish this in a tidy way, and that caused me to have "shower thoughts" and now the nice sweet simple speculation has turned into a slightly bat-shit crazy kind-of one, although still on the same track as what I was originally thinking. Here goes...)

We have this three card spread from waaay back at the beginning of S1. We all think its something to do with the three babies.

What if its not?

Because we need something like this to happen again - Aziraphale and Crowley either side of a third protagonist. What if it's the King of Kings, Love personified, Jesus, in the middle? (Or Adam again, I wouldn't discount that option either...)

If you would look at the GIF and the screenshot together again and go, well that makes, sense, white for the angel on the right, and green for the demon on the left, I would jump up and shout at you - NO!

Look at the cards again! In the Tarot, that's the Ace of Swords on the right - it belongs to Aziraphale. It's a very powerful card, about new beginnings and change.* Lets call the one of the left Knight of Wands, which also represents the element of Fire. Knights are all about movement and journeys. Who owns the Bentley? And look what Gabriel has instinctively done with his hands - he has held his screen-left hand out to Aziraphale, the Sword, the angel who wears green, and his right hand out to Crowley, the Knight of Fire. The yin and yang qualities are actually swapped. That was what I was trying to tell you in this post. They aren't as obvious as they seem at first glance.

And love is the answer, it turns out. Did you see my comment the other day on another post? In Strong's Concordance 25 = to love.

Anyway, we should get a third parallel scene somewhat like this, and like when Aziraphale and Crowley took Adam out of time to talk to him in S1.

Only this time the three of them (with who ever is in the middle) should be having a talk with God about what is or isn't supposed to happen.

JOB: I think the point was, if you want answers, come back when you can make a whale.

Crowley could be a literal serpent (though I would be very surprised if he did manifest that way) but it should be a metaphorical Leviathan that stands before the Almighty to ask his questions and get his answers. And it will be that he has earned the right to be there, because he finally understands the lessons of Job.

@makewayforbigcrossducks I hope this answers one of your questions

*The Ace of Swords speaks of new beginnings, but it is a two-edged sword that can cut both ways. It is strength in adversity, victory out of struggle, good out of evil, a change in the old order on the way.

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #crowley #aziraphale #job minisode #book of job #leviathan #behemoth #i only ever asked questions #come back when you can make a whale #gabriel #shax #did you give wings to peacocks? #teach the ostrich to run #king of kings #king of hearts #yin to his yang

[blood-orange-juice]

Actually, while I was complaining about bad writing, Childe low-key saved the world. He bought Neuvilette and the Traveler enough time to figure out the whole shtick with the prophecy and the primordial sea.

(since, you know. narwhal accidentally the whole soup and was planning to depart and Teyvat can't keep existing without soup)

And no one talks about it.

#we talk about how epic that was #and about saving fontaine #but it wasn't just fontaine #I was thinking about harbingers' love to delusion transition and once again thought about what prompted him to change like that #what did he see #childe #tartaglia #childe's trauma whale #52hz #the best thing is that saving the world looked like an epic failure on his part #I was talking so much about the moment when he would fail a task successfully #and then completely overlooked it when it happened #ok this is actually some decent storytelling #I like how no one even thanked him

[rejamart]

star eater, commission for ghostie

#space #creature art #fantasy creature #space whale #whale #i did the original design too so it was fun to get to draw them again :D

[wilhelminacisse]

Once Upon a Time drives me fucking insane because WHY is there so much wasted potential!!!! Jefferson just disappeared?? They turned August into a child and we like never see him again THEY COULD HAVE GIVEN HENRY A FRIEND LIKE HE ONLY HANGS OUT WITH HIS GRANDPARENTS AND HIS THERAPIST

Actually speaking of his therapist the POTENTIAL they had with Regina and Archie?? Like they were kinda cute and now they don’t even talk to each other like even as friends or anything?? WHY

AND GRAHAM he deserved sooo much better (no not his relationship with Regina pls never speak about that) RUBY TOO CAUSE WHY DID THEY DO HER LIKE THAT

But you’re telling me that 3 people in this town knew everything and they never talked to each other?? Why did Gold and Jefferson never talk in Storybrooke?? Like Rumple was literally the one to introduce him to Regina in the first place

AND WHEN GRAHAM WAS REMEMBERING WHY DIDNT JEFFERSON GET HIM? GRAHAM WAS LITERALLY RUNNING AROUND THE WOODS CHASING A MAGICAL WOLF like if Jefferson had gotten him on his side Emma might have been less inclined to think he was a psychopath

Same with August!! If he had literally talked to either of them things could have been fixed so much faster or they at least would know they’re not fucking crazy like make a little “in the know” club it could’ve been fun

#sorry but I’m a Regina and Archie truther now #where tf did grahams wolf go anyway #I will NEVER be over the whole Jefferson-Whale-Regina thing they were soo tragic and all fuking awful at the same time #keeping Cinderella pregnant for 28 years has to be illegal #can’t believe they took away rubys cool and ungothified Whale and Jefferson #live laugh love Leroy #this is about like the first 2 seasons only btw there is SO much more don’t even get me started #regina mills #graham humbert #archie hopper #jefferson ouat #mr gold #ruby lucas #emma swan #storybrooke #ouat

[selahhasablog]

odysseus really said "i can kill a baby but I draw the line at cheating on my wife"

#epic the musical #epic: the musical #epic: the circe saga #fr though he DID have a son with circe and leaving it out is a coward move #jk i get it narratively but damn #imagine this depiction of odysseus having too grapple with the fact the he's leaving one son without a father to return to the other #who also grew up without a father #i know odysseus didnt know about he and circe's son for awhile but LISTEN #if we're going to changw things around #i just feel that it's SO narratively delicious to have him turn his back on his principles in the name of embracing them not once but TWICE #circe is supposed to be a brief respite where we grapple with the idea that we may never see home again after all #its the belly of the whale #but noooooo #mythological adaptation agony

[babykittenteach]

Just the hands and chest for the people who follow me and leave fantastically unhinged tags on things.

#you're lovely thank you #also man but the like footwork I did for this was just silly #so whale oil yeah sure but upon research I'm like okay but specifically sperm whale oil is probably smarter #less smelly and already used in cosmetics #and then I go okay so what's the viscosity of sperm oil #i am not laughing like a school child at all what're you talking about #apparently it's similar to melted coconut oil and I'm like okay #let's melt some coconut oil and see how it drips #and I recognize that's a higher commitment to accuracy than the show itself takes but you know what #that's who I am as a person #anyway thank you for being here #this is probably because I watched disney VHSs as a child and sometimes they had behind the scenes stuff on animation #and I only started trying to animate in october but I have this permanent memory of disney animators talking about filming milk dripping #to get the movement of raindrops falling into a puddle in bambi correct

[dustykneed]

i think theyre incredibly silly !! but also from a character design/shape language perspective the triumvirate is so terrific i keep nerding out whenever someone makes them Shaped as god intended.

on the other hand my last midterms are tmr and i need something to keep me occupied after so by all means if yall have anything (if its tos spones mckirk or mcspirk rest assured that i WILL do it 100% bc im totally so sane abt then you see) youd like to see me scribble out in notes app feel free to send in an ask etc! ill do my best lmao

#spones #mckirk #star trek #leonard mccoy #spock #tos #star trek tos #triumvirate #is kirk shirtless or was i just too lazy to fill in his shirt?? youll never know ;) #but theres a reason why bones is Particularly inclined to be grumpy about it lmao #but also the one with the whales-era spones has my heart in a vice grip #god i have chem and math tomorrow wish me luck #did i study? NOPE #but i just love them so much your honor #jim kirk #HOW DID I FORGET HIM #cant believe this #its more of a tragedy than my grade in math

[aquanutart]

I enjoyed watching a cetitan chase arven in paldean winds. I thought "wow they are Fast"

#pokemon #pokemon sv #paldean winds #arven #cetitan #fuecoco #aquanutart #fuecoco is thinking 'i helped!!!' #yes you did!!!! #cetitan is one of my favorite new pokemon designs they are adorable.... snow whale #FAST snow whale!!! #whenever i see beautiful pokemon animation i cry from seeing the world come to life and feeling the power of pokemon ... #(spoilers) #>>>>>>>>>> #i did want to know WHY she stopped the flute #i imagined that her father put pressure on her to perform so she stopped because it wasn't bringing her any joy #but when she realized she could actually make a difference to another creature with it she regained her love for it

[shadyufo]

Cryptids & Creatures of Folklore Drawtober Day 10 — Alula Whale

The Alula Whale is a cetacean reportedly seen in the Indian Ocean. It was described as similar in appearance to a killer whale however the Alula Whale was said to be sepia brown in color, had a rounder head, and was covered in white, star-shaped scars—assumedly from squid tentacles. Pods of up to eight of these whales were sighted by multiple people on several different occasions.

Naval officer W. F. J. Mörzer Bruyns reportedly saw the Alula Whale on several occasions and even included them in his book Field Guide of Whales and Dolphins.

#drawtober #cryptids #cryptozoology #alula whale #art #illustrations #whales #cetaceans #way more color than usual for these but it was kinda necessary #like with the blue tiger I did last year lol