#altamaha-ha

[taamlok]

Mama will be there in the mornin'.

[songsomi]

We left behind the men that caged you and me Running toward a promise land Mama will be there in the morning Trust nothing and no one in this strange, strange land

[sleepy-pigeonn]

"Mama will be there in the morning" 🎵

[sentinelcole]

Okay, South of Midnight has been burning a hole in my brain so I need to get it out into the world.

(Spoilers for chapter 11 "Muddy Waters" below)

I need to talk about the Ayotunde/Altamaha-Ha and Honey storyline because as a dad, it fucked me up. It was such a tragic and beautiful chapter and my goodness, the use of Ayotunde's lullaby torn my guts out.

Because when I went into the chapter, all I saw of Altamaha-Ha is a giant humanoid fish person who is tearing the ground apart and causing destruction. Of course, this is chapter 11 of the story and by now, I knew that there was going to be much more to the story.

Then I get on the boat and learn about Ayotunde, an enslaved woman who made an incredibly desperate gamble to let her infant son grow up as a person rather than property. And if I have one weakness in my emotional armor, it's a person reaching for a glimmer of hope when deep in despair.

Her situation was hopelessly bad but she didn't give up. She had an infant and she, like any good parent, would have done anything to protect him. And while part of me knows what she did was so risky for the health of her baby, I also know, she had no good choices. And when all you have are bad choices, you pick the least bad one and hope it all works out. And in this case, it didn't and that was a dagger to my heart.

But what twisted and ripped out that dagger, leaving my emotions to bleed out on the floor, was the song. You hear Ayotunde's lullaby and you know she is singing it to her missing child. She hasn't given up hope, even though she's lost her child which is one of the worst things I can imagine as a parent. She sings. She sings to her child to rest, to be quiet so their captors don't find him, and to reassure him that she will find him, no matter what. Even though it was hopeless, even though she had lost everything, she held on to hope.

Then I get confirmation that Ayotunde is Altamaha-Ha. I learn her grief transformed her. My heart broke as I learn she is actually singing the lullaby as she scouts the soil and water for her baby. And I learn it's the power of that grief that ripped the Belle of Prospero asunder (and put it into a tree!) Because she (correctly) blamed them for the lost of her son. And then she spent hundreds of years looking for her son, unaware the swamp saved him. Unaware the swamp help preserve him as a child needing his mother so that when Hazel, a new Weaver came along, she could stitch together what was broken centuries ago.

And god, that ending. That ending killed me. Because I was so happy Ayotunde and Honey could be reunited but I know they spent centuries apart, looking for each other but never finding each other. They were doomed to be apart until someone could hear their story and give a better ending. And I mourn for the life they could have had but they had stolen from them. And then you mourn for Hazel, a new Weaver who is searching for her missing mother and has been thrown into the deep end. And you can't help but feel bad for her as she helps a child find her mother.

I had to stop playing the game for a couple of days. I had to let that chapter breathe and process before I dove back in. Such a beautiful game. I hope we get more stories in that universe, be it more video games, graphic novels or a TTRPG campaign setting. So long as we get more of this beautiful world.

[cryptid-quest]

Cryptid of the Day: Altamaha-Ha

Description: In the mouth of the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia, United States, there are tales of a river monster called the Altamaha-Ha, or Altie for short. Sightings began in July of 1969, and has been seen ever since. In 2018, a decomposing body washed on Wolf Island, causing some to think it was the fabled serpent, only to be revealed that it was a hoax.

[xydeng6]

I failed my drawing a day because finals are coming soon and ive been stressing BUT i did do a cryptid poster for my brothers upcoming birthday so that counts . Gonna have it printed to give to him along with a different one i made for my mom to give him.

[kennythecatgirl]

✨Nessie-Like cryptids ✨

Tizheruk- Alaska, United States

Altamaha-ha- Georgia, United States

Sharlie- Idaho, United States

Chessie- Maryland, United States

Flathead Lake Monster- Montana, United States

Tahoe Tessie- Nevada, United States

Champ- New York, United States

The Conser Lake Monster- Washington, United States

If you know anymore, feel free to add!

[thenixkat]

Altamaha-Ha by Olivier Deriviere

Lyrics of Altamaha-Ha (feat. Stacy Subero) by Olivier Deriviere

[verse] Slumber, child, slumber and dream, dream, dream Let the river carry you back to me Dream, my baby, ′cause Mama will be there in the morning Last night, under bright strange stars We left behind the men that caged you and me Running toward a promise land Mama will be there in the morning Trust nothing and no one in this strange, strange land Be a mouse and do not use your voice River tore us apart, but I'm not too far ′cause Mama will be there in the morning Do you still dream? Do you? Do you sleep still? I fill my pockets full of stones and sink The river will flow, and the sun will shine 'cause Mama will be there in the morning

[bridge] Slumber, child (slumber), slumber and dream, dream, dream The river murdered you and now it takes me Dream, my baby Mama will be there in the morning You may not know me because I changed (ooh, I changed) But mama will not stop looking for her baby When the river, takes the river gives And mama will search as long as she lives Dream, dream, my baby

[outro] Mama will be there in the morning Mama will be there in the morning!