#dob is just a nice boy. egberts doing his best. merilwen is good. prudence. i care u evil lady

[aromanticasterisms]

oh shit i have an oxventure tag

[workingonit-currently]

It's pretty obvioys who this reminds me of. My favourite Oxventurer, Corazón. (Or more specifically Percy. The son of lord Milquetoast part of Corazón. The part he hates but also the part he loves.)

The song, I imagine refers to Corazón's early days as a boy trying to be an heir to his father, trying to play hide and seek, trying to impress his father, doing what was required of him and then slowly realising he'll never be good enough and slowly doing what makes him happy, unable to repress the pirate blood in his veins. (The part of him that scares Lord Milquetoast to death.)

(Inspired by/Original idea from a post by @moreau-griffins. They are super cool and I like them...they seem nice.)

For a more indepth think keep reading. If you're fine with the basics just chill.

When I was just a kid, everything I did was to be like him,

Refers to Corazón's unbringing of constantly being his fathers son, having to be like his father. Inicially he didn't mind, to young and dumb and aching for his fathers approval but then he realised he'd never get it. His father would never love him.

Under my skin.

You could say that this could refer to the pirate blood flowing in Corazón's veins, keeping him obsessed with the sea or you could say it's like Corazón's feelings of hiding hself away, of digging ugain and again under his skin and never getting anything from his father.

My father always though, if I was strong and fought,

I'd say this talks about Corazón being a proper upper-class son and being 'strong' enough to not care about his father or anyone's approval and to fight with the part of him that wants freedom and approval. So basically this line is Cor telling us that his father thoughts he could go with out love or approval but he can't, he craves it and he loves it, this leads to his constant need for attention and aytension seeking behaviour.

'Not like some albatross,'

Albatrosses are sea birds, referring to Corazón's pirate love and his want to be on the seas, free like a bird. Albatrosses are also not regal or elegant birds, they're sea birds similar in apperance to Seagulls, they make a squarking sound, this could be seen as what Lord Milquetoast views Corazón...Percy as, annoying and acting not of his class. This is reinforced by Albatrosses also meaning to symbolise bad luck or a type of curse, a pychological burden, like hiw Percy is to the Milquetoast name or how Percy sees his father. How they see each other is they are both curses, burrdens to each other. A father who doesn't love his son and a son who's a disgrace to his father.

'I'd begin, to fit in'

Refers to Percy not having anywhere to belong, he doesn't fit in with his class, he longs for freedom but he doesn't fit in in lower classes either. He trusts to easily, boasts to quickly and is so confident on the surface.

'Powerless, holding my breath'

Percy is nothing in the world, feels he's worthless and has to 'hold his breath', keep up the act, be the perfect son and heir. He has to keep up the Milquetoast name despite himself, he's holding his breath, not letting the true him breath.

'Trying hard to repress, what scared him to death.'

He's repressing what he probably got him shouted at as a kid as his fatger was often annoyed and angry, as stated in 'Mind your Manors'. He had to hide himself, he couldn' be a child, couldn't be a pirate, couldn't be anything except for the son of Lord Milquetoast, the heir and upper-class perfect boy. The sea-loving, reckless, proud and pirate part scaring his father, to much like his grandfather, to much like the purates the Milquetoast come from.

'It was never easy to be his type of man,'

Percy found it suffocating, hard and exhausting to keep up the mask, put on a performance every time he woke up, every time of every day for his entire child hood. He tried hard to be like his father, probably did everything, followed everything just to make his father proud, be the man his father wanted but he was never happy and neither was Percy. Percy was living a lie and his father was never satisfied.

'To breath freely was not in his plan'

Percy being his self was not what his father wanted, he still doesn't. He doesn't want his son to be himself, live his dreams or 'breath freely' because then he wouldn't be acceptable as an heir. This could also tell us that Percy was living the way his father wanted, his life planned out, nothing he did was free or what he wanted.

'And the best part of me, is what he wouldn't see'

The best part of Percy is Corazón, his thurst for adventure, his freedom, his pirate. Notive the wording, not 'he couldn't see', it's 'he wouldn't see'. This implies that Lord Milquetoast could see Percy yerning for the sea, he could see Percy's pirate nature, he could see Percy's dream but he refused to accept Percy like that, refused to see how happy it made his son or how skilled he was and hard hard he worked at it.

'I'm not my father's son.'

Corazón is not. He's not Percy, son of Lord Milquetoast, he's no one, he's a completely new person. He's his own creation, he is disowned by his father, his is no one. He made the jdentity himself, the proud, boastful, never-faultered Corazón and he's all his own, he's what he wants to be.

'I'm not the image of what he dreamed of.'

Corazón is not, he's exactly what his father didn't want Percy to be, he's a pirate, he's not in his born class, he's not a lord, he's not what his father wanted. He's a dissapointment and his father would rather kill him than let him destroy the Milquetoast name.

'With the strength of Sparta and the patience of Joel'

Percy was expected to be these things, strong enough not to need love and keep up his fake existance while being patient enough to wait for his fathers approval or praise that would probably never come. He used both of these things to wait, suppressing his dream and the pirate part of him.

'Still couldn't be the one to echo what he'd done,'

Percy couldn't keep it up, he couldn't carry the Milquetoast name and be the heir to his father. He couldn't be what his father wanted, he couldn't be a little clone of his cold father, Percy couldn't pive up to his father who made a name for himself and became a Lord and amassed a wealth.

'And mirror what was not in me'

Percy could not be the Milquetoast heir, he couldn't be cold and not seekibg love like his father, Percy needed love and approval. Slight dramatic irony there as what was actually in Percy was the blood of pirates, of freedom and exactly what he wanted, but he thought all that was in him was high-class blue blood. (He might as well have been royalty with the way his father acted.)

'So I jumped in my dream, and found an escape.'

So Percy ran away from his life as Percy, he found an escape as he became Corazón, a pirate that he always dreamed of. He just couldn't take anymore, had to be himself, live his dreams.

'Maybe I went to extremes of leather and lace'

Corazón was to much, he didn't know how to act or dress or actuall be a pirate, leading him to go to extremes of theatrics, 'lace', and boasting, 'leather'. This could also show what he dressed in, pirates wearing leather and lace or at least Corazón doing that since he is slightly rich, he probably stole a bit of money from his father. The going to extremes could also represent Corazón admiting that he goes a bit to far boasting and talking about his adventures.

'But the world seemed brighter six inches of the ground,'

But despite all his flaws Corazón is who Percy is now, he's all he's ever wanted. He's free and he's on the sea, he's a pirate and he's happier than he's ever been before. The world seems brighter now he's in his boots and on his ship.

'And the air seemed lighter, I was profound.'

Corazón is happy, he's free, he's profound, happy, in a state of extremely powerful emotion. Profound is also a word used for the deepest part of something, especially the ocean. Meaning Corazón was learning to be a pirate, learning new words and becoming better, more at home on the sea as it welcomed him.

'And I felt so proud, just to live out loud."

Corazón is finally living, he's finally expressing himself, showing to the world what he is and who he is even if he's not doing it 100%, he's more free than he was with his father. He's stating how weird it is to simply be overwhelmed with happyness as he just lives slightly as himself, it shouldn't be this amazing to show a little part of him but it is and it also shows how strict his father had been, never letting Percy be himself.

'I'm not my father's son, I'm not the image of what he dreamed of. With the strength of Sparta and the patience of Joel, still couldn't be the one to ech what he'd done and mirror what was not in me.'

Corazón this sime accepts that he'll never be his fathers son, he also won't be the best pirate like the thought he would, he'll learn, he'll become better and be free but he still hopes, somewhere inside of him, he'll eventually become so great and such a famous pirate that maybe his father will be proud of him or notice him because deep down Corazón is still Percy and Percy cares so much about his father and his approval and love.

'The endless torrent of expectations, swirling around me head.'

Corazón is free but he still doubts himself still hears his fathers voice and still feels his fathers influence.

'Wore me down.'

His self confidence is so fragile and wwak he hides it, defending it with his endless, defensive confidence and egotistical nature. He's been so worn down trying to be someone else, trying to act better Corazón doesn't know when to stop, who he truely is and how he really acts. He's unsure of who he actually is and is to scared to find out.

'I came to a realisation and finally turned around, to see, that I could just he me...'

After so long Percy can finally be himself, after storms and pressure, his confidence being shattered by his father, his crew hunting him down, his dad trying to kill him and many years of being alone Corazón finally meets the Oxventurers and they embrace him, he finally has friends and a family. He finally turned around to see that he could be himself, that Egbert is just as clumbsy and embarassing as him, Dob is just as hopelessly emotional, Merilwen is just as unsure and quiet, Prudence is just as defensive and vunerable. He's found where he belongs and he can be himself or start to be himself, havinga family that likes him and despite their jokes, truely care for him.