I Really Wish Mercury Wasn’t in Retrograde Right Now! was born out of a need to reconcile two forces that shaped me: love and religion. Growing up queer in the Bible Belt, I was taught that love looked one way, and that any desire outside that script was a threat. I knew, even as a kid, that I didn’t quite fit that mold, but fear and guilt kept me silent for years. This piece is a surreal, cosmic love spiral, a dreamscape I created for my younger self. One that says: it’s okay to want, to ache, to love differently.

Inspired by a Meow Wolf prompt, I imagined a world where spirituality doesn’t punish queerness, where heartbreak doesn’t mean failure, and where the divine might actually be rooting for us. The title is a cry of longing and absurdity, the kind that spills out in the space between “I love you” and “I’m scared to say it.” Like Mercury in retrograde, the film invites us to revisit buried feelings, laugh through the chaos, and follow our hearts, even when the stars feel cruel.