[ she told him it was sad!!! ]

Even eclipsing the possibility of returning to her family?

[clenching his jaw a little, stubbornly]

Of course family is important, but the prince was an innocent person.

Fair enough, but consider this--in some retellings of the story, usually the ones where the mermaid princess's tongue was cut out, the prince wasn't quite so nice.

Walking on her new legs was sheer agony, but he asked her to dance for him despite it. He paraded her around more like a trophy, and when he realized who he was to marry, he left her in the dust without a second thought.

Would that still be the correct choice?

[fuck that guy???]

I don't think he deserves happiness in those cases, but.....it's easy, too easy, to say that someone unpleasant ought to be killed, especially if there's an injured party involved.

Was he cruel down to his core, or just a spoiled young man? It's a distinction that should be considered. Because usually, death means the end of all potential for change or redemption — killing him would be simpler than forgiveness, but I can't say whether or not it would be the correct choice.

The mermaid would have to judge that for herself, and she did.

[ Eric was a goddamn saint in comparison. ]

I don't disagree. Would it not be better for him to learn of what his misdeeds caused? To say that his poor companion saved him from drowning, and then sacrificed nearly everything to be with him--only for him to reject her at the last moment, condemning her to death. Even then, she still loved him and wished for his happiness. Would that not be the best lesson for him, to have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life? Atonement is always a choice, and the mermaid princess was not completely damned.

[ERIC WAS CUTE AND HE ALSO HAD A DOG

also he drove a ship into a giant sea witch, that checks off at least some criteria for "keeper" material]

That sounds like the more reasonable path to take. Although.....granted, I don't know how I would have reacted if it was me, without the buffer of the story being fiction.

Well, I think you can relax on that front. It's not like I have a time limit.

[ nor did she promise jag her undying love, but you know ]

[he manages something like a smile]

I suppose not.

Now, then. All that's left to do is wait.

[ or should she sing an opera while she still has her vocal chords ]

[Akasha Sucks, in E Minor]

Would you like to do something to pass the time?

Such as?

[suddenly wishing he had brought a pack of cards]

There's always the usual guessing game, I suppose. We each think of an object and try to figure out what it is.