Thursday, Week 4, 1-ISH

[poorlovefool]

[As he was called out on, Eric is not at the pool at one sharp. He's got cold feet in a major way, the happy smile of the mermaid on the cover doing little to help him find his own legs. He really shouldn't have set this up at the pool. The theater of his mind paints pictures of the former swimmer pushing him in and telling him IT would make him breathe underwater while smiling. Brr...

So it's a good thing he got to bring help along. In any case, he's not sure what to expect, why their benefactors wanted him to have this story, but he has to believe it'll help somehow. ....But seriously, is this really going to be worth it? Eric steps over the threshold, then back around the corner, a little disgusted by the scent of the chlorine.]

Argh, I can't take it. You do it, Karma! [He starts to hand the book to him, then jerks his hands back before he can take it.]

Wait, don't - he's gonna stick me in one of those awful tubes if I ditch, isn't he?

[He can't have that!! Sticking his head in the door, Eric puts on his most asymmetrical smile to date.]

H-Hi! We made it!

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SCRIPT FOR REFERENCE

[mermaidkin]

((NOTE: in Japanese she's called the mermaid princess throughout but we're just typing The Little Mermaid in our English language roleplay))

Far from the land where human beings lived, at the bottom of the ocean, which was so clear, like purest glass, there was the mermaids' kingdom. The king had six daughters; the one with the most beautiful singing voice was the youngest, so they called her the little mermaid. And yet, despite being the mermaid princess, she loved nothing more than hearing stories of the human world beyond the surface of the ocean. When the little mermaid turned fifteen, she finally got to swim up above water for the first time. There was a ship that night where the prince of the land of human beings. With one glimpse, the little mermaid fell in love with the prince - and then, the boat was struck by lightning, and the prince fell into the sea.

To save the drowning human, the little mermaid dragged the prince onto the sandy beach. Then along came a princess. The little mermaid quickly concealed herself. When the prince awoke, he believed the princess had saved him, so he offered her his thanks. He did not even realize that the little mermaid had saved him. Instead, he fell in love with the princess.

Looking for a way back to the surface, the little mermaid found the sea witch, who offered her a contract. In exchange for her voice, the little mermaid would gain human legs—and excruciating pain, like she was treading on knives with every footstep. If the prince fell in love with her, she would be human forever. If he married someone else, the little mermaid would turn into sea foam and disappear.

When the little mermaid arrived on shore, the prince was happy to let her into his castle. He let her eat every meal at his table; they went to plays; all night, they danced. They did everything together; except talk. So when the prince told her that he was getting married to that princess, all that the little mermaid could do was smile.

On the morning of the prince and princess's wedding, the witch handed the little mermaid a knife and said, "Use this to pierce the prince's heart, and you will return to your true form. If you fail, you will turn into sea foam and disappear." But the little mermaid couldn't bring herself to kill the prince. She threw the dagger into the ocean, and then she turned into sea foam and disappeared. The end.