Some of them are deeply inspired by different stories of merfolk. But some of them are a visual exploration of some different ideas not based on lore.Sher wrote:Oh, it's based on the little Mermaid of the original story? That's awesome. It would be great to know more about each court and where you got your inspiration.
But yes, the story of the Little Mermaid is VERY dark... (spoilers below! for anyone who hasn't read it and cares)
First, she seeks the love of a human partly to gain an immortal soul, as mermaids do not have them. Second, she has to let the sea witch cut out her tongue, and is told that every time she takes a step on her human legs, it will feel painful like walking on knives. Third, she can NEVER be a mermaid again, and if she fails to gain true love of her target (the prince) she DIES.
She lets the witch cut out her tongue, goes to the surface, becomes very close friends with the prince, but cannot talk, because her tongue is gone. The prince ends up marrying someone else... so she knows she'll die by midnight of the wedding day... her 5 sisters show up at the surface having cut off all of their hair and given it to the sea witch... they give the little mermaid a knife, and tell her that if she kills the prince before midnight, and lets his warm blood flow on her human legs, she can become a mermaid again.
Instead, out of heartbreak... she jumps into the sea, dies and dissolves into sea foam....
yeah, NOT the same story most of us learned from the movie.