1/4

1/4 For mermaids, I'm starting with The Little Mermaid in the original Grimm Fairy Tales #25–26. This is one of the early stories told alongside a modern human situation, with Belinda helping turn that situation toward disaster. The sea is dangerous from the opening shipwreck. Other mermaids drag sailors down, while the central mermaid saves the prince. Her compassion immediately separates her from the behavior around her. That distinction matters before the romance even begins: sharing the same kind of body doesn't mean these characters make the same choices.