The Mermaid Tale
A short little story, maybe a poem, shaped in my thoughts, about the classic Prince sees Mermaid on the Shore. And what if she responded very differently to his earnest entreaties to save her? We sometimes assume that people want a certain outcome without asking them first. Especially when it relates to “normalcy.” Of course everyone wants to be normal. Except, maybe not.
Maybe she enjoys the quiet of the sea.
And that led me to illustrating with AI images, that of course used some adjusting and polishing. And somewhere along the way I lost a line of the story. Oh, well. By then it was already posted.
I didn’t mind that each frame looked like a different character. I embraced that. First, because it’s difficult, at this time, to evoke a same character through different scenes. And second, I felt that the story represented differences as a common thread. This isn’t a specific character, it happens again and again with different princes, or princesses, and mermaids, or mermen. How many times is “I will fix you,” offered as a solution?
It’s a short little Tale. I hope you enjoy!
“a young man found a mermaid on the seashore
”I will save you,”
You will live with me.
We will find magic to fix you.”
she looked at him, confused.
”Nothing is wrong with me.
I enjoy the quiet of the sea.”
and with that
she disappeared
with a flick of her colorful tail
leaving him with nothing
but sea salt
and shushing waves crashing into the shore
”
You do not need fixing. Unless you would like help, in which case, that’s wholesome, too.
Everything is fine. Except for my “Before” AI images.
In these cases, I tinker to make my vision using Photoshop. I did struggle with Generative AI and giving her legs. For some reason, it thought the prompt of Mermaid with Legs wasn’t appropriate. Thus the long dress. AI demands creative workarounds and try, try again :)
And I don’t strive for perfection, or fixing every AI mistake. I want them to look like AI, because that’s what they are, and those erratic things are both charming and odd (like shadows that don’t match, or limbs in an odd angle).
Enjoy your stories, even the little flash fiction stories or poems or whatever they become. I believe in you!
