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Post by Coral on Mar 19, 2011 13:08:34 GMT -5
Ooh! I hadn't ever thought of that before. Very interesting theory. How do you think he could have died?
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Post by WickedElphie on Mar 19, 2011 15:20:34 GMT -5
Well there's the big three: Disease, Accident, or Murder. And of course the Murder could have been either for personal or political reasons and could have been made to look like an accident.
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Post by faya27 on Apr 26, 2011 17:50:59 GMT -5
I always imagined that Eric's parents died while sailing in the sea due to a hectic storm.
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Post by Aquisha on May 5, 2011 20:45:29 GMT -5
You know Jess, I never thought of Eric having an older brother but that makes a lot of sense. It's very "The King's Speech"!
We've got to keep talking about our favorite prince! I know I've written about the kind of company that Eric keeps, but what do you guys think? Does Eric have a lot of friends? If so, what are they like? Are they more salt of the earth peasantry from the kingdom or a few special nobles that are snobby and annoying? Whatchathink?
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Post by WickedElphie on May 5, 2011 22:43:00 GMT -5
I think Eric would be limited in having meaningful contact with most of the simple townsfolk. He'd stroll into town and be welcome, know people's names and inquire after their health and family, but I think he'd be discouraged from forming any deeper friendships because so much of his world on land is tied up in his being a prince and he's going to be the one asking them to pay their taxes etc when he becomes king. But that would be coming from Grim etc. not him. if Eric he really got along with someone he would continue seeking them out I think.
The sailors would be a different situation because that interaction is occurring outside the borders of the kingdom. Jodi in a lot of her writing created what I think is great dynamic between Eric and Captain Sayers where the latter used to sail for Eric's father and has known him since he was a child, and as such, is almost another unofficial adviser. And what works is that Sayers as a common born sailor provides a great contrast to Grim's very aristocratic views.
I don't see Eric as having many friends outside of a close circle of people he cares about. I think some of them could be nobles but any that weren't would have had some kind of 'in' to Eric's vicinity. Like maybe young clerks and recordkeepers or the sailors etc. Outside of Paige's awesome stories it's hard for me to imagine he had many female friends given his awkwardness with Ariel.
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Post by Coral on May 10, 2011 17:33:38 GMT -5
I have to say I agree with Jess here. I don't see him having many friends, simply because he is so much the... well, not quite but almost outcast type. That's not exactly the right word, but it's as close as I can get right now. He's definitely on the outside looking in and doesn't seem to mind all that much.
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Post by Zavi on Jun 24, 2011 22:32:04 GMT -5
No surprise but here's another agreeing party. He's clearly personable enough to form some easy bonds with the sailors and the townsfolk but he has enough awkwardness to make the friendship situation seem pretty normal for a shier guy. He's no Henry VIII to be sure.  So I'm fairly sure we've touched upon this topic already but it seems interesting enough to recap. Say there was a TLM midquel with Ariel and Eric's adventures on land (or possibly Atlantica.) What would happen? What interesting events or human things would Eric show Ariel? |
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Post by angelgidget on Jun 29, 2011 17:00:11 GMT -5
I think one interesting midquel topic would be their different strengths as monarchs, and both of them just learning how to rule a kingdom together. We know that Eric is more comfortable as a sailor than as a prince, but Grimsby must have drilled *something* into his head as far as kingdom-running and court etiquette are concerned. By a similar token, Ariel's responsibilities as a princess are somewhat limited since she is the youngest of all her royal sisters, but she still had to sing for the kingdom's formal functions (when she didn't forget), and still had to keep in mind that her reputation was tied to the Triton's.
I think the theory of Eric having an older brother definitely makes sense for his personality, and I imagine that really accepting the responsibility of leadership would be difficult for both him and Ariel. I'd like to see their teamwork to conquer that.
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Post by Coral on Jul 1, 2011 19:25:36 GMT -5
Welcome!
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Post by faya27 on Sept 1, 2011 13:55:31 GMT -5
I like your proposed story, angelgidget. It'd be really cool to see how Ariel and Eric develop through thier marriage post-1989 film.
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Post by Zavi on Oct 1, 2011 21:39:16 GMT -5
*revives thread* Question time!
So we talk a lot about Eric being 'just a guy' who doesn't fit as neatly into his princely role as the Disney men before him. So what happens if the movie played out with Eric just as a sailor? Strip him of his title and how do things change?
I'm guessing not much from purely his personality, although I'm definitely curious about how he'd change without a 'Grimsby' figure and the political responsibility over his head.
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Post by faya27 on Oct 2, 2011 2:36:25 GMT -5
I have thought about this scenario before. Personally, I think he might be going through the same problems that Aladdin went through. No, he won't pose himself as a prince but I think once Eric finds out that Ariel is a mermaid princess, he might have some difficulty of trying to win her hand in marriage because of the old fashioned rule of royalty not marrying commoners. Without Grimsby, I think he'd be less stressed out because he won't have to worry handling responsibilities as prince but still lost because he needs someone to mentor him on social problems.
I am kind of glad that Disney made him a prince and a sailor because he was just a sailor, I think that would take away his individuality. He is the only prince (besides Naveen, Beast, and Aladdin) who is not a Prince Classic.
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Post by Coral on Oct 3, 2011 12:06:57 GMT -5
But what if *everything* is flipped? What if Eric wanted to be under the sea, instead of Ariel wanting to be on land?
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Post by fridamoonbeam on Oct 3, 2011 17:25:20 GMT -5
I had a plot bunny over a year ago where after Gia (my name for Eric's mom) runs away after finding out she's prego with him, instead of being sent to a convent and have her baby taken from her. She and Eric settle into a big town on another coast where she works as a seamstress and tells people her husband was a sailor who died at sea. (I'm now wanting to get to this project a little ). Anyway, Eric grows up pretty similarly in personality to how he is in the movie, but in my opinion he'd be a little less out-spoken if he was growing up in a non-noble setting. More like Will in the first pirates movie, where he's kind of 'put in his place' more and being so nice he kind of accepts it a bit. Oh! Now THAT's a question Rachel. Ultimately, I think they'd stay on land. Eric has a responsibility to the kingdom and in both the movie and play accepted that role. Now if it was a matter of if he wanted to be in the sea, and Ariel in land if he WASN'T born a prince.... I still see Ariel 'winning' that argument |
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Post by Aquisha on Oct 3, 2011 21:09:06 GMT -5
It's funny Jodi, I feel the opposite on Eric's non-noble disposition (though I can understand the opposing rationale). I think without the watchful eye of an adviser like Grimsby, Eric would have more freedom to say what he felt, for the most part anyway. He'd have a little more confidence because the stakes that he's living with wouldn't be so high; he could live by his gut without having to weigh what his head thinks. I think he and Ariel would be much closer in disposition that way.
Rachel, that's an interesting question. I actually really like it! Think about it: if Eric wants to go to Atlantica, that means that humans know about merpeople openly. If everything's flipped, then that means that merpeople are the ones who are feared and hated (maybe for the sailors they lure to their deaths or fierce attacks on fishing ships). Maybe his ship's attacked and Ariel's the mermaid who finds him but (much to his surprise), she doesn't drown him. Ooooh. Someone take that...NOW. I want to read it!
I don't know, ya'll. I've never been an alternate universe person, but I think my growing obsession with Doctor Who is wearing me down...
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Post by Coral on Oct 4, 2011 18:08:46 GMT -5
Jodi, let's say he's not royal. Let's use the other Disney formula with one royal/one non-royal. Ariel is still a princess, but not obsessed with humans. Maybe she's a little afraid of them.
Paige, I like that! That's getting my brain turning too.
What if Eric is secretly obsessed with all things mer? But he has to hide it. Or he longs to be on the open sea all the time, but his family is terrified of losing him to a siren. Maybe the merfolk allow those legends to propagate to protect themselves from prying humans.
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Post by Aquisha on Oct 4, 2011 19:28:23 GMT -5
I like it Rachel! I was just thinking that if merpeople are such a threat, there'd be no swimming, no small boats or yachts, just heavily built sailing vessels. Maybe fishing has turned into more of an extreme sport than something done for absolute necessity. Since it comes with the possibility of death, it's like big game hunting (ha, tigers, lions, and tuna!). Eric takes up a lot as a fisherman because it would pay great money for his family but it's almost a suicide mission. Ooooh, the plot thickens!
But I think as a sailor, Eric would be terrified of mermaids, having seen their dirty work up close. And, unlike nobility who have the education to counter superstition, he'd be more likely to believe the outlandish tales that the older sailors tell.
But if Eric's still a prince, I think it could add an extra layer to Grimsby's concern over Eric sailing since there's such a horrible danger to it.
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Post by Zavi on Oct 4, 2011 19:40:28 GMT -5
Ooooh! This plotbunny's gonna grow up before I run out of popcorn! *grabs lawnchairs* Sailing itself is one heck of a dangerous job anyway so that only adds to the tension. Add in wintertime-cold weather and you have an episode of Deadliest Catch worth watching an awesome scenario.
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Post by Coral on Oct 4, 2011 21:08:10 GMT -5
Ooh yes. Good point, Paige.
So how do they overcome all of this and fall in love...
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Post by fridamoonbeam on Oct 4, 2011 23:41:23 GMT -5
How do you figure people would get so scared of merpeople? Is it kind of a misunderstanding like in the movie with Triton? Or like the "Whitecap Bay" merpeople could play a part in fueling the fear?
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