I think the ending is a mixture of sadness and happiness. I based this story on the full ending, which ends in a much more positive place than the truncated version (which is in much wider circulation that I had ever realized!) in which the mermaid simply perishes at the end.
it really depends on whether or not a story in which Sherlock and John don't end up together is too intolerably sad. I mean, it definitely is sad; I wrote this fic, in part, to push back against the overwhelming current I see in fanfiction, which suggests that true love will conquer all, if only it is sufficiently strong and sincere. Both my observations and my experience have taught me that this isn't the case; it's totally possible to have a bond with someone that is strong and good and real, but which still cannot (for whatever reason) survive. So it was really important to me to tell a story which recognizes this truth about the world - that good, true things sometimes cannot endure - but still portrays it as a place full of goodness, which sometimes comes to us in unexpected forms.
edited to add: here is a link to the complete text of the HCA story (where the mermaid simply perishes at the end) if you'd like to take a look at the ending. The last 4 paragraphs are the part that may be new to you.
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timeasmymeasure
author here
Date: 2015-04-15 04:05 pm (UTC)it really depends on whether or not a story in which Sherlock and John don't end up together is too intolerably sad. I mean, it definitely is sad; I wrote this fic, in part, to push back against the overwhelming current I see in fanfiction, which suggests that true love will conquer all, if only it is sufficiently strong and sincere. Both my observations and my experience have taught me that this isn't the case; it's totally possible to have a bond with someone that is strong and good and real, but which still cannot (for whatever reason) survive. So it was really important to me to tell a story which recognizes this truth about the world - that good, true things sometimes cannot endure - but still portrays it as a place full of goodness, which sometimes comes to us in unexpected forms.
edited to add: here is a link to the complete text of the HCA story (where the mermaid simply perishes at the end) if you'd like to take a look at the ending. The last 4 paragraphs are the part that may be new to you.