YMMV / Breaking the generational cycle

• Complete Monster: Nerissa is the ruler of the mermaids, who, during the war when Ruby's mother Agatha offered a peace treaty to end the bloodshed, threatened to kill an infant Ruby. Nerissa sent her daughter Chelsea on a mission to obtain the trident, not caring that she would be putting the latter's life in jeopardy. Nerissa decides to go with her second plan and releases the Leviathan in order to wipe out the Krakens, apathetic that it would endanger the entire ocean. When she learns that Chelsea became smitten by Ruby, Nerissa banishes her after branding her eye. She then brutally beats Chelsea when the latter challenges her for the throne.
• Jerkass Woobie: Chelsea, bordering on just being a straight up woobie. She's not regretful about anything she did, but everything she did was in an attempt at both getting a better life for her people as well as trying to please her unpleasable mother, who not only disowns her, but straight up orders the other mermaids to kill her for failing to get the trident.
• Realism-Induced Horror: The scariest thing about Nerissa isn't that she's a sea monster that wants to eat humans, but rather her realistic abuse of Chelsea and how the younger girl reacted to it. As, in spite of Chelsea doing everything she could to make her mother proud, Nerissa still actively belittled and neglected her because of Chelsea not having the traits Nerissa wanted from her. Yet, in spite of this, Chelsea outright makes excuses for her mother, claiming that she couldn't be a good mother towards her because of her being too busy being queen. While sea monsters aren't real, victims of abuse making excuses for their abusers most certainly are.

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