Pip they/them or whatever you want my dears,
30 (but I have an almost 3 year old )
... i feel like that explains so much about the ecclectic content of this blog ...
Autistic, Synesthesia, and Queer Writer Blog, safe-ships only please,
AO3 Puzzle_with_Infinite_Pieces
This has been updated slightly, update is above the cut
I've got a handful of new followers from a ton of different fandoms so, I'm gonna go ahead and make one of them nifty pinned posts.
Hi! I'm Pip, short for Peregrine like the bird. (Or the hobbit, but with the "e," not without, because I was sick of battling autocorrect and I chose my name before you had the option to you know ... fix that.)
I'm an ADHD autistic, transmasculine poet and an actor. I'm also a parent. If you want to read more, feel free to hit the little "Keep reading" below!
Small Update: Since this blog is starting to get more asks/ traction in general with the new reboot of Sofia the First: Royal Magic:
I am an ADHD-er and autistic with a very hectic offline life.
If I forget about an ask, a reblog thread, a comment conversation, or what have you:
Please, do not assume that means I am uninterested in what we were talking about, no longer invested in the project I started with you, or anything of that matter.
Sometimes, it can take me upwards of several hours to read something that is only a few paragraphs because I don't get silence until after 11 PM my time. Comes with the territory of having a kid, and I would change nothing, but it does make it hard to read and reply to things.
If you're still interested in my response to something that I forget about, tag me in the thread in a few days, and I'll try to come back to it. However, know that I do read everything and enjoy and appreciate everything people say IMMENSELY!
But, honestly, I think there might be a few things I've just *lost* in my "activity" over the last couple of days because there is so many things I'm getting tagged in/ asked about/ so many of my posts are getting reblogged.
Which, as an Enneagram 3, I am EATING UP the attention.
Y'all ... This is amazing, and I have never felt so overjoyed and touched by all of your sweet comments, questions, and praise. /gen
I just also don't want anyone to be offended if I don't get back to you because my peanut brain is raising a peanut, and I am going to be CRAZY busy this Summer into the early Fall in my personal life.
Therefore, if you really want me to see something, send it as a DM or Ask. Those I can usually reply to more easily at least with a cursory message.
Additionally, I also get obsessed with things I'm working on, especially when asked by folks to do things I find interesting, and I WILL talk about every minute detail I learned while working on it.
It's a hazzard of the two different spices in my spice blend ...
But, this is my update! I hope y'all are doing really, really well! :D
I occasionally talk about politics, religion, and other crap I care about, but I'm mostly here to discuss my fandoms and the fandoms my young kiddo (Squish) has gotten me into.
A lot of what I watch right now is Sesame Street and Disney Jr. (Particularly Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins on Disney Jr. because Squish likes those most. Got some banger music and some decent characters. Stuffy the dragon reminds me of my Figment plush from when I was little, and Squish has me in our Cedric and Sofia costumes more often than they don't of late.)
That said, because my kid has cast us in those roles, please keep that one ship in particula far, FAR away from me. I've always been pretty *personally* against proshipping in fandom for my own reasons, but that one in particular is just a big ol' nope! I don't wanna look at it.
When you're dancing with your kid in costumes like once a week because dress up is their favorite game, it's a *real* hard association to remove. Therefore, please, tag it so I do not have to see it. You don't tag it? It's an immediate block. I don't wanna know. Not about it. Not for me.
As a parent, my tolerance for bs that I don't want to see is in the fires of Hades. When I was younger, I had more "tolerance" because I was taught I had to in order to be a "good" fandomite. BEGONE!
My blog is my fun time. I get precious freaking little of it. You disturb my fun. I block you. You disturb me? I block you. It is my right to curate my content as I see fit. You go slink to your corner of the internet. Leave me in mine. Plain and simple.
That said, I'm currently working on a pretty extensive Sofia the First fic series for Squish when they're older that I'm posting on AO3 for others to partake in. However, the work, in the end, is for Squish when they're older.
Weirdly enough, if anyone is old-old guard tumblr, I am the same tookishcombeferre that disappeared off the face of the earth and wrote "What My Mother Would Have Wanted" from the Beauty and the Beast fandom eons ago. The thing *is* done. It's still my most read and popular work on AO3.
So, if you also call Lefou from Beauty and the Beast "Étienne," think Stanley is the younger brother of Plumette/ is the son of Mme Garderobe and Maestro, and/or think Stanley is non-binary, you can hold me personally responsible. I came up with those hcs alongside a couple of buddies in that fandom back when the live-action was in theaters. (Yes. I'm that old.)
I've always been a Disney dude. I love old school animation. 2D in particular. If my username is any indication, I am a huge Les MIz fan. Phantom of the Opera was the first musical I ever saw in person (I was 10.) I've dabbled in Shakespeare mostly from the English major side of things, but I want to perform it. One of my buddies and I tried and failed to finish playing Undertale on a laptop that kept short circuiting. We eventually watched a playthrough of it online. My spouse and I are currently playing through True Pacifist on our Switch and have been ... for two years ... we just met Mad Dummy/ Mew Mew and hung out with Napsa ... after two years ... (Update: Now currently stuck somewhere in Hotland after I went rogue one day when I was sick and started playing it by myself.)
I've been reading classic horror since I was about 11? 12? Maybe younger? (I definitely should not have been doing that, but my parents also handed me John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" at about 12 1/2 and said "This is good for you." Still actively traumatized by the ending to this day. Not a book for young children or pre-teens. Absolutely not. Steinbeck is most notable for his descriptive narrative style and he describes something ... very ... a lot ... near the end of that book. I still see that image in my head. I'm 30. I only read it once at 12 1/2.) However, none of that stopped me from becoming an academic at heart.
My degree is in English with a focus on psychological theory with dips into some sociology and some history. I once had hopes to study how World War 1 (particularly how the topography of trench warfare) influenced the psychological development of Lord of the Rings based on how Tolkien uses similar "trench" or "trapped" feelings in settings to develop character.
However, the thesis never really made it past the first section of the abstract phase. (I was exploring how Peregrin Took's social age affected his ability to process trauma before I made a career pivot.)
My end goal was to talk about how traumatic experiences appear in fantasy literature (particularly those geared at children and young adults) and assessing how they handle trauma, what lessons that leaves the reader with, and what that tells us about what society valued at that time. I was starting with Rings. I was hoping to end with the sort of "fantasy genre" as a whole to bring fantasy literature into the academic conversation and validate it as "academic" writing. I had planned to start with The Inklings and how WW1 experiences affected the modern fantasy/ sci-fi/ science fantasy genre as a whole and grow outward from there.
(This is something I can talk about at great length even if I never finished my papers.)
So, every once in a while, I'll post some kind of crazy analysis of something - a musical, a book, a children's TV show using one of my old academic theories.
(Ah, Sofia the First through the lens of Just War Theory - how I love you. How unhinged you were. I *still* really want to do that OCD case study about Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh ... you think I'm joking. I have an outline ... somewhere ...)
Currently, I'm a performer. I'm hoping *fingers crossed* to get back into opera. I had some training in high school but after having Squish my voice dropped naturally into the contralto/ tenor range. So, none of my old arias work for me. Interest in the craft is still there, and I miss it desperately.
It's just actually more euphoric for me now.
I'm also a poet. I'm working on some chapbooks/book-books. None are done. Again, if you are old guard and knew my old blog, it was like 99.9% me shouting poetry fragments into the void. Most of it was about coming out.
I freaked out someone was going to find my blog before I was ready to come out. Panicked, and then, you know, casually deleted the whole blog.
Now, I'm old, and I'm being myself on purpose. So, I don't really care anymore?
So, if you too are an 18-20-something year old nervous wreck, don't worry one day you will be a nonplussed 30 year old with developing boundaries! It's great! Usually!
Lastly, I'd once again ask if you're gonna follow and post anything edgy (NSFW) that you tag it please.
I block the tags I don't want to see actively which is, as I mentioned, mostly proshipping and a handful of other things.
This is the internet. I try to hang out in the corners of fandoms and the internet that I find safe, personally. I can't stop anyone from hanging out in the corners of the internet *they're* going to hang out in. I wouldn't poke that bear myself for personal reasons.
But, you do you. I just ask that you tag your crap so I don't have to see it. 'Cause I'm gonna do me.
Over here.
If you read this far, wow.
I'll leave you with these words of parental wisdom:
Play nice in the sandbox.
Don't feed the annons or the trolls anything but sarcasm, and only if you have the spoons.
If you're 18 or less, you have your whole darn life ahead of you.
Go outside. Touch grass. Make crappy doodles. Make terrible fanfictions with horrendous grammar mistakes that will make you blush in 20 years. You're still a child. Enjoy being a kid. You don't get that back. The skin care routine, coffee regimine, stressed out about the state of the world stuff will still be waiting for you in a few years. I *promise.*
Leave the stressing about the state of the world to the folks who can vote and do stuff about it. Read. Learn. Stay in school. Listen to your teachers.
Don't have AI write your papers or read your books. Do that part.
But, like, immediately, as in right now? Go eat a brownie in the grass and enjoy a sunset for me. Maybe blow some bubbles. You'll thank me in an hour. I swear.
Oh. And, respect each other's boundaries (and mine.)
theo van gogh was the one who suggested that his older brother vincent start seriously painting. as soon as theo was gainfully employed he gave vincent around 15% of his own yearly salary for art supplies, lodging, and food. about 2/3rds of vincent's surviving letters were to theo (including vincent's earliest and last letters), all of which were found stored in theo's desk. theo's child, vincent willem, was born on january 31st, 1890, and vincent was so delighted by his nephew that he painted almond blossoms for him. vincent shot himself half a year later on july 29th, 1890. theo's distress at his brother's death worsened his syphilis symptoms and he died half a year after his brother on january 25th, 1891 (four days before vincent willem's first birthday). theo was reburied next to vincent in auvers-sur-oise at the request of theo's wife johanna.
And that love lived on Theo's wife, Johanna, who was the one who pushed for the preservation of Vincent's paintings. Johanna who made sure that her husband's beloved brother would not be forgotten. Johanna who fought tooth and nail so that Theo and Vincent would never be forgotten. Johanna who carried the family legacy, who made sure that the works of Vincent would be kept in her possession. And then Vincent Willem, named for a uncle so loved, carried this legacy and founded the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam.
The van Gogh family history is deeply interwoven with love. It was the love of a brother that gave a young man the courage to paint and the resources to do so. It was the love of a woman for her husband and her husband's beloved brother that made that story known. And it was the love of a nephew, who was so deeply loved even if for such a short time, that made it possible for the world to know Vincent van Gogh.
Royal Magic Music: Comments As Someone Who Does Musical Theater
So, if you're expecting me to go off on a rant saying RAHHH I HATE THE NEW MUSIC BRING BACK THE BROADWAY MEHHHH!
Leave this post because that's not what I'm about to say.
I have spent the last several years trying to learn and master as many different styles of music as humanly possible.
I spent most of my young life in choirs with a focus on more classical training and technique.
However, even in professional orchestra and choral music, there are Pops orchestras and concerts that strictly cover "pop" music. Yes, some of that is film scores, soundtracks, and Broadway/ musical theater. However, there is also a decent bit of radio pop that is also transposed into orchestral/ choral music.
I know.
I've sung it.
Sometimes, it ends up taking on a different flavor when it's composed for choral music or orchestra. Many times, the choir and orchestra adapts its sound for the music.
General Warning to smalls out there on the internet:
Some// most of the following musicals I'm about to reference contain content that may NOT be appropriate for children.
Please proceed with caution when listening to any of the following musicals & give their summaries a little once over on a Fandom or other Wiki before listening to them!!!
Thank you!
So, while choral and orchestras play variations / play pop music, there are also musical theater shows that are just written in the style of pop, rap// R&B, rock, folk, disco, etc.
Buena Vista Social Club (a musical centered around the music of an Afro-Cuban band by telling the story of the people who wrote an award winning album by using music from the album - nominated for a Tony in 2025)
EPIC the Musical (while not yet staged, a TikTok musical retelling of The Odyssey reinterpreted in animations as well as a few varying styles of music. Some of the songs have a more "traditional" musical theater sound while several have more "pop," or other subtle influences. It is also going to be turned into an animated film soon.)
SIX (musical about the wives of King Henry the 8th set to varying styles of pop music by decade, staged as a pop concert.)
Hadestown (a jazz, big band, folk, opera, and balad based musical retelling of the myths of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone.)
Hamilton (tells the story of the American founding fathers through hip-hop // R&B style music, with a nod to the Beatles.)
In the Heights (tells the story of the Washington Heights using influences from varying Latin American musical influences, hip-hop, and 1980s musical theater balad sounds.)
Mama Mia (A story about a mother and daughter set to ABBA's disco music.)
RENT (1990s) Jesus Christ Superstar (1970s), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1970s) (I'm not summarizing these. I have 14 year olds that follow me.)
So, as you can see, even into the 1970s, musical theater as a genre has had roots in rock, which was the sort of "pop" music of the day.
However, in recent years, most popular Broadway level musicals *do* have elements of radio pop, hip-hop, etc in them.
Moulin Rouge (which I think is still running right now?) even samples Katy Perry's Firework in it.
So, as a performer, there are techniques in ALL of these styles I have to know, and well in order to want to be cast in shows.
Having a diversity of styles of music in the current show is not different from what is being heard on Broadway and across the musical theater genre currently.
My Favorite Pair of Songs So Far
There is something I wanted to point out specifically:
"Don't Worry Be Awesome" - this song is excellent.
However, it's excellent BECAUSE of how it compares and where it sits next to "Magical Me."
"Don't Worry Be Awesome" has a lot of traditional radio-pop elements to it. It's composed very traditionally. It's got a sweet message. It's very upbeat. It's super danceable. The lyrics are encouraging.
However, directionally // compositionally, what I love is how Sofia is directed & composed to be softer on "I'm awesome" - head voiced & more timid, piano dynamic on the vocal - vs. "You're awesome" - same notes at a fortissimo & a mix-belt on the vocal, which makes it more commanding.
That alone tells us so much about Sofia's character in two sung lines of dialogue.
I'm more used to encouraging others than myself.
However, as for the actual composition of the song, again very straight radio pop in style.
"Magical Me," by contrast, has a distinctive Latin influence. You can hear it in the triplets.
However, I might be off on which dance is which because, again, it's not a style I'm used to composing in, but I thought it might have been salsa. On further listens, I was less positive. It's one of my kiddo's favorite songs.
If I'm off base on which dance, I apologize.
However, regardless, when Camila is trying to bolster her own self-confidence to impress her idol she slips into a musical pattern that is has elements of what would likely be rhythms and styles of music from her country of origin.
(Based on her name and the name of her country, it sounds as though her country has Latin American // Central American // South American // possible Spanish influence.)
Thus, it's not impossible or improbable that salsa-music would take point on a song she's singing to bolster her self-confidence. She's using things with which she is familiar to boost her confidence towards the unfamiliar.
Thus, where Camila is assisting others, she plays things a little more simply fun. When she's singing for herself, she plays things with something that is "her own."
We Do Still Have A Balad
Amber's song is still the same kind of music we're used to from G1.
I have said this in other posts. I will say it again. We are less than a 3rd of the way into the show. We cannot know everything already as far as music goes.
So, we do know that ballads exist. There will likely be more.
They just aren't the main focus of the show.
They don't have to be.
Our frame of reference for what musical theater as a genre *can* be has expanded A LOT in the last decade.
But, I feel like Amber's song is proof that these more "traditional" sounds are still going to exist. They just won't be as frequent, and they won't dominate the show.
Some of My Favorite Individual Songs
I really need to STOP underestimating Wayne Brady. Every single time, I'm always like, this is it. Wayne Brady has peaked. There's no way he can top it.
Number Two Bunny??
Hello?
Leslie Odom Jr., who??
Wayne Brady nailed that song.
I can't WAIT to see that in episode.
And, of course, Unstoppable.
I'm a sucker for rock musicals though ... so like ... I knew as soon as I heard the guitar riffs and how just fiery they were in color and texture, both, that I was going to love that song so much.
Plus, Eden has such a beautiful voice.
She could sing me the phonebook, and I'd ask her to do it again. I do, honestly, mean that kind of literally.
What she does on the "I'm" before her "unstoppable," at the very end of the song, is actually very similar to techniques used on the "why" in "Gethsemane" in Jesus Christ Superstar which is the literal only reason why I mentioned it.
Classical Music Just Looks Different
No cupcake for me ... yet.
But!
There is still a classical music reference in "A Little Bit of You and Me."
I haven't had time to look up the song I thought Devin might be sampling yet. (Hoping to have time tomorrow, but our weekend was bonkers so I haven't yet.)
But, regardless, even in dance/ almost EDM style music ... which, if you've never heard the song "The House of Holbein" from SIX, does exist in the Broadway/ musical theater genre and does sample "Greensleeves" ... I think ... in it? ... "The House of Holbein" that is.
Been a hot minute since I listened to that song. /gen
So, even "A Little Bit of You and Me" has a current Broadway equivalent comparison.
"Greensleeves" is a running gag in SIX, and it's great, actually.
Disclaimer
I'm not saying this as a gotcha to anyone.
You can dislike where the music in the show is going. Genuinely!
You can also feel ABSOLUTELY, 1,000% free to disagree with me! Please do! /gen
I'd also just like to bring my perspective as a musician to this conversation because I genuinely have no problem with the music at all.
It's not the kind of music I write either.
I primarily write in an Irish/ Celtic influenced folk ballad style mixed with elements of the prototypical musical theater sound of the 1980s to early 2000s.
So, like, not *dissimilar* to what we heard in G1 of Sofia but a little more fiddle in it. More like the bluegrass influenced song from "Sofia the Worst" ...
So, like, again, the music in the current show isn't necessarily the kind of thing I'd write myself for my own stuff.
But, is it stuff I can appreciate, and have performed // would perform and happily?
Absolutely.
2,000%.
Any day of the week.
Musical theater is an ever expanding genre. It is not a monolith.
I, personally, think Royal Magic has done a genuinely good job of taking on the sounds of what the newer era of musical theater sounds like.
Final Thought
And, as a very final note, even if that were not the case, which I do still firmly believe it is, if this is the way to get children as young as four to listen to music that has the "hip-hop" // "pop" // "EDM" sound without all the stuff that comes along with that kind of music. If this helps them stop listening to music that has messages that are not appropriate for their age group?
And, my wees, if you're reading this, please, I've been there, gotten into stuff far too old for me, far too young. That's WHY I gave you the warning label on the musicals before you went spelunking.
I don't need you sitting on the floor of your closet with your door barricaded listening to Rocky Horror at 16. There are better ways to figure out you're questioning your gender than that ... just, please, trust me!
The only reason I keep this darn blog searchable is for little nuggets of wisdom like that one. Don't DO that. You'll thank me later.
PFLAG exists now.
Undertale exists now if you want it in a story format.
Go play that. Much better. Rated: E-10. Much better.
We didn't have that when I was 16. Wouldn't get that for another 5 years.
So, all that to say, please, by all means, give me the sick, sick beats any day of the week if it means the babies aren't listening to music they're not ready for. Get the babies hooked on "Magical Me" & "Don't Worry Be Awesome." Blast that in the baby disco.
Because, I'm all for letting my kiddo listen to a highly curated list of modern musical theater, pop, classical, folk, whatever songs, but other kiddos, I know, for a hard fact, DO NOT have folks that are curating that set list as carefully as I am.
And, I STILL mess up and let one or two slide through that I probably shouldn't on occasion because, newsflash, I am human.
I get distracted. I get confused. I forget what's going on and we hit a song I thought I got rid of or I forget to turn off what I had on when I was alone.
I once had Lydia the Bard play directly into my eardrum because I hung up the phone and was still buckling my kid into their carseat because I'd had her on when I was alone in the car, and I couldn't stop buckling my kid to stop the music lest they bolt.
So, like, you know? We all win and we lose sometimes?
But, I still, personally think, as someone *very* up to date with the Musical Theater scene lately that the real reason a lot of the sound of the show is different is that the Musical Theater genre is just different as of the last few years.
One of my favorite scenes with Miss Nettle in RM so far is in 'Zane the Hero' when she tells Devin that there's nothing more heroic than caring about others after Devin complains that a real hero would have chased the dragon off instead. My girl's come so far, I'm so proud of her!! 🥹🥹 She's still as deliciously sassy as ever (like Cedric), but she's got a good heart!
Speaking of 'Zane the Hero', Zane, sweetie, what do you mean you've never done anything heroic?? In 'The Green-Eyed Monster', you helped Zaria stop the Goo Monsters by playing your mandolin! Why didn't Sofia or anyone remind him of that? 🥺
I like to think she said that because she was a recipient of such kindness from Sofia, Hildegard, and King Henrick.
It was through the three of them working together that she was able to get not just credit for her work but also see people getting joy from it. So, she knows that feeling (as does Cedric) from experience.
So, from my POV, it was just this really delightful call back to her own journey and arc in a way that was “teachable” without being angsty. It was so balanced and very sweet.
I’d say they likely didn’t count it because Zane didn’t.
At least, for me, it’d feel awkward to be like: “No! You totally did something heroic last week! Remember??”
Only for that person to be like: “No, I didn’t! I caused that to happen. How is cleaning up your own mess heroic?”
And then you stare awkwardly at each other for three minutes.
That’s my theory as to why no one brought up the Goo Monsters anyway.
Cedric as a teacher in both 'The Green-Eyed Monster' and in general
- The Super Strength potion Cedric taught the class and used on himself is totally a subtle reference to his desire for the power of supreme strength back in the g1 episode 'Cedric Be Good'! Lol, why didn't he just use that potion before? @tookishcombeferre had the possible hc he maybe invented it after that!
- Cedric is SUCH an encouraging and supportive teacher!! He is so proud of his students, and not ashamed to show it! There are several instances of this in both g1's 'Substitute Cedric' (and 'Cedric's Apprentice', ofc) and throughout the new show so far! For example, in 'Green-Eyed Monster', instead of reacting with annoyance when Zaria demonstrated how to brew an even stronger Strength potion and thinking a mere student had the nerve to 'show up' a great sorcerer like him, he reacted with pride and delight (he didn't even pretend to hide his amazement or downplay his praise, like he might have done back in the old days when he suffered from insecurity)!
- Not only that, but he kindly acknowledged Zaria when she raised her hand during his lesson ("Yes, Zaria, did you have a question?") instead of rolling his eyes and being irritated at being interrupted.
- Another way he demonstrated what a good teacher he is in this episode was how he clearly let Zane both try and fail during Potions class (to brew an impressive potion to prove he was as good as his sister). You could clearly tell by the look on Cedric's face (and ofc from his own mastery of potions as a full-fledged sorcerer) that he knew very well Zane had no clue what he was doing, but he obviously didn't want to discourage the kid when he was so eager (and no doubt Cedric saw a young himself in Zane in that moment). And another reason he didn't stop him is because he knows that letting kids fail on their own can be just as helpful as letting them try! At least, that's how I saw that. I bet Cedric's own teacher referenced in 'Substitute Cedric' did the same thing with him (unlike his father, who no doubt would have been "Ugh, this is just pitiful, stop wasting my time, you have no idea what you're doing, leave the experimenting to a real sorcerer!"). Besides, Cedric obviously knew the ingredients Zane was mixing together- random though they were- were not going to result in endangering himself and the class (this time), otherwise he most certainly would have intervened; he was obviously monitoring him carefully, and would have stepped in the instant he had to. He knew the resulting potion wouldn't do a thing.
- And he had lunch with the students too, showing he's become much more sociable (although he was sitting with Zaria, so maybe that was deliberate because she proved to be his star Potions pupil)!
- The way he wasted no time in trying to protect the students from the Goo Monster was just... yes. 🥹 He cares deeply about both their success and their safety!
Also!! Another observation on Cedric in general is that even though he has history with Sofia and she is very important to him, he doesn't strictly favor her as a student (for the most part). He treats all his students equally!
The Super Strength potion Cedric taught the class and used on himself is totally a subtle reference to his desire for the power of supreme strength back in the g1 episode 'Cedric Be Good'!
Haha. Yeah! I did say that he probably could have invented the potion because he wanted the power so badly he just decided to figure out how to get it.
Otherwise, in lieu of that, it's quite possible that he may have gone searching for someone else who knew how to brew a potion // had a spell for it that he didn't have yet.
Cedric is a one-track minded character when he wants things.
If that's the power he wanted most, whether for taking over the Kingdom or not, as is the case now, he would find a way to get it - either by the power of invention or by the power of finding someone else who'd invented it. :D
Cedric is SUCH an encouraging and supportive teacher!! He is so proud of his students, and not ashamed to show it! There are several instances of this in both g1's 'Substitute Cedric' (and 'Cedric's Apprentice', ofc) and throughout the new show so far! For example, in 'Green-Eyed Monster', instead of reacting with annoyance when Zaria demonstrated how to brew an even stronger Strength potion and thinking a mere student had the nerve to 'show up' a great sorcerer like him, he reacted with pride and delight (he didn't even pretend to hide his amazement or downplay his praise, like he might have done back in the old days when he suffered from insecurity)!
I really love this because you can feel these undertones of him trying to nerd out about magic with people even in G1, but there's no one there to do it with?
So, again, at least to me, this feels like a pretty natural progression for his character?
To me, it feels very logical that he ends up following Sofia to teach.
I think this for a multitude of reasons:
First: As for how Cedric *got* to be both Royal Sorcerer and a teacher.
Even before Roland had ANY reason to fear for Sofia's safety he was sic-ing Baileywick on her to do Girl Scout activities.
Post Vor, no matter how much Roland has grown as a human being, you really mean to tell me that if there was a way for him to have eyes on Sofia, while also providing Cedric personal fulfilment, he's NOT going to take that giant win?
Like, let us look at this from Roland's perspective shall we?
Ah, yes. my child who literally took on and saw chatechlismic horrors gets to *checks notes* have one of her support people and mentors **ON STAFF** at a brand new school in which she knows *literally no one* except for the fairy who *on more than one occasion* tried to do her physical harm??
Like, granted Cedric did similar things, but Roland *did* also witness Cedric take lightning for Sofia in real time?
So ... there's that?
Nettle though? Not so much. Roland does not necessarily have reason to *trust* Miss Nettle. He has not seen her take lighting or anything of that nature.
Granted, we can infer everything has been patched up. But, like, having Cedric *around* would probably ease Roland's mind A LOT.
Besides that though, Roland can totally give this to Cedric as some kind of huge *task* too because he knows Cedric! He knows Cedric would feel **OBLIGATED** to stay at court and do duties for Roland directly instead of doing this thing that Cedric *clearly* would want to do more when given the choice.
So, Roland probably would have had to play it up as this whole thing about trusting Cedric to do this huge task for him ... and pomp and circumstance ... and bla, bla, bla ... and Cedric is of course secretly relieved because he wanted to do it in the first place but didn't know how to ask.
But, Roland is also relieved, not just because it actually does get him eyes on Sofia and someone to tell him how she's settling in, but also because Cedric is finally doing something for himself even if Roland had to make a huge to do out of it to convince Cedric it was "necessary."
So, yes, in the end, giant win for Roland.
To me, at least, all of this feels VERY plausible given what we know about the players involved, their personalities, and how G1 ended.
Second: In regards to Cedric himself and why he would want to do take the job:
This feels like a very logical progression based on what Cedric learns about himself in the "Sorcerer's Secret" Episode.
This episode, specifically, feels to me like a SUPER logical growth point for him from that episode specifically.
We see him teaching magic with extraordinary success based on each student's need. He won't let Vivian hide or shirk the lesson despite her thinking she stinks at magic. He lets Sofia lead the others and teach them when he's literally incapable.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if the Goo wasn't a call back to the sticky spell in that episode specifically.
But, going back to my point, he found a lot of genuine joy in teaching - even if he didn't think he would at first - and he just genuinely enjoyed the "nerding out" part. He got to share his knowledge with them about potions and turning "rocks into ravens."
We see this immediately following Cedric's decision to not go after the Vex Vine, when Sofia reminds him that's why he volunteered in the first place, Cedric talks about all the spells he wants to teach the young people.
The desire to teach. The desire to share magic AS A DISCIPLINE is there even as early as the end of G1, S2.
Finally, I think Cedric is good at finding a kinship with young folks, especially young folks who are "different" or "othered" in some capacity.
So, going back to G1, Cedric is faced with several different characters who are "othered" and he meets those relationships in very interesting ways.
** I'm going to start with one-off relationships and end on recurring ones. **
Vivan in the "Sorcerer's Secret" - We see Cedric here encouraging her to try the spells despite Vivian's lack of self confidence. He could have been more gruff with her. But, she didn't *need* that so he takes a softer approach. To me, this highlights a similarity in both characters that amplifies their tendency to doubt themselves and have things go wrong as almost a "self-fulfilling prophecy." Usually when Vivian actually set her heart to something, it goes just fine. Same goes for Cedric.
Clio in "Sidekick Clio" - While they don't interact much directly, it's clear that Cedric makes that play a personal project, and he does make her look fantastic. Whether for his own personal desire to look good or not, it changes little of the fact that he does amplify her performance. Both of them end up excelling in this episode when they put their heart into what they do. For Cedric, it's getting over the personal hurdle that more is more. For Clio it's getting over the idea that she has to remain an accessory to someone else. But, in a certain way, the journeys actually do feed each other nicely and amplify the plot.
James, recurring - I do really like that James is one of the only people to show some semi-consistent appreciation for Cedric besides Sofia. I do like to think it highlights the fact that both of them are sort of overlooked little brothers in the shadow of a smarter, more powerful, and more capable older sister. They, once again, feed each other's overarching plots.
Before I get into Sofia and Cedric's interweaving arcs, I want to say that you can tell a lot about people by how they treat children and animals. When push comes to shove, Cedric is ride or die for Wormwood even when Wormwood proves differently.
(As much as I wish that weren't true and have AU'ed it in my own work because I can't stand it ...)
Thus, on the whole, Cedric knows how to handle kids. He's great with them.
Look no further than Calista. Cedric is arguably better with Calista than Calista's own mother is with Calista!!
However, I also like that we get a little bit of a firm regression at the end of S1 before the spring forward in Cedric's clear inner debate with his own morality in S2 & S3 before his redemption arc in S4 because, to me, that marks his firmer commitment to moving forward // interrogating why he did what he did.
(Narratively it is not dissimilar to the scene in which Zuko decides to return to the Fire Nation at the end of Book 2 of Avatar the Last Airbender by almost causing Aang's death, and spending half of the third season doing his father's bidding before deciding to do what his uncle always knew he was capable of and going on to teach Aang firebending. Zuko is not immediately accepted, and, upon trying to reach Aang and the others, Zuko does accidentally burn Toph's feet when she startles him. But, progressively, Zuko earns the group's trust despite betraying them to his sister. And yes, Zuko is a teenager. Cedric is a grown man. However, in terms of narrative function, these plot movements are similar because they act as the point in which the low is reached and the character is allowed to begin questioning their moral path on their own.)
So, all that to say, it's nice foreshadowing there to set up Cedric's complexity through different relationships in G1 S2 & S3.
However, Sofia acting as Cedric's apprentice actually feeds both of their arcs in a really fun way.
Sofia is constantly caught in a pull between two identities "village girl" vs. "royal princess." As early as "Cedric's Apprentice" in G1, Cedric also seems to be pulled between two identities - "Good" and "Evil." In setting up Sofia as his apprentice in G1, what we're able to get out of both of their arcs the the ebb and flow of their struggles WITH IDENTITY.
Cedric's primary crisis, as the co-deuteragonist alongside Amber in G1, is with choosing Goodness and Kindness or Evil and Power. He has to choose to place his identity in Good or Evil. In the end, he chooses to place his identity in being good. But, it's not for lack of him being in, and putting everyone else through, a sort of Jekyll and Hyde situation for several seasons.
Amber too struggles to figure out what "being Royal" means to her. Does it mean being prim and proper? Does it mean being perfect? Or, does it mean being able to allow herself to submit to others in humility when necessary?
Amber may have "solved" parts of that, but she's still young, and it's clear that Sofia hasn't *perfectly* solved her "village girl" vs. "royal princess" identity crisis either. So, Amber will continue to act as Sofia's foil on that part of her journey.
However, that's not Sofia's *primary* journey anymore. It's not her primary struggle. Thus, she needs people around her to highlight other elements of what she needs to learn on her new hero's journey. She needs other foils who will also go on their own arcs.
Cedric was used as deuteragonist along with Amber to highlight Sofia's crisis of identity. However, he's no longer needed in that capacity so his crisis of identity has been resolved.
Thus, in G2, a crisis of identity is not the focus for Cedric anymore. Sofia is not the right foil for him, or he for her, at least in this instance.
Thus, we get to explore new characters by allowing Cedric to act as the foil for other characters.
So, now we get to add some more depth?
At least, I see depth, anyway. Folks are genuinely free to call me bonkers or challenge me if you want. I don't mind. But, I just ask that you give me a fair shake to explain my perspective first.
Camila's Mentor: Mistakes in the Creative Process
Where Sofia as Cedric's apprentice highlights/ highlighted Cedric's sort of Jekyll and Hyde situation - Village vs. Royal, Good vs. Evil - and vice versa - Cedric's new apprentice in Camila highlights the importance of mistakes in the creative process.
Camila is preparing to challenge the status quo and do things people thought were impossible - to be both Royal and Sorceress.
As such, there are bound to be pitfalls there in her journey. There are bound to be setbacks. There are bound to be mishaps.
I've longed to write a novel series for middle graders where magic is inherently "messy." Magic is inherently given to those who are disabled - not to "make up for deficits" - but because magic is prone to being imperfect, and the only people who know how to live with that degree of imperfection are people who are "perfectly imperfect." No one else would understand how to wield it so magic is given to the disabled.
And, I think Cedric as Camila's mentor sort of scratch at the surface of what I'm hoping to get at philosophically in my own writing? They're like tapping into the substance of where I want to go with this metaphor, but, because I want to write for young folks who are like 13+ and this show is for 3 year olds, obviously it's not getting into the scope of where I'd want to take it.
But, I see the shared philosophy, I nod to it, and I shake it's hand in respect.
Cedric Overarchingly as Mentor:
Then we're seeing who Cedric appears to be mentoring on the whole:
Camila who desperately wants to achieve a goal and who has the desire, the determination, and the grit but not necessarily the "natural giftedness,"
Layla in "Show and Spell" who is so nervous she looks like she might go crashing into his ceiling without a decent amount of positive reinforcement,
And, in the episode specifically mentioned here, Zaria, whose personality seems to repel people instead of attract them
From my view, through these characters, we're starting to see Cedric come to terms with his past.
Cedric is not obsessed with the glory of being a great sorcerer anymore. Though, he may joke about it. Cedric may also still be snarky and sarcastic, because, let's be real, that's who he is, BUT he's not (as I mentioned you in DMs) so low and desperate one minute that he's willing to try to take over the kingdom and submit to the dungeons, then going from wistfully reminiscing on the past to being so manically positive that he's "going to impress the kingy-wingy" the next.
Like, G1, S4 Cedric has moods that give me whiplash almost every episode. But, like in a well written way? It's done in a way that is logical given where he's at.
Yet, what we're seeing here in G2 is a Cedric that still has his snark BUT has entered stability.
Stability that can, realistically, only be achieved by coming to terms with your past, facing it head on, and realizing there is a future worth having.
I know.
I've been there.
Cedric in S4 is honestly scarier in that season than he is in any of the previous ones to me, personally, because the way he's written is realistic to his situation, to what he has discovered, and to being in isolation -self imposed or otherwise - based on his past choices.
To see him have some of the natural snark of his early G1 character while also seeing the best parts of his encouragement of others, especially young folks? While all of that being present in STABILITY!?
That is sustainable growth!
That is someone who has truly faced themselves and won.
And, we're starting to see that based on who he is being placed alongside and allowing to be used as a narrative foil for.
The writers aren't handing this to us. You have to look, and you have to know what to look for. In part, due to the shorter episodes, a lot, at least in my current observation, is likely going to be done through the use of foils, possibly symbols, and foreshadowing that we're not privy to because we haven't seen enough of the show yet to get a flavor for things.
My guess is that the frying pan and the wand Cedric made Sofia are going to end up being super important items later on. But, that's only a guess because we have less than 1/3 of the 59 total segments released so far.
But, much like in G1, the use of narrative foils in this series is really fun. :)
- Not only that, but he kindly acknowledged Zaria when she raised her hand during his lesson ("Yes, Zaria, did you have a question?") instead of rolling his eyes and being irritated at being interrupted.
Not much to add to this specifically, except to say, I did really like this moment too. :D
It was so sweet watching him just step out of her way to do her thing.
Another way he demonstrated what a good teacher he is in this episode was how he clearly let Zane both try and fail during Potions class (to brew an impressive potion to prove he was as good as his sister). You could clearly tell by the look on Cedric's face (and ofc from his own mastery of potions as a full-fledged sorcerer) that he knew very well Zane had no clue what he was doing, but he obviously didn't want to discourage the kid when he was so eager (and no doubt Cedric saw a young himself in Zane in that moment).
And another reason he didn't stop him is because he knows that letting kids fail on their own can be just as helpful as letting them try! At least, that's how I saw that. I bet Cedric's own teacher referenced in 'Substitute Cedric' did the same thing with him (unlike his father, who no doubt would have been "Ugh, this is just pitiful, stop wasting my time, you have no idea what you're doing, leave the experimenting to a real sorcerer!").
I love that you point this out.
This sort of harkens back to the role Cedric is playing as a foil for Sofia and her friend group.
Instead of acting as a deuteragonist - secondary protagonist, probably should have defined that earlier for folks unfamiliar? Though, I doubt that it is *that unfamiliar a term?* Now I'm second guessing myself 😅 ...
Anyway, instead of acting as a co-deuteragonist he's acting as "Mentor/ Helper" in the Hero's Journey Arc. He likely won't have much *growth* in this story.
However, he's going to be sort of like ... the equivalent of Gandalf in "The Hobbit" or "Lord of the Rings."
He pops in riding bareback on the horsey-of-all-horses right when he's needed to make a shining light appear out of his staff to drive off the things his former betsie decided to grow out of the mud in his basement ...
If you know; you know.
But, to me, this moment sort of solidifies how Cedric (and Nettle & the other teachers too) will likely end up acting as "The Mentors" on the Hero's Journey arc where Raps and the Princesses will fill the role of "The Supernatural Aid."
The role Cedric is going to, likely, possibly?, fill as mentor is one of stability. He's going to act as the stability for them to find creative solutions, to encourage them to succeed in non-traditional ways, and he's going to encourage them to try things that won't turn out ... so long as they won't destroy anything.
He does this because it's the only way to learn.
Like I mentioned, I don't know if it was just to you or if it was to some other folks, but "The Sorcerer's Secret" is actually a very Montessori esq method of teaching. The teacher acts as a guide and allows for mistakes while assuring that messes can be cleaned and things can be retried until mastery is achieved - for lack of a better explanation.
*THIS* though?
This is even more in the spirit of the Montessori method. Interest is targeted. As one student masters something, they can move ahead in targeted learning, even if mastered it faster than same age peers. The classroom is also set so things can be easily reached and accessed by students.
The only thing is there's a little more direct instruction than would be *purely* typical of a Montessori classroom? Though, I'm actually not super familiar with how it works as children get older because I've only really explored it at the K3-K5 level when looking up schools for my own kid.
So, there may actually be more direct instruction as kids age?
But, I do know a lot of Montessori instruction, as a model, is based on "I can do it," is targeted at fusing life skills with learning, as well as targeting interests in intellectual concepts as they appear organically.
Supposedly, this leaves room for advancement and remediation in "community based" classrooms.
So, even if not prototypical, there *does* seem to be a little bit of an influence of the method of teaching on the setup of the room and how students are encouraged to try, fail, and try again. Or, in Zaria's case, to try, succeed, and advance based on mastery and interest.
Besides, Cedric obviously knew the ingredients Zane was mixing together- random though they were- were not going to result in endangering himself and the class (this time), otherwise he most certainly would have intervened; he was obviously monitoring him carefully, and would have stepped in the instant he had to. He knew the resulting potion wouldn't do a thing.
This is one of the only times and places in which educators will step in, in any method that has the "guide on the side" as its primary feature.
There are a couple of different models that operate this way. Their are some who consider the Waldorf model sort of the "creative play version" or the "opposite" of the Montessori model. In reality, they just have two different foundational philosophies surrounding community building.
One of them is rooted in building community through playing out solutions in imaginary circumstances and play (Waldorf) where the other is rooted more in older students teaching the younger students concrete life-skills to create community independent of the teacher with guidance (Montessori). Some traditional classrooms will also incorporate some of the "guide on the side" mentality surrounding how lessons should be taught to foster communal and independent learning as well, but that's more teacher to teacher as opposed to an actual "Method" that's practiced within a school ...
I got a little obsessed when looking at school options ...
So, I do really like this moment as a parent of a school age kid because there are times where you have to let them do the thing you know won't work and will take 15 extra minutes because ... all it's going to take is 15 extra minutes.
It's not actually going to hurt anything.
Might drive me crazy later, but sometimes things have just **got** to be done in the name of experimentation.
I draw the line at eating sand.
And he had lunch with the students too, showing he's become much more sociable (although he was sitting with Zaria, so maybe that was deliberate because she proved to be his star Potions pupil)!
I stand by the fact this happened because she was alone.
Zane and Sofia were in the classroom making sentient Goo monsters. Zaria doesn't talk much. Who else was going to sit with her?
Far be it from Cedric, once again, coming to terms with his past and acting as the foil/ Mentor who is providing stability, to make her sit alone.
The way he wasted no time in trying to protect the students from the Goo Monster was just... yes. 🥹 He cares deeply about both their success and their safety!
There are so many things I could say about this, but I do wonder if this may end up being some kind of foreshadowing for something we will see down the line regarding the finale of the show // some other episode.
There's a lot of talk about, in the traditional Hero's Journey archetype, about the setup of the Supernatural Aid/ Goddess, vs Helper//Mentor, vs additional supernatural aids prior to the final acts of high stakes.
The linked article actually has a fun little chart as well as multiple different approaches to the archetype.
We haven't actually scratched the surface of the show yet, like I said earlier, we're less than a 1/3 of the way into the released episodes.
But, it's following the Archetype beat for beat right now.
I'd say of the 17 stages we're riiiiiight about at Stage 3-4:
Supernatural Aid & The Crossing of the First Threshold
So, I'm interested to see how the Helper/Mentors are played as we delve further into the arc, if this moment *does* actually end up foreshadowing something, or what's going to happen.
I'm really enjoying things a lot so far, and I think there's nice continuity.
I finally finished all the episodes that have come out so far for Royal Magic and I gotta say hands down Camila is my favorite out of Sofia's new friends
I love that she just pops in and scares the hell out of everyone and like just impulsively tries out spells she's never done before because eh why not. And even when she does them wrong she's just so like chill about it. And her Cedric fangirling like same girl
And the best part is none of her friends think she's a bad sorceress or don't believe in her abilities and in fact they never get mad or dismiss her when the spells go wrong. Instead the focus is on the actions of the other characters who asked for her spell like Zane in the Tippty Tap Dance and Amber in Veggie Good Deed
It's so different from the way ya know Cedric was treated all his life. He could do the spells right he just messed up because he got nervous. I have no proof of this but I like to think if The Incident had never happened Cedric might have been similar to Camila. Maybe not as extroverted but like more chill with making mistakes
But no. At least he's finally respected now after 30 FUCKING YEARS
And I TOTALLY agree that Cedric would have been similarly much more confident in his own magic- and therefore just as chill about messing up any spells- if the Incident had never ruined his life. I think Cedric sees that too, honestly, which makes him all the more happy to support and encourage Camila in her own passion for magic and goals! And I absolutely love how eager, earnest, and adorkable she is when doing magic, which also gives major Cedric vibes!
YES, her hero-worship of him is so precious!! He is to her exactly what Merlin is to Cedric (since he was a child himself, no doubt), a great wizard who she respects and longs to be just like someday. Yet another way Cedric sees himself in her, no doubt!
And I LOVE how sweet and supportive she is of her friends, like another person said in their reblog!
And the way she keeps her wand tucked in her hair is so cute!
This might be a little disjointed. Sorry. I’m still really tired. I was up until like 3 AM yesterday.
Camila and Zaria are like the two sides of who I was as a small child.
Camila was me on stage as a theater kid and consummate performer. My kiddo performed on stage with me for the first time yesterday at a fundraiser, and I told them:
“As long as you bring joy to others, that’s all that matters. Doesn’t matter what you forget to do. Doesn’t matter if you mess up. As long as you make people happy? That’s what you’re here to do. And, you’re gonna do that for sure.”
And, I’ve always been like that as a performer? Like, I’ve always been driven to do well. But, I’ve been driven to do well because I want to make people happy, to make them think, and to make other people shine - even more than myself.
Then, there’s the side of me that’s quiet and more reserved. The more introspective side. The “Zaria-side” of you will.
And, I think, it’s so interesting that you see Cedric as a more “reserved version of Camila” had The Incident never happened because don’t we see that in the two kiddos we’ve seen him mentor so far?
The two students he’s building a bond with are just that.
The young girl who struggles with the spells themselves but is endlessly encouraging of others and determined to get it right, and the young reserved child who may excel quietly but has no idea how to connect with others?
Isn’t there a little piece of himself in both of them?
I remember someone mentioning, actually @shychick-52 I think this was you in a different post you tagged me in, that Cedric was eating with Zaria in the Green-Eyed Monster?
If it was someone else, I’m sorry. Like I said, my brain is fried.
But, was he doing that because everyone had paired off, and he couldn’t handle seeing a kid left alone because HE was the kid left alone?
It’s such a small detail. But, it’s so real. It’s such a real detail.
Because, he couldn’t. Right?
He was probably walking to the teacher’s lounge and he saw everyone else sitting with someone. Then, he saw her alone, and he knew. He remembered hearing.
“He doesn’t need anyone.”
“He doesn’t talk to anyone anyway.”
“He won’t even look at you, much less talk.”
But, he knew he didn’t want to be alone. It wasn’t a choice. And, he’s probably wondering where her brother is because at least her brother doesn’t hate her. At least, her brother looks after her. At least, her brother doesn’t lead the taunting because he thinks she deserves it.
But, until Zane shows up?
He’ll fill the gap because how can he not?
However, going back to the previous point you made, OP, the one about how Camila impulsively tries out spells, I think it’s testament to what her friends have been taught by the adults around them. They’ve been taught focus on the people who ask for the spell rather than the spell going wrong? a little too right? or what have you.
They’ve learned to delve into the root of the problem as opposed to blaming someone for trying to fix it.
Devin still has to learn this. But, some kids do. Some kids will.
Not every child will have adults/ parents in their lives who have worked to undo the tangles in their pasts and become better versions of themselves. Or, to work to ask for better of the world around them so that need can be granted to all.
It’s never the child’s fault they are the way they are. They’re the product of their environment, and they need good people to teach them and grow them into being better people. Be that peers who are patient. Teachers who are willing to help them resist the world, the ever growing threat of media illiteracy and indoctrination, and all sorts of other such things.
The theme of our gig last night was hope & resilience. And, one of my friends really challenged me to think about some things in a new way and to accept that perhaps some lessons deserve to be looked at more critically and carefully.
Perhaps, there is a reason things happen. Perhaps, Athena’s video critique of Baileywick and Cedric, particularly surrounding enabling vs rebellion is more valid than I gave it credit for at first blush?
For, I grow increasingly worried about coming home to my child alive in the political environment we live in. Perhaps, even good and well intentioned people do need to be shaken up in order to be able to hear the cries and voices of those beneath them because rage is, at times, justified when sanity is on the line and when there feels like no other way out. And, I sometimes wonder why we accept, at face, value who and what is good and bad?
Because, how else does anyone learn if sometimes rage doesn’t drive us?
How else do we get here?
Where the focus is centered and eyes are clear?
And voices are heard?
And respect is given?
How else without a moment of anger and rage that is targeted but, in the end, tempered with kindness do we get this conclusion?
Would anyone have listened to a measured conversation, or would it have been dismissed as things so often seemed to be before?
And, maybe this is me applying too much of me and the now to a children’s show. But, I dream of a world like this one. I dream of a future like this one. Where, after the rage, the dust settles into something better because the good well intentioned people *listened* to why the rage was there so the bad things didn’t have to be as bad.
I sometimes wish we didn’t live in a tit for tat world, and people looked at the reasons, lovingly held them, and worked through biases so it could be a safer world for the next generation to “get their spells wrong” while looking for the root cause of “why they cast them.”
For in Irish mythology, there is a myth about a young girl who prayed to a Sacred Well, Connla’s Well, the Well to the Otherworld and the Underworld, and the Nine Hazel Trees in the grove who dropped their berries into the well to feed the salmon who swam within. She asked the Well to give knowledge to her people. The Well’s waters rose up and drowned her.
But, in doing so, she was brought back into the world of the liminal, being the grandchild of the first sea god Lir. In dying, she became the river over which she ruled, and she reconnected to the ocean in which the Salmon of Knowledge flowed. In her river connecting to the ocean, she connected to her uncle, Mac Lir, the son of her grandfather Lir. And, in dying, she brought Knowledge and Life to her people through being reborn a river.
In so many ways, out of death, out of rage, out of destruction comes life.
I still don’t know if Cedric’s new design is Irish. But, to me, it would make sense if it were.
It is out of his drownings and his “deaths” that he is making new life and “rebirths.”
There is another classical music reference// sample in “A Little Bit of You and Me!!!” Devin sings it. At the very end.
I want my treat! I’m not looking it up. I’ve listened to it twice. I haven’t gotten it yet …
But, it’s there. 95% on whether or not it’s Mozart, Beethoven, or someone else. But, golly those “Me, Me, Me, Me, Me, Mes” are achingly familiar from some opera or classical piece I just can’t quite put my finger on yet.
There’s a piece made famous by Placido Domingo (a famous tenor) that I’m thinking it might be now, but I have to listen to that song to make sure it’s that one before I claim that it is for sure.
But, I’m leaning on that one.
Anyway! I get to mark off a bingo spot!!!! Even if I don’t get a treat!
I'm not sure at what point Cedric learned that Miss Nettle changed, but I like to think the reason he doesn't hold a grudge against her for humiliating him back in 'The Enchanted Feast' and the reason he trusts her not to try stealing Sofia's amulet (or be up to any wickedness in general) is not only because he trusts Sofia (that if she can vouch for her, that's good enough for him), and not only out of gratitude for allowing him a teaching position at Charmswell (no doubt he considers it an absolute honor /gen)...
But also, even deeper... because Cedric knows what it's like to be distrusted after turning over a new leaf and having his earnest attempts to prove his trustworthiness rejected (from Roland at first). He knows from his own personal experience that people can regret the choices they made and choose to become better. He knows how much it means to be forgiven and trusted again, even though you might not deserve it. And it's very possible he's been made aware of why Miss Nettle did the things she did and how similar their motives/feelings were, that desire to prove their worth after being ignored and overlooked for so long.
Cedric probably thought "How can I not offer the same grace that an undeserving wretch like me was given?"
I also hc that Miss Nettle gave him the job as a means of apologizing, even if she might not have actually said sorry to him (she doesn't seem like the type- too proud)!
And I absolutely love their dynamic! She adores teasing him and messing with him, but it's not meant maliciously and he surely knows that.
They get along well, and I do enjoy the way she sort of goes just short of **actually** annoying him. I think it was Spider who mentioned they have a very “sibling like” dynamic, and I agree!
I also like what you mentioned about him giving her the chance because he wasn’t. That’s a really good point. :D
I have … so many words in my poor little brain right now.
The post-impressionist movement was marked by each artist using symbols- up to and including color and **texture** - to communicate something specific.
In a recent musical “Starry” - which uses lyrics to summarize the letters exchanged between Theo and Vincent Van Gogh- Vincent’s philosophy is summarized as this:
“I want our brushstrokes to be interwoven //Before we're condemned to a future that's broken// Where all of our colors and thoughts and emotion // Give us the strength against all our erosion // A canvas with a key // To finally set us free”
Likely, this comes from the Van Gogh Quotes:
“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” - This creating the foundation for the symbolic nature of people as interconnected brushstrokes as well as invoking Van Gogh’s style.
But, most especially this summary likely comes from quotes such as this:
“What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.”
Or, finally, these two in dialogue with each other:
“and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?”
//
“If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”
Van Gogh often wrote about the idea that the natural world and dreaming had a sense of serenity in them that drew him to paint them. He felt that poetry and art itself were enough, and that, in better words than I’m about to summarize him in, emotion drove art.
So, in a certain way, the writers of “Starry” - Matt Dahan and Kelly Lynne D'Angelo - did do an excellent job of summarizing the spirit of Van Gogh’s letters musically and lyric-poetically.
(I hear color, and there are some beautifully layered textures in some of the songs “The Red Vineyard,” “Sunlight & Storms,” “The Starry Night” are 3 of my favorites from the album visually.)
So, like, when we’re talking about Van Gogh’s style and him … what? Not painting what he wanted because it wasn’t realistic!?!?
That’s absolutely false!
So false!
Van Gogh had a developed style and color scheme. His color scheme was actually affected by one of the medications he was on that made him see more YELLOW!!! Like the reason we have so much yellow in his paintings is because he *very* much intended it to be there because he SAW IT!!!
So, like, in the case of Haixia Liu vs. Van Gogh their goals are just different. Not better. Not worse. Just two different artistic approaches and philosophies with two completely different eyes and perceptions of the world around them and how to interpret it.
The 1800s and the 1960s were very different. By time difference alone, Liu and Van Gogh come from VASTLY different cultural backgrounds to say nothing for the fact that Liu is Chinese and Van Gogh is Dutch, which, would definitely influence their style.
The only thing they have in common is that they were both born into “art” families. Van Gogh’s family did have some connections to selling art - even prior to Theo’s entrance into the art selling business- and Liu was born into a family of artist.
But, like, you know other than that there’s a lot of difference in how culture, medication vs non-medication, medical disorders vs not having them, how well those medical conditions can be treated based on when you live, etc. will all impact an artists work?
So, all that to say, Van Gogh painted exactly what he meant to, how he meant to, we do not need AI slop to tell us otherwise!! Thank you *very* much!!
Does anyone smarter than me know if Dazzleball is based on a “real life” sport?
Like, I know the ball transmutates into several different real world “sports-balls” … to quote the infamous “go sports ball” meme.
But, it has always reminded me of Hurling. (Hard to describe exactly what it is, but I’ll link a Wiki below.)
Am I crazy for that, or am I onto something?
To me the biggest difference is that Dazzleball has a ball that changes shape randomly through magic, and it doesn’t use a stick.
But, otherwise there are some marked similarities- particularly because the way Hurling is often described to people who’ve never seen it before is as a mix of American Football, football/soccer, and like … lacrosse … kinda … ish? … if you played with baseball bats instead of nets …
So, like a sport that is other sports?
😅
Just read the article! I’m summarizing this so badly! /gen
Hurling - Wikipedia
But, anyway, thoughts? The first time I saw it in an episode my mind just immediately went: “Oooo magic Hurling … kinda? I wonder if Finnegan and the centaurs would play it with a stick?”
Fully willing to bet I’m nuts though … I just miss watching it.
OOOOOH, I've never heard of this until now. Very interesting!
Also, during the Playdate episode, I forgot that Dazzleball is likely an Enchancian sport, so at first I was a little surprised when the others didn't know what it was! I was surprised how quickly they caught on!!
Does anyone smarter than me know if Dazzleball is based on a “real life” sport?
Like, I know the ball transmutates into several different real world “sports-balls” … to quote the infamous “go sports ball” meme.
But, it has always reminded me of Hurling. (Hard to describe exactly what it is, but I’ll link a Wiki below.)
Am I crazy for that, or am I onto something?
To me the biggest difference is that Dazzleball has a ball that changes shape randomly through magic, and it doesn’t use a stick.
But, otherwise there are some marked similarities- particularly because the way Hurling is often described to people who’ve never seen it before is as a mix of American Football, football/soccer, and like … lacrosse … kinda … ish? … if you played with baseball bats instead of nets …
So, like a sport that is other sports?
😅
Just read the article! I’m summarizing this so badly! /gen
Hurling - Wikipedia
But, anyway, thoughts? The first time I saw it in an episode my mind just immediately went: “Oooo magic Hurling … kinda? I wonder if Finnegan and the centaurs would play it with a stick?”
Fully willing to bet I’m nuts though … I just miss watching it.
Princesses in The Princess Council in Sofia the First: Royal Magic are able to all simultaneously attend through the use of magic and time travel. Creator Craig Gerber has explained that the EverRealm exists outside of a real-world timeline similar to Neverland.
The green eyed monster is all about Zaria and Zane. It’s. Really good! It’s as favorite of mine! Zane has tthe.song all about Zaria.
I cannot describe how much I adored this episode.
Favorite moments:
Zaria's moment & delivery on the line "Maybe it will come to us at the party?" - The utter earnestness present even within her lack of inflection was just delightful to me. She *wanted* to remember so bad! Haha!
Cedric getting stuck to the wall by green goo. It's just such a classic cartoon gag. My 90s kid heart was so happy because it was so Looney Toons era.
The moment Zane caught Cedric! It just made me smile ... how much about myself do I want to reveal on main ... not that much. I'll keep that one to myself. But, it hit me in a personal place. I'll say that. Made me smile A LOT!
I think ... Yeah ... that's my favorite episode so far I think.
Love everyone in that episode SO much. The characters are so, so lovely. The song is great! :D
Zane is adorable. (He's Squish, my kiddo's, favorite.)
But, I actually don't have a favorite character in that episode? They're all my favorite. They all shine so bright for different reasons, and I **love** episodes like that!
