Art Digi

❤️- A happy memory that makes them smile

💙- A sad memory that makes them cry

💛- A memory that makes them feel angry

💚- A memory that makes them feel guilty

💜- A memory about one of their loved ones, happy or sad

💔- A memory that leaves them feeling lonely

❣- A memory that leaves them laughing

💕- A memory about their significant other

💞- A memory about their children

💓- A memory about their friends

💗- A memory about a good deed they did

💖- A memory that made them feel special

💝- A memory that made them feel loved

💘- A memory that gets their heart pounding

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!

Thanks for the congrats!💜✨️Sure, here's the pic I posted on Instagram. Most of the artwork came straight from here on Tumblr or on Bluesky.

Like many of you, the s1 StF episode 'The Floating Palace' left a bad taste in my mouth because of how horribly OOC Cedric acted in that after turning himself into a (HIDEOUS) sea monster:

- Abducting and holding a freaking child prisoner (Una the mermaid girl)!

- Trying to drown Sofia?? Then trying to fucking vanish her from existence??

HE WOULD NOT FUCKING DO ANY OF THAT. FR, the way Craig Gerber (yes, it was the show's creator himself who wrote that episode, which is even more disappointing) wrote Cedric there felt like horrible fanfiction from somebody who never saw the show. I mean, is this the same Cedric who was deeply touched by her kindness and friendship in 'Cedric's Apprentice', whose first instinct in that episode was to save her life (twice) instead of using the accident with the lizard potion as a bargaining chip with Roland for the throne??

But I have a theory. My hc is that Cedric's sea monster form not only made him a literal monster on the outside, but figuratively monstrous on the inside too. It was a side-effect of the transformation spell, and he wasn't even aware of how it was morally affecting him because his humanity- and what goodness he normally had deep down, which always prevented him from going too far- was greatly suppressed, leaving only the bad and also making the bad in him much stronger.

I also hc that the longer Cedric stayed in that form, the worse he would have become until his humanity was totally gone and there was no good at all in him, no limits to what he would have done.

In fact (and I hate to say this), if Sea Monster Cedric had known abducting the young mermaid princess endangered Sofia's family (the mermaid queen believed them to be responsible for taking Una and was prepared to sink their ship to get her daughter back), there's a good chance he wouldn't have really cared; in fact, he likely would have seen it as the perfect bonus to him usurping the throne with the power of the mermaid comb, as the royals dead would've left him totally free to take over.

I hc that after Cedric turned back to his normal human self, he felt horribly disgusted and remorseful for trying to harm Sofia. It probably haunted him ever since (especially after he turned over a new leaf). Which was very likely why he canonically refused to go with the royal family back to Meroway Cove (in one of the Meroway Cove episodes, Sofia mentioned it was too bad he didn't want to come with them this time, and Miranda replied "He said he couldn't think of a more monstrous vacation, whatever that means"). Think about it. Cedric secretly referenced transforming himself into a sea monster, but surely it wasn't his failure to obtain the mystical mermaid comb to take over Enchancia that greatly traumatized him because he's used to failure. There was nothing about that particular failure itself that ate at him. It was what he nearly did to Sofia as a monster, which was why going back to Meroway Cove was too painful.

And I think if he'd known his actions on Sofia's first trip to Meroway Cove had endangered her family, he would have felt even more guilty, especially once he became a better person...

However, I also had a really interesting conversation about this episode with my own kid a few weeks ago.

I explained to Squish that people who are hurt sometimes just do things that are bad when they’re hurting. They do it because they don’t think, and Cedric hadn’t found his goodness yet.

I said there was a time in my own life where I was kind of sad and angry, and I said some things I didn’t mean to some people I cared about and it probably hurt them.

Sometimes I still do that, even when I don’t intend to do it.

Squish asked some questions and said some surprising things. But, it was an important life lesson about friendships, life, and living that I tried to give them while donating a little of my lived experience in bite sized bits.

But, I worry, personally, that diminishing this to *just* the effects of that spell might diminish the harm we can perform out of our own hurts and the time it takes to recognize what harm we’ve caused to others.

I do think the spell may have *enhanced* the hurts. But, I don’t think the spell was solely responsible for making Cedric act out of character, nor do I think it was completely out of character for him, at least, not in Season 1.

When I chose to curse Cedric in my own story, I didn’t do it to down play his actions. I did it to explain the wounds we carry as physical wounds and to give a physical manifestation of his wounds. In a certain way, it was meant to show the power of what all we have to overcome, and forgive ourselves for, in the process of recovering from what all we’ve done.

That said, I do think after Cedric’s redemption, taking a look at this would hurt … deeply, regardless of its cause.

I think he fails in what he tries to do in this episode because he doesn’t really want to do it. Again, harkening back to my theory that will/ desire is the strongest magic.

Yet, the ideas? The plan?

Are Cedric’s plan.

And, I think that’s a lot of what drives his ebb and flow in how I write him and his motivations.

He sees the ledger he almost had, the desires he almost wanted, and he is “making up for it.”

So, TL; DR

Yeah, this is a wild episode.

Yeah, it’s weird to think of a character who is later so loving, and even previously so happy and proud, doing something like this to that same character/ those same characters.

But, like, people evolve.

People change.

People may, in their heart, not actually intend to do some of the harm they cause and, as such, things end up fixing themselves for the better.

But, even “good” people can do horrible things out of their hurt, and I think that’s something that’s important to discuss.

Sometimes, even *we* can do that.

Part of forgiving others and ourselves is recognizing when that happens, and how to move on and rebuild from it.

Like, I’ve experienced some *wild* things in my life. I’ve said some out of pocket things to my siblings and my parents when I wasn’t on meds. I wasn’t perfect, and I’ve probably done the equivalent of what my kid would see as “out of character” stuff based on the person they know now.

How I explained Cedric in this episode to my kiddo was that:

He hasn’t found his stability yet.

He hasn’t found his goodness.

Sometimes, we, as people, are that way for good reason. Sometimes, we lash out to protect ourselves.

Sometimes, we are not justified at all, and we lash out just to lash out because we just want to make people feel pain.

Sometimes, and often, it’s a mix of both.

But, that’s complexity.

That’s life.

However, that said, as a head canon/ fic fodder? I do, genuinely, like it. I also can definitely see where you’re coming from about it feeling OOC in regards to how it fits into the … vibes?? … for lacking a better term … of Cedric’s other schemes. If that makes sense?

I have been having…let’s say a bad few days. I don’t wanna go into too much details, but it involves finding internships, studying for my entrance exam (for PG), aaaand a conference(everythings too muchhh😵‍💫)and personal stuff😭

and one of the reblogs on one of my posts….it had been rubbing me the wrong way for a while and after day after day after day after day after stress I SNAPPED

Deleted the first response reblog I made for that post and said some things I regret

And long story short , I dont wanna act like that ever again. Yeah so far my life has been hell, but I shouldn’t take it out on others…😢😔😭

Anyway. Point is, pip, I agree with u!!

Esp this line:

<People change.

People may, in their heart, not actually intend to do some of the harm they cause and, as such, things end up fixing themselves for the better.

But, even “good” people can do horrible things out of their hurt, and I think that’s something that’s important to discuss.>

(altho I think Cedric hasn’t forgiven himself yet..? (I sure haven’t forgiven myself rn😭)

but I also agree w/ Shy that the magic spell had a hand in it! Changing into other species is tricky…the longer you r stuck like that, the more you start to act like them.

aaaand looking at Cedric’s monster from, he seems to be an octopus-based monster?? And octopi are so friggin CLEVER and intelligent—maybe that’s why Cedric retained enough humanity to be saved….or more intelligent than usual…idk that’s into HC stuff haha

(look at this diva—rlly thinks he’s all that😂)

anyway, this post reminded me of what happened so that’s why I’m making this reblog!!

(hope it’s alr..)

magic time travel? Hey, why not? XD