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[thequietspaces]

this is insane and amazing. 

Cass had a long journey back to Corona. Death bit at every step.

This is loosely based by the incredible fic ’strings’ by @thequietspaces / pathygen on ao3.

Lyrics under the cut.

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this is the good stuff

Hey I was very inspired by today’s chapter, so I wrote you a little Zhan Tiri song inspired by Bitter Snow and all your lore to say thank you :) gotta love that decay, hope you enjoy!

[thequietspaces]

Following what I have dubbed the Alphecca Arc is Violante Business, the real antagonist of the spinoff AU I’ve got going on (The Great Countess Violante is @thequietspaces‘ brain creation!!). She’s the villain to end all villains so of course not only does she have to flex on Cassandra she has to flex on Alphecca too. some notes:

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B O N E S

(and suffering)

[thequietspaces]

era oh my god

Rapunzel receives two whole letters within the course of a week! how exciting

Transcript for Lio’s letter:

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this is a very rough thing that I’m probably not going to finish in any proper capacity because I have a very short attention span but I also love doing poster design thumbnails so enjoy

[thequietspaces]

noooo don’t join Zhan Tiri’s cult your so sexy ha ha

[thequietspaces]

My thoughts are that Coronan dancing (as we saw in the Kingdom Dance in the movie) is very community oriented; grab a partner and swing them around and then grab a new partner, dance around the maypole sort of stuff. Saporian dancing contrasts that by being very rigorous and requiring a lot of strength training- if your legs aren’t busted you’re not doing it right. 

Then thinking about things like festivals, Alphecca would be real big on Mari Lwyd which is a South Wales folk custom where someone carries a decorated horse skull and sings at people’s doorsteps to be allowed in (and you have to sign back to decline them and it goes back and forth until you relent and let them in, and host them for a lil while). Alphecca animates the skull and is a pest in general so it suits her very well. 

She’s also inspired some traditions elsewhere on the continent where people dress up in furs and briar crowns and roses (and sometimes blood/red paint) to try to ward away the local cryptid and protect their dead. Alphecca is less amused by that one so naturally Cassandra and Ilione get really into it. 

The last two images are actually from early 2019! HTTYD 3 gave me a real viking kick and I wanted to mix that with her dark witch aesthetic. Alphecca is surprisingly modern given her age but it’s also interesting to remember she’d be from an era set 2000 years prior to TTS at minimum and that she’s still got her roots in some very oldschool traditions. Her reverence for deities and spirits probably plays a big part in why she joined Zhan Tiri in the first place, and of course there’s her little romance with Death (and her own interesting relationship with Decay). 

[thequietspaces]

It’s Era talks about topic of the day time, but I’m gonna do so in a way that’s more about our broader cultural perspectives on moral philosophy and how it relates to the narratives we tell. So

The topic of the Redemption Arc is one that’s come up in a big way pretty recently, and so the debate emerges- what makes a good redemption arc? I’m not really interested in answering that question. 

But what I will argue is that, as others have said before, a character should not have to endure suffering as a prerequisite for being redeemed; it is not necessary for their growth, it is not beneficial for their victims or the greater good, and encouraging it as a necessary part of a Redemption narrative (note that writers choosing to create conflict throughout a redemption arc can be a valid narrative decision) is just indulging in a sense of sadism that utilises a westernised conceptualisation of ‘justice’ to see a character they don’t like get put through the wringer before they can ‘earn’ love or compassion. 

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This was a really good post but some of the responses are giving me brain worms and because this topic is hot right now in the world of cartoons and I care a lot about it I'm gonna give a hopefully brief crack at addressing some of the complaints. So.

There is an important thought to keep in mind throughout this topic. Once a character has expressed remorse for their actions and has taken or started to take steps to atone or self-improve, what point does (often excessive) suffering or punishment then serve? This is something that can get rather complicated depending on how the actual narrative beats of a story are laid out and the character in question. And there are criticisms that certainly can be levied at the way an arc is handled, but the issue here has more to do with the underlying ethical issues than with the writing.

1.How do people learn, grow, and take responsibility for their actions if they have not been punished first or there is no fear of punishment?

There’s probably a lot to unpack here but the main point is that no, you do not need to suffer and live in fear of reprisal in order to want to do good things or be a good person, or to decide to change your actions for the betterment of others or yourself.

Change can come from many places and for many villain redemption arcs it comes from being made to realise inherent truths about themselves. This can mean anything from witnessing how their actions have affected others and finally sympathising/empathising with that to deciding what matters most, or being reached out to and having the..let's say blockage that was preventing them from introspecting or empathizing disrupted. And more. There are..many ways for people to change that don’t involve them going through excessive amounts of suffering/humiliation first in order to satisfy a vengeance based idea of justice.

2. The “never give up on someone” lesson. Of course no one person should ever be expected to hold onto a relationship or put a lot of work into it if they decide that it is personally not worth it or harmful. But again; it is up to them to decide that, that’s their choice. People are complicated, and there are multiple factors that can contribute to someone wanting to put work into a troubled relationship. There are obviously certain lines in real life to be drawn especially when people aren’t actually genuinely remorseful and continue the bad behavior, but in the case of a fantasy narrative where you can see the other person’s thoughts on screen and they are having a breakdown while being manipulated by a literal demon, I think the comparison doesn’t really hold true.  

3. Excusing abusers and forgiveness on the behalf of other people.

Forgiving someone for their actions when they have shown remorse and the will to do better does not equal excusing abuse. Characters forgiving someone, but other characters not is actually a really interesting plot point to deal with in a story that has the time for it, but sometimes brevity (or..issues with pace/trying to knock off the main points before a story ends) doesn’t always allow for that. But it makes for interesting fanworks.

I could probably get into the specifics of how some of this relates to Cass’s arc or others and the writing or criticisms thereof but this is already longer than I wanted it to be.

Alright, time for Silver’s long rant of the day – possibly a controversial one but here it is: Cassandra never needed a redemption.

There! I’ve finally said it! I’ve actually felt this way since before the series wrapped up. The thought that Cassandra needed to be redeemed never sat well with me, and I couldn’t figure out why until the finale aired and everything fell into place. And now, I think I’ve finally gathered enough of my thoughts together to explain why I feel that way. Or at least attempt to. This is definitely gonna be a big, long mess of a ramble - apologies in advance. Let’s go!

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ZT disciple shenanigans, in which the ones that are still around are competing in a king of the hill for the spot of Corona’s Next Top Demon and they all want Alphecca on their side for some reason (?) and she doesn’t want to touch that with a 10ft pole so she outsources Cass to deal with her problems.

+ a bonus of Sugracha being done with her shit

[thequietspaces]

i’m chuffed every time @bestworstcase​ promotes some of my content because I am generally too lazy/not really in fandom circles/not currently making more content, and i’ve never had someone basically stan me before. mainly I just sit around whispering in the ears of my much more talents pals like some sort of gremlin until they produce things i want to read and nod thoughtfully at. but if people asked me questions i would probably answer them. i cannot guarantee the answers to be very graceful or interesting. 

[thequietspaces]

Untitled Horror Project

[thequietspaces]

the grass does not appear afraid

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24108628

a drabble, because i am bored. based on this poem:

WHAT mystery pervades a well!  The water lives so far, Like neighbor from another world  Residing in a jar.   The grass does not appear afraid;  I often wonder he Can stand so close and look so bold  At what is dread to me.   Related somehow they may be,—  The sedge stands next the sea, Where he is floorless, yet of fear  No evidence gives he.   But nature is a stranger yet;  The ones that cite her most Have never passed her haunted house,  Nor simplified her ghost.   To pity those that know her not  Is helped by the regret That those who know her, know her less  The nearer her they get. - Emily Dickinson 

[thequietspaces]

I’ll just put it this way. As someone who puts a lot of heart into my characters and takes pride in creating personalities and stories that feel real and connect to my own struggles and hopefully with others, seeing people use the term ‘OC’ in a diminutive, dismissive way is incredibly disheartening. 

That the stories I want to tell aren’t worth telling because they aren’t about an already established character you like. That the characters I create will never be good enough because they’re not your favourite. 

There are so many compelling stories and characters out there and I try to connect with different ones, I want to hear the stories other people have to tell even if it’s not something that interests me in particular. Hell, I’m incredibly enamoured with the 7 kingdoms AU not because Varian is my favourite character, but because the passion and inspiration his fans have for it is downright contagious. And if you have an original character, I want you to tell me more about them!

A story is always worth telling if it comes from a place of heart, and screw anyone who tries to dismiss that. 

[thequietspaces]

this is amazing! i’m so glad she vibes

I wanted to rework my redesign so here she is!

Tried to add a bit more Eldritch Horror because of @bestworstcase and @thequietspaces wonderful ideas on Zhan Tiri. Thank you both for sharing your lovely ideas ❤️❤️❤️

[thequietspaces]

/sneaks in. hemlock here! thank you everyone for the kind words, and again for farran and being my main stan and eldritch partner in crime.

I’m probably super late on this train of following her or whatever but anyone who likes Cass should really go check out @bestworstcase (do we do shout outs on tumblr? I don’t know. My head’s a little fuzzy. It’s 4:30 in the morning) because I just spent the last 5 hours reading all her fics on AO3 and I’m dripping with seratonin.

Some scattered thoughts from my brain(to be printed on the back of a book cover like some critically acclaimed book):

“Finally someone’s exploring Cass’s (mostly) questionable motivations for like. The whole third season” - my brain after reading all her AO3 stuff

“Yes yes YES DEEP AND TERRIFYING HORROR BABY” -my brain two to three chapters into ‘Strings’

“sHIPS CASSUNZEL BUT ALSO HAS A WEAKNESS FOR THE UNREQUITED LOVE TROPE SIGN ME UP” - my brain after scrolling thru her blog

“Never even considered that but I’m eating that shit UP” - my brain re: Saporian Cass

Ok yes done yelling about that absolutely scrumptious angst and character study and horror I’m going to sleep now