#like i was ready to live with this being just a conspiracy theory born headcanon

[reitziluz]

hey about the vow made to radahn?

i had a moment of red string insanity while, as i have been since the dlc dropped, thinking about the motivations and agency of radahn.

(please tell me i'm not the only one stumbling into this hypothesis)

i've been long pondering about gaius, radahn's older brother figure, being an albinauric, one of the opressed people miquella is trying to save. and how he is stated to be cursed from birth, cursed people being also part of miquella's motivations.

i am in the camp that miquella has good intentions, but desperation has driven him to extreme methods. the "he is controlling everyone, nobody is willing!!" angle doesn't sit right with me. frankly, it makes for a less impactful story. it makes things convoluted, where seeing miquella as someone with limited power and a lot of his moves as scrambling to recover from setbacks makes sense. everything didn't go down as planned, there were things out of his control.

so. radahn. he promised to be miquella's consort, for better or worse. what did miquella vow to him?

i considered it, but wanting gaius to be saved doesn't feel like enough motivation for him. or if it was, would the man who learned gravity magic to keep riding his beloved horse decide to abandon his sworn brother so that he can, what, go hog wild in the shattering war?

but thinking about gaius made me think of albinaurics. lack of feet. being cursed from birth. radahn lacks his feet during the festival. that's not anything, scarlet rot rots away limbs all the time.

but scarlet rot doesn't turn your skin gray and sclera black.

marika's children are prone to being born cursed. cursed to be taken over by entities. losing their minds.

it's hard to find a sensible reason for radahn and malenia to have fought. two possibilities i've seen before are 1) radahn wasn't on board with the plan (likely had broken out of miquella's charms and control) so malenia was sent to bring him back in line 2) for some reason, miquella specifically needed him to die and be resurrected, and all the weird circumstances are somehow part of the same plan and make sense for reasons we just can't know but trust me bro they do.

it's interesting that in the story trailer, in radahn's and malenia's fight, radahn's face is shown only for a split second.

gray skin. black sclera.

was radahn, too, cursed from birth?

was he doomed to be overtaken, to lose himself?

had he lost his mind long before he was afflicted with scarlet rot? had he turned into a scourge, and not much else, before he and malenia fought?

did malenia see herself in him? did she want to give him the death he would have wanted? did she want to help him keep a promise he wouldn't have wanted to break?

did miquella vow to save him, like he did the albinaurics, like he did malenia?

[asagi-s-garden]

It’s time for Dumb Headcanons-

For whatever reason, Kara is the one to carry her and Lena’s first born child, she can’t just vanish for almost a year without saying anything though, I mean what kind of hero would do that?

So she makes a public announcement right after officially finding out that she’s pregnant that she’s “going away for a few months on a personal journey”

Now the thing is, Lena knows her wife, she knows her very well, and she knows that her watching from the sidelines as Alex and the others keep the city safe is going to be incredibly painfull for her, so she decides to take Kara on a vacation for the first few months of pregnancy

Once they get around the second trimester they’re going to have to go into seclusion in a special fortress that Clark and Kate built for her that’s like half Fortress Of Solitude and half Batcave that’s structured to both keep enemies out, and keep Kara in, because they know their girl as well as Lena does (Alex tunes in from skype from time to time to tell them what they’ve done wrong specifically because she knows how crafty Kara is and is just “mmm nope you see that little crack in that wall right there? Yeah she could get through that, I don’t know how, but she could”) Ofcourse freinds and family are welcome to visit because it’d just be cruel otherwise but anyway

Lena knows Kara, she knows that staying cooped up in one place for 5-6 months is going to be hell enough as it is, the full extent of her pregnancy would be a NIGHTMARE, but she also is a little afraid to stay in National City during the first 3-4 months because that would equally be disasterous on Kara’s mental health, seeing shit go down and not being able to help, so she decides to take them on vacation instead, to some of the most peacefull places on Earth, like the New Zealand countryside and a small town in Switzerland and a tiny island that she may possibly own, it seems like a solid plan to begin with, until....

Proof That Lena Luthor Is Supergirl

That’s the headline that starts popping up about four days after they leave and it’s just everywhere, conspiracy theories that Lena is Supergirl because she “vanished“ at the same time that Supergirl left

Kara thinks it’s hilarious, it’s the best laugh she’s had in a week and that’s saying something considering how much time she’s spent watching cute cat videos on the private jet

They have to cut their vacation short so Lena can go back to National City every few weeks, show her face for a few days, and then leave again

Everyone starts making it into an inside joke that they have to be very carefull not to share outside of The Circle of those in the know because otherwise something might slip, Brainy in particular thinks it’s bizarre that Kara just keeps getting more pregnant everytime she comes back and yet somehow no one has tried to pin Lena’s wife, who’s pregnant, as the superhero who has to mysteriously vanish for nine months (because against her better instincts Kara does mention at the press conference that she’ll be returning in June, wich is about nine months from when she announces her departure, somehow no one has picked up on it, until they start with the Lena theory and go “AND HER WIFE IS PREGNANT AND DUE IN JUNE, COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT-” evidently they’ve decided that Lena is leaving because Kara is pregnant, wich isn’t wrong, but still somehow off)

By the time baby Kira Zor El Luthor is born (they made the conscious decision to break from the “L” tradition in Lena’s family only to end up with the “K” tradition in Kara’s completely by accident; their second born will be named Luka and Alex is going to headdesk so hard she bruises) half of National City has started to believe that Lena is Supergirl, somehow, and she and Kara- as Supergirl- have to actually appear together in public and shake hands with people to prove neither one is a hologram before anyone lets the theory die

Other less cohesive headcanons about this insanity-

-Kara insists that she take care of Kira when she wakes up in the middle of the night because to be 100% honest sleep is a luxury, not a necessity, for her- that’s not even being careless with herself, that’s just.... a legitimate fact... she doesn’t really HAVE to sleep very much as long as she’s under the yellow sun so why on earth should she deprive Lena of it???

Lena: Really, it’s ok, I’ve had a lifetime of being denied sleep so at this point I can actually function with out it :)

Kara: That.... that in absolutely no way makes me feel better...... also I have super hearing so I’ll hear her first anyway, there’s no need to wait for you to wake up..

Lena: Oh no that’s fine, I’m hypervigilant and paranoid so I’ll wake up as soon as she starts crying, no superpowers required! :)

Kara: That just makes me feel even worse?????? B-Besides I have a Kryptonian lullaby I can sing to her that works like a charm

Lena: Oh that’s so lovely, I have an old Irish lullaby my mother taught me right before she died that I can’t wait to sing to Kira as the literal only good thing that comes from my family legacy :)

Kara, near tears: ...Have I done something to you today????? ;_;

Lena: ...no?? why???

-The amount of food they go through during Kara’s pregnancy probably could have sustained a small country for atleast a month, it doesn’t seem to matter how much Lena thinks she’s stocking up ahead of time, it’s never enough and she inevitably always has to buy more the very next day, it takes the combined efforts of Barry and Kate to help keep things stocked so Lena isn’t having to constantly be leaving the Bat Fortress (it was the name Kate and Clark finally decided on and no one has the right to veto it no matter how much certain people want to) to restock, they start this Superhero Delivery Service as a Bros Being Bros type of thing, just freinds being freinds and loving their pregnant super freind so very much but after a week it turns into a ruthless competition of what, ultimately, is the better resource- speed or money, Barry has the Speed Force but Kate has every method of transportation imaginable and also drones and by the time Kira is born a rivalry has slowly simmered between them, the likes of wich goes right back to the type of “Who’s faster?” rivalry Barry has with the Supers, that probably won’t end even after they both die, Kara has mixed feelings about being the inadvertent catalyst for this but Nia thinks it’s the best thing that’s ever happened and she and Mary are placing bets

-Lena knows that Kryptonians don’t exactly have the same health issues to worry about that humans do but Kira is going to be atleast part human isn’t she? So Kara has to be willing to step up her health game wile she’s pregnant right??? Nice theory, no dice, Alex tried to warn her but Lena Luthor doesn’t lose and when she wants something she gets it................ unless that something is getting Kara to have a healthier diet, then there’s no force on any planet in any universe that can help

Lena: An apple

Kara: A dozen doughnuts

Lena: One apple

Kara:  ...Sixteen doughnuts

Lena: *gently places an apple on the table*

Kara: ....*stares intensely at the box of doughnuts, unblinking*

Lena: ....What are you doing?

Kara: I wonder if I try hard enough if I can develop telekinesis

Lena: No-

-True panic is Lena taking care of Kira at the office wile Kara is off doing the superheroing for the first time in months (nanny? nope, not in this house, the child never leaves our sight, we die like moms) and Kira starts giggling and levitates out of her bassinet wile Lena is on a conference call so her investors are met with a frantic Lena keeping her voice astoundingly level and clear wile running around the office chasing her floating baby, they mostly just get glimpses of her jacket from time to time and, if they ask, are only met with “I have a child now” and absolutely no other explanation

-For the first time since being on Earth Kara is faced with the cosmic joke that is Earth’s gravity during her late months of pregnancy because everything is wobbly and waddly and holy RAO HOW IS IT SO HARD JUST TO GET OFF OF THE FLOOR!?!?! SHE COULD FLY TWO MONTHS AGO AND NOW IT’S A MAJOR STRUGGLE TO PULL HERSELF OFF OF THE COUCH WHAT THE FUCK!?

-Kate has managed to live through four years of having actual freinds who have started to reproduce and never once has she reacted with more than marginally more interested than what she had during Crisis when Kara tried to hand Jon to her, but in those four years all of those freinds have been straight, to be fair, and there’s something a little different about seeing other lesbians with babies that’s mildly more tolerable, first it was Alex and Kelley, then it was Kara and Lena, Sophie and Mary keep cooing over the babies and Kate doesn’t really get that........ until she’s visiting Kara and an alien attacks and Kara is just “hold my baby-” and flies out the window and Kate is Stuck with a sleeping four-month-old and no ability to get to a phone without waking Kira up so she’s just kind of frozen like that for the foreseeable future and when Kara comes back Kate is laying on the couch, Kira sleeping on her chest, looking incredibly relaxed

Kate: Oh you’re back, we’ve had a lovely time

Kara: Awwwwwwwww, see? You are good with babies <3

Kate: Mmmm still going to have to disagree on that but your’s is... not... bad...

Kara: Sooooooo you’ll babysit sometime? :3

Kate: Nope, this last half hour was enough thanks

Kara: Wait until Sophie hears you lasted an entire half hour ;)

Kate: Just hold off telling her for about fifteen years or so, I don’t think we’re ready to live in a world where I can tolerate this for an entire thirty minutes yet

Kara: lol ok

Years later when she eventually ends up taking after her cousin and having a couple of orphans with her name on them she insists to Sophie that it’s Kara’s fault because “that time she made me hold her kid for half an hour did something to me I just know it”, Kara pops in one day after hearing this and just goes “You’re welcome~” before flying off again

And finally-

Kara: Lena honey I think Kira is a little too young to be getting her first suit tailored...

Lena: But she’s already a year old...???

[space--wrecked]

Oh oh what is your theory on Mrs. Goodspeed past then?

Aw hell here we go with my crazy bullshit 

Alright so Mrs. Goodspeed infiltrated the Infinity Guard as a sleeper agent for a secret intergalactic terrorist organization under her codename Admiral Vega. She posed as an officer in High Command in order to access as much info as possible to relay back to base so that they could coordinate an effective strike to overthrow the Infinity Guard and make way for the new galaxy order. 

While awaiting orders, she took an interest to John, finding him to be a lovable rogue despite his many, many, many flaws. And given what a prominent figure he was in the Infinity Guard she figured he would be a useful pawn especially given how she ranked above him as his superior.  It’s hard to say whether or not she had true feelings for him because that’s something she herself never really understood  because of how deep undercover she was. She would have these sort of dissociative episodes where she couldn’t tell who she was anymore because of how long she’s been stuck playing a role. So much so that she ended marrying John and baring his child.

Meanwhile, Jack was having his suspicions over this elusive “Admiral Vega” as he couldn’t for the life of him ever remember her existence which he felt he would know given how he was essentially raised on a military base in the Infinity Guard (due to fucked up circumstances in my equally fucked up headcanon on his past but that’s another story for another time). John being absolutely smitten by Vega dismissed Jack’s concerns as his usual neurosis but Jack couldn’t ignore the feeling in his gut and decided to look into it.

Months past since Gary’s birth, John feels like he’s living the dream. He’s a father now and his career is going swimmingly and he’s married to the woman of his dreams. Until he gets a phone call. It’s Jack and he’s at it again with his insane conspiracy theories. He’s babbling on about forged documentation and government spies yada yada: “ You’ve been living a lie John!” “ She’s not who you think she is John!” “Something bad is about to happen John I can feel it!” “You’re in great danger!”

John hangs up, he doesn’t want to hear anymore of it. But then he hears wailing. It’s Gary, why’s his son crying? And then at that point the gravity of the situation comes crashing down on him like a flaming asteroid when he sees blaster fire shoot past him and graze his cheek,barely missing his head. He whirls around ready to fight and he sees his wife pointing a gun at him.

Mrs. Goodspeed has been “activated” and first order of business was to take him out. He’s outlived his usefulness.

The two duke it out right there in the living room. John is confused as fuck as to what is going on, why is dearest wife acting like a murderous coke fiend? The only thing he can conclude is that Jack was right about all this and he was royally screwed. He’s a whirlwind of emotion: grief, anger, betrayal, and the most morbid sense of sexual arousal he could ever feel for someone. 

Fortunately for him as his wife is about to deliver the killing blow, it seems she’s experiencing the same complicated feelings as he is. She can’t go  through with it, the world is much too interesting with John in it than without it so--

They’re at a stalemate. 

They each wound each other like it’s their wedding vows, a cut across Mrs.Goodspeed lower jaw and gash along John’s chest, near his heart of all places. 

She was gone like a hurricane and John was left to repair the damage. He obviously got a lot of flack from just about every member of the Infinity Guard. Tensions were high as people didn’t know who to trust anymore. Jack would later on use the whole incident to bolster his corrupt campaign during his rise to being the Lord Commander. 

John however ignored their scorn feeling more dejected than anything. But he was able to find solace and comfort in raising Gary who became the newfound light of his life. And while it sometimes hurt him to see Gary grow looking more and more like his mother he considered him to be miracle to have been born the way happy camper he was despite all that happened. Understandably, John couldn’t help but keep Mrs. Goodspeed a secret as he didn’t want to tarnish any of Gary’s own relationships (not when life could do that for him). He lied claiming Mrs. Goodspeed died early on due to some unforeseeable, incurable disease so as to make it seem as random as possible so as not to put any weight of burden on Gary.

And whenever Gary would ask what she was like and who she was John would tell half-truths, recounting times he remembered her as his heroic commander and ignoring how in hindsight she was exploiting him. It’s how he wanted Gary to remember her and frankly how he wished he could remember.

Which is why it’s rather unfortunate that decades later after his passing he wouldn’t realize that he was essentially setting Gary up  for trouble when Mrs.Goodspeed would be making her comeback.

[ftscge-blog]

greetings friends (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ im jay and im excited to b finally making an obnoxious entrance .. Yea couldnt be more late but please (Softly begging) dont be a stranger. i promise to overwhelm u with ideas and headcanons about our characters eating pasta or arguing about who gets to eat the pink mentos ... Right ??? right. under the cut u will find a few pointers about my spiritual sage and i will post some possible connections tomorrow (although id be MOre than happy to brainstorm more). Also, dis klutz hasnt got a soulmate yet so if someone reads this and goes ‘yea cool’ ☺ .. here is ur chance ....... we can work magic ????? okay 

as per usual, if u would like me to im u about conspiracy theories or to plot summnnn bonito give this a HEart. Alternatively if u want to give mark the zucc or pity like, dats also welcome. Thank u

!!!!!!!! tw: death, depression !!!!!

kendall jenner + cisfemale + she/her — have you met sage hawke? they are a twenty-two year old furniture sales advisor known as the conundrum. a pansexual cancer, they are astute + attentive, as well as mercurial + phlegmatic. their soulmark is a olive branch behind her ear, and they can’t feel the emotions of their soulmate, who happens to look like any fc. // jay. 20. she/her. gmt.

❃ sage was born in berkeley, california in the back garden of a school bus turned tiny house to a pair of flower children that did not plan to become parents and underestimated just how much it would shift their otherwise, spontaneous lives. they were far from picture perfect, with their tendency to outburst and get stuck when things didn’t go their way. theyd often forget to pack sages breakfast or dress her in unmatched socks, leave her unattended, allow her to squeeze herself into places where she shouldn’t be.. they’d trip over pacifiers and forget to warm up the milk but they gave sage a warm place to come back to with muddy knees after repeatedly falling off the monkey bars and loving arms to fall into after someone made fun of her in elementary.. and she was the kind of person who wasn’t afraid to dig through dirt 

❃ her mother was delicate, she could never secure a real job.. she couldn’t be criticised, she took everything to heart and found it hard to open up to people.. she couldn’t be alone for too long and never slept with the lights off. she met sage’s father at the age of 19..from the moment they saw each other, it clicked. they were soulmates. he was 10 years older than her. He was a childish spirit that never grew up, he never took things too seriously and always had an alternative for any situation. He had a backbone that was able to support both of them emotionally, without him, Sage would have never taken her first breath in the first place. For him, it was always going to be okay eventually??? he was the one to sit sage down after she brought home a bad grade, he’d read her the bedtime stories and teach her her first guitar chords. her mother always looked up to what he would do and try to be the same, but it always felt staged, detached. like she never knew how to react around sage. Like she couldn’t grip her own struggles so, how could she begin to understand her daughters ... difference is, her father thought he couldn’t but he always tried. they balanced each other. around him, it was hard to believe anything could possibly get worse 

❃ but it did.. on her 14th birthday sage got a dog, a golden doodle that jumped with excitement at the sight of sage as much as she did at the sight of him. later that night, her father suggested they all go to a park to enjoy the first day with the new addition to their family and so they did. it was the first time, sage’s mother smiled so big it gave sage and her father goosebumps. he was playing fetch with the dog when pain pierced through his chest and bolted up his spine. in that moment, everything slowed down. sage felt her ears buzz and her sight get blurry, the moment she kneeled down in front of her father and begged her mother to call for help but instead, all she did was stood still. she screamed at the top of her lungs and tried dialling for help but realised, she was never taught the emergency number. she banged her fists against her father’s chest and begged for him to wake up, but it was just as though someone turned off his on switch. sage broke down, curled up beside her father and held the dog in her arms as though to repress his playful nature. the world turned grey that evening, the air felt denser. her mother was taken under care that day after she succumbed from witnessing her soulmates death... they had given her a couple of days before her light would turn off along with her soulmark. it was in these last days that sage learned more about her mother than ever. she learned that she was self conscious about motherhood knowing she couldn’t teach sage the qualities that mattered like resilience, courage and acuity. that she observed without interrupting, that she remembered every single detail of sage’s life more than she recalls her own. sage learned that her mother is where she inherited her tenderness and idiosyncrasy from, that her favorite flower is a blue bell and that sage was her happiest accident  

❃ to bury both of her parents at once wasn’t irrational to sage, it was what was ingrained in their destiny. if one soulmate dies, the other most likely follows. but although sage had remarkable understanding of the world for her age, she could never accept the fact that they were there one day and the next, they were gone. her father never finished teaching her guitar chords and her mother never ate her piece of sage’s birthday cake. how do you go on knowing you can’t go back and replay something in a way that feels tangible ?? how do you go on knowing you are all alone. who do you complain to?? who is there to live for??? ? it is hard losing both of your parents on its own and even harder to accept when you are old enough to make sense of it. seeing images everytime you try to rest that bring back all the pain, not being able to stop the tears from streaming down your face because everytime u do, you realise that with each passing day the memory of their faces becomes more blurry. the voices become ruffled in your brain as if theyre just a fragment of your imagination. you bottle up. you scream, you hit, you tire yourself out and try to shake the feeling off but it feels as though its ripping through your bones and leaving ulcers on your heart that pound in pain everytime you go back to the last time you’ve smiled and realising, you cannot remember. sage’s unapologetic demeanour  attracted the wrong crowd. she was the girl who would leave lipstick marks on necks and who’s voice could be heard at the other end of the hallway having an argument with her high school sweetheart. whoever it was that month. she was unapologetically eccentric, sloppy and unwell. but to this day, the people who really know her see her as an incredibly sensitive individual who deals with her issues hands on. who’s piercingly honest, sometimes too much. someone who is able to convey their vulnerability in ways that seem lunatic and astute all at once. she is incredibly tough, she’s able to force anyone look at themselves in the mirror, see themselves in a new light and turn their lives around. just as she is convinced she did

❃ sage was placed in foster care after her parents’ passing and due to her neurotic nature, was never a feasible candidate for adoption.. she worked as a waitress at the local diner owned by a family friend until they realised she was better off helping the chef in the kitchen, away from the customers that often walked right out the Moment sage graced their table JGRIEOGJEI When she turned 18, Sage was given a care plan and various locations where she could make her home. After spending a month, digging through job advertisements and applying to anything that didn’t require a college degree, Sage got one reply. It was an informal email requesting an interview for a furniture sales advisor in captiva island, florida. one of the places on the care plan list. She packed everything she could and moved to Captiva. the next morning, she arrived at the furniture shop and was greeted by a greying man with wood sand on his jeans and a lady with too much hairspray in her hair waving at her from across the counter. And the rest is HISTORY ???  from the moment they’ve welcomed her into their shop, Sage was overwhelmed with the same disorderedness she grew up around and the more she got to know the personalities of her new bosses, the more she learned to appreciate them. coming into work felt more like home than the place she had lived in, with freshly baked pastries ready for her to munch on at her break or a story to listen to in between the busy times. the more they knew sage, the more they allowed her to express her feelings about daily frustrations, accepted her random spurts of energy and understood when she needed a day off or two, or more. soon enough, the moments when she wasn’t at work, she was spending on their couch, looking through their albums of children that had left their nests and simpler times, when all they had to worry about was their curfew. they weren’t soulmates but they were best friends and didn’t let destiny determine their life. Sage looked up to them like no other, comparing their life to the tragedy of her parents’, convincing herself that chasing after your Soulmate, whoever it may be, isn’t worth the chance of risk at all. After working there for 4 years, Sage became like family to the owners of the shop and for her 21st birthday, they decided to gift her with their offering of parenthood. Later that summer, the Hawke family became sages legal parents

❃ i will post some questionnaire later to clarify her personality a little more but it’ll all come through her dialogue .. u know who she reminds me of ??? sophia from girl boss??? or tiffany from silver linings playbook?? shes painfully observant and a huge overthinker. she doesn’t filter her speech and oftentimes, she says things she should not on impulse. she’s neurotic, she’s erratic, she will pick petty fights and blow things out of proportion when you catch her on the wrong day. its like that lyrics thoUGH ‘when im happy oh god im happy??’ you will see it from the way her eyes crinkle and the ways she can’t seem to relax her body. every emotion overwhelms her.. she loves and she protecc until her knuckles bleed and she’s stubborn, she’ll never let you win the argument unless she loves u and she understands that u are probably way wiser than she is. Shes a klutz, she’ll trip over her own feet taking out the trash and spill Literally everything that isnt left empty. She likes little moments in life, the profound ones like that one time her friend let her drive his car even through she didn’t have her driving license or that one time her friend opened up to her even though they never do. She remembers all of those profound moments very clearly and holds onto them for dear life because to her, they are what matters .. Please plot w me if u got to this point because ... DAMNNN :’) u really read all det..... 

❃ why the olive branch ??? its understood to be a symbol of peace .. reconciliation. maybe they met it felt like an ice pack on a bruise ?? maybe they met each other and it felt as though there’s been some kind of a mistake, that they were nothing what they expected their soulmate to be ? maybe they even considered removing their soulmark because it felt so wrong that two polar opposites were meant to make things work?? it almost felt unfair??? maybe even the fact that they can’t feel the emotions of their soulmate can be linked to that .. because u know it would be harder to learn to love, platonically or romantically, someone who you cant easily understand? in addition to that, sage is not an easy person to deal with .. she’s erratic, she’s a know-it-all .. she overthinks like no other, shes easily irritated and explosive and she has always been quite cynical about the idea of a soulmate and it shows with how unwilling she is to share all of herself with a stranger.. a part of her written in destiny. Something shes convinced is ... fickle?? So yeah... an olive branch. For all the profound moments when it feels just right. For when the uncertainty fades away :-)

[marvelandponder]

Long Live the Princesses

First off, I should specify we’re not talking about why Celestia and Luna are immortal. Nor are we diving into why there’s been a matriarchy as opposed to a patriarchy. We kind of know those answers, at least to some degree.

What strikes me as particularly interesting is why Luna and Celestia have stayed in power for so long. Why are these two figures so beloved?

Some dark alicorn magic? Incredible political tactics? Some other third thing?

I think what probably pops into your mind first is the fact that Celestia and Luna raise the sun and moon respectively. It makes them pretty damn useful and hey, the immortality doesn’t hurt!

And originally, the reason they came into power was to represent all three tribes as one country. Although, now that Equestria has been united for hundreds of years and other alicorns have come into being, there’s less of a reason to keep them specifically, isn’t there?

In that case, it would seem like Equestria just grew complacent after sticking these two important ponies into power. But there’s nothing that says the ponies who raise the sun and moon have to lead the nation. Starswirl was originally one of the ponies who took on that responsibility, and he was never in power. So, if they’ve just grown complacent, why? Why not replace them?

Why them? Why for over a thousand years?

Before we really get into it, let’s put all this in perspective.

Perfect Princesses, They Ain’t

Disgruntled fans have picked up on the fact that the princesses often get kidnapped or otherwise nerfed when the conflict ramps up. Not always, thankfully, but it’s fair to say they’ve wound up leaving the fate of Equestria in other ponies’ hooves quite a bit, one way or another.

So, they’re not always the most reliable. At least, in terms of protecting the country with brute force. Delegating that task to the current Element Bearers/Rainbow-Powered Ponies and their friends is a perfectly valid way to handle things, I just wouldn’t count on them in a pinch.

It’s debatable: that might be more of an audience perspective than one you would have in-universe. But I digress.

They’ve also made some incredibly big mistakes. They lost the throne to Discord for a while, the entire Crystal Empire vanished for 1000 years on their watch, Nightmare Moon almost plunged the world into eternal darkness, Celestia taught/raised a megalomaniac bent on stealing the throne, Luna nearly released the Tantabus on the world, and on and on it goes. That’s not even counting the comics, where Celestia (somewhat inadvertently) caused the corruption of the good King Sombra and nearly broke two dimensions because she wanted to be with him.

They’ve made some dangerous mistakes. As characters, it gives them interesting flaws and depth, but as leaders, they’re not always the perfect goddesses we sometimes like to think of them as.

I would say there have definitely been grounds to find a new royal family, so now things get... tricky.

No Lines of Succession

So, real quick, we should get another obvious answer out of the way: since they’re immortal and have yet to bear children that we know of, they have no real line of succession. Hence why Celestia and Luna haven’t passed down the crown. Easy.

The closest thing to successors are Celestia’s students and... damn, just Prince Blueblood (Celestia’s “nephew”) whose origins are still a huge question mark, and Cadence (an “adopted” niece).

As an aside, I’ve tried figuring this out before, it gets into conspiracy theory territory pretty quickly.

Cadence is Celestia’s niece, but we know she was adopted into the royal family somehow (although when you think about it, if Cadence is Celestia’s niece, then Celestia must’ve adopted Cadence as Luna’s daughter when she was trapped on the moon... that’s just how the timing works out and I find that hilarious).

Blueblood might’ve been adopted in the same somewhat confusing way, I guess?

Although, if my assumptions are correct, it strikes me as odd that we’ve never heard Cadence be referred to as Luna’s daughter. The show’s done this kind of thing before sort of by not telling us about Shining Armour, but this is even more extreme---saying two characters, who we’ve seen interact, have this mother daughter relationship we’ve never once seen reference to---that level of retcon would be a bit much.

It’s possible that Celestia and Luna used to have another sibling, a non-immortal sibling, that died with the rest of the alicorns before Equestria was an official country. There might be a bloodline from that other sibling, or failing that, just a legacy, where Celestia and Luna periodically adopt kids to keep their family alive in a way.

Like I said, conspiracy theory. I think for the Mystery of the Prissy Prince (Blueblood), you either have to use headcanons or... just not think about it too hard. For all we know, “niece” and “nephew” might just be a honourary titles, it’s really hard to legitimately analyze the structure of the royal family.

So, anyway, the successors are Blueblood, Cadance & her husband Shining Armour (although Shining by himself would be WAY down the line of succession), Sunset Shimmer, and finally Twilight. That’s all we know about for the moment, but apparently, none of them matter, anyway.

As in, even if these ponies are successfully trained to be princesses and princes, the point isn’t to take Luna or Celestia’s place. Cadence and Shining Armour are deemed worthy enough to lead, they get shipped off to the Crystal Empire. Twilight proves she’s a level-headed leader, ascends to alicornhood, and even becomes a princess of Equestria and she’s the princess of an abstract concept (technically speaking she rules over all Equestria, too, and even seems to perform a few of the same functions Luna and Celestia, but it’s not like Celestia stepped down for Twilight to rule in her place).

Despite the naming scheme Sunset and Twilight share, not even Celestia’s proteges are going to put an end to her reign (note: there’s a really neat difference between them, when it comes to names: sunset is specifically when the day ends, but twilight is the period of time between day and night, either after the sunset or the sunrise; so while Sunset aimed to end Celestia’s rule, Twilight bridged the gap between the princesses of the day and night).

Basically meaning, ain’t no one stealing Sunbutt and Moonbutt’s crowns. And the fact that even their successors can’t take their place almost leads us into dictator territory. Well, almost.

What Tia and Lulu have would be considered an absolute monarchy, or absolute diarchy as the case may be. And even though it’s somewhat comparable to a (benevolent) dictatorship in that they have absolute power over their subjects, it’s a different beast because they didn’t take power by force, and even if they never die, new heirs can be born into or gain honorary entrance into the royal family. The difference might seem slight, but they juust squeak by.

It really is no wonder the fandom used to have all those dark theories about Luna and Celestia. It was back in the early days of the fandom, when we really didn’t know much about them other than the fact that they’re worshiped like goddesses and that, so it was easy to wonder if these two were really the benevolent leaders everyone seems to think they are.

Plus there was that whole Lunar Republic v.s. the Solar Empire thing, and... I’m getting off-topic.

We’ve gotten to know them enough to know even if they make huge mistakes from time to time, they really do have what’s best for the ponies and the country at heart. But still, is there some kind of reason they were kept in power so long?

Just to be entirely clear, you can abolish a monarchy, even one with immortal leaders who really don’t plan on passing away in a neat and orderly fashion for their royal heirs. There’s been grounds to rebel or reform, hasn’t there?

Mother of Dragons Ponies

Well, if it has nothing to do with the strength of their decisions and abilities, maybe it has something to do with the strength of their character. Which, I know sounds dumb when Nightmare Moon’s in the mix, but hear me out.

This is of course a huge over-simplification, but some of history’s most effective leaders provide some sort of moral center. They demonstrate the ability to communicate their vision and goals, and stand up under scrutiny when questioned on those ideals. Resolute, but fair and/or just.

If nothing else, Celestia and Luna are great leaders because they have that strength of character, and in fact, I’d also argue they communicate that so well because of how caring and even motherly they are. We don’t see them giving many inspiring speeches, but it’s the way the each lead that communicates their values.

See, this is something that’s been pointed out before (in yesterday’s editorial, for example), but it’s still something I love: Princess Celestia often does what’s best for the country as a whole, while Princess Luna often caters to the individual.

Of course, they’ve both had to lead on small and large scales, but there’s a fundamental difference in how they go about doing that.

I think that’s part of the reason Celestia is so... secretive. She’s gotten pretty selective with what information she chooses to share and when, and it’s usually with some greater good in mind. Twilight never knew she would become a princess of an entire country after years of being Celestia’s student, for one. And in hindsight, I’d wager that’s because Sunset wanted the crown so badly when she was Celestia’s student (whether Celestia told Sunset that was her intention for her or not, it isn’t clear), so Celestia chose to keep that information from Twilight until she was ready.

It can backfire on her because ultimately she doesn’t always know what’s best. Even though it ended up working out, Celestia used a dangerous, untested situation to prove that the faith she had in Twilight was well-founded. The season 3 premiere shows a hesitant, even outwardly cold Luna ask Celestia if she should go to help, but Celestia says no. She puts the whole conflict with King Sombra and the Crystal Empire on Twilight’s shoulders, with only her friends and Cadence and Shining Armour for back-up.

That was honestly a very risky move. Twilight would need to be able to handle these kinds of conflicts as a princess, and given her experience it’s not a total gamble, but when Twilight asks about the possibility of failing, Celestia’s only response is that she won’t.

I don’t think it’s because she’s omnipotent---especially in hindsight, since we’ve seen her worry over the future. I think it’s because she has so much faith in Twilight and what she can be and do someday that she’s willing to take big risks to help her fulfill a greater destiny.

Because I think with Celestia, most of her decisions are thought out with the greater good in mind. She sent her own sister to the moon to protect her subjects. She’s willing to sacrifice everything if she knows it’s right for her people (well, her ponies).

Even on a smaller, personal level, we just saw her struggle to send Twilight away in Celestial Advice’s flashbacks. Even if it means making personal sacrifices, Celestia is ultimately willing to do what will be best for her subjects, and those closest to her, in the long run.

Luna, on the other hand, values everyone individually and guides them in smaller ways. To be clear on the difference, Celestia takes on personal students to see them reach their full potential with their destiny, whereas Luna mentors those around her by, for example, constructing dreams to suit their needs and who they are in the moment.

That might be because of the fundamental difference in who they were growing up. Celestia would’ve been put upon to lead a nation at a young age, and in comparison to Luna, was worshiped and lauded for her contributions.

Luna had the same responsibilities, but without seeing the same love and faith. Because of the depression, jealousy, and spite that grew inside her, I think Luna now sees a lot of value in helping resolve whatever emotional problems her subjects are dealing with in the moment, instead of always looking to their future and guiding towards the best version of themselves.

In that way, they lead them towards the same result (being a better version of yourself), but the motivations here are entirely different.

That can sometimes mean Luna values the opinions of those subjects to a disproportionate degree---in terms of the whole Nightmare Moon debacle, or to a lesser extent the events of Luna Eclipsed. But, when better balanced, it means Luna can provide guidance for all her subjects on a personal level, as she’s done with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Discord (in the comics), and even Starlight in her dream-walking.

So, look, I know Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have made a lot of mistakes---to the point that they maybe should be questioned and kept in check by the ones around them.

But, seeing what they’ve done for Equestria over the years, I know for a fact it’s not just their immense power or even their immortality that makes them so enduring. It’s how they demonstrate their love for their subjects that keeps them in shiny shoes and little, gem-covered tiaras.

The way they guide them. Care for them. Look out for their best interests, even when it costs them everything, even when they have to lose who they love along the way.

And, it’s worth it. Because, in the end, all that love comes back.

And if that’s what keeps them in power, may the royal sisters reign eternal.

This post has a companion!

Part 1 (Nightmare Moon), Part 2 (The Royal Family)

More MLP editorials? Sure, I’ve got some of those, right here! In fact, you just sit back and relax, here’s the most recent three so you don’t even have to go far:

Legends of Magic #1, Season Premiere Review, and Luna Editorial

Year of the Pony

Header Image and Art Wouldn’t be Possible Without:

Special Guest Artist, Adgerelli/Little-Tweenframes!

You can find Adge’s work here on Tumblr over on SciSet Daily, or Animosity is Magic, on Deviantart as Little-Tween Frames or Littaly, or on Fimfiction as Little-Tweenframes! Our girl’s been busy!

Celestia Vector by Starnight5 Canterlot at Night Background by MintyRoot

We’ve got some wonderful artists sharing their work today (with permission or by commission), so don’t hesitate to check out their work and give them some love! Seriously, these people are so damn good at art.

The Things You Do For Love are Gonna Come Back to You One by One

[mmmelanie-blog1]

greetings loved ones ! i love snoop dogg deal with it ! im benzo im literal trash thanks for checking in lmao im so excited for this u have no fkn idea boo ( feel free 2 msg me or like this post if ur too lazy n i will contact u once i get back home ) i love twd and alanna masterson a lot ( ok twd is becoming a lil bad but ima still watch it tho ) so this is a huge deal for me to play her n also my first time so dont ride my dick like this if theres something wrong with her or smth pls bare w me ! under the read more u will find a bit more about my babe MELANIE MILLER and about the connections and stuff keep in mind that im still trying to figure her out and all that stuff so have fun !

mel has lived all of her life in hermosa beach, she was born and raised there and loves it and would never ever leave it here she’s shocked and upset her parents decided to move out of there which takes us to her current living status: she lived with her parents until she turned 21, she rented an apartment and has been living on her own ever since. her father was the local owner of THE BAR ( ya the bar its called THE BAR dont make a big deal outta it have u not seen gone girl? jeez ) and when they moved out of hermosa to travel around the world with all the bar’s funding they left mel in charge of it and its been a crazy ride for her bc she literally knew nothing about how to manage a bar but now she does and shes an ace !

SHES THE YOUNGER DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL, she has three brothers ( canon masterson boys bc i love them ALL esp jordan ) who eventually come visit her n she loves them with all her damn heart ! her family means the most to her and shes always happy to have them around like u have no idea how much ! she also has a little niece ( i didnt wanted mel to have a child but I CANT CUT OFF ALL THE CUTE MARLOWE PICS SO ) who means absolutely everything to her ! she loves kids bc she considers herself a child at heart mmmm

her label is the BENEVOLENT meaning she’s really caring and soft and sweet. picture jess day from new girl minus all the glitter and girly things. mel is kind of a tomboy who wouldnt mind to wear dresses on special occasions ! lmao she’s super funny but will always bring the dad jokes to the table but lbr who doesnt love a dad joke lmao shes rly weird but in that sweet nice way you know ?

she was born in a very religious family and she always did what her parents wanted to so now that she’s all on her own she’s like free and ready to be wild but she’s like am i really ready for this ? am i as wild as everyone else seem to be ? she’s very responsible she was RAISED that way and she can’t help it ofc sometimes she’s like you know what i dont care im going to do it.... will i regret it? probably but i dont care !

mel is ALL AGAINST conflict shes the one to talk her way through things and be as civil as possible unless you wanna get wild she will probably walk the heck away from u and be like “not gonna have it, my dude !” you know? she loves attention but she never shows, shes kinda insecure about her looks in general and she pulls it off in a funny way like im gonna drag myself before u do so dont bother.... she is very sensitive but its going to take you a little bit harder than “u look bad” to make her feel bad you know.... she will probably cry later when no ones around but shes not going to let you know !

shes so aesthetic she loves art, painting, music, museums, the stars, the moon and everything else ... she believes 100% in alien and supports the theory that THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE she lowkey scully and mulders child lmaooo

she got a major in psychology so listening to people and comforting them is the thing she loves the most ! she lives for the present, dont talk to her about her past or ask her about the future that kinda annoys her although shes soft hearted and all she likes being straight up with almost everyone ! if you wanna die lie to her um she aint gonna kill u u idiot but she gonna cut u right tf off without hesitation !

PISCES SUN / GEMINI MOON / ARIES RISING !

shes an emotional wreck, she literally has no luck at all with love shes a fucking mess she falls for the wrong person EVERY FREAKING TIME ( i can relate ) she covers her emotions ( when talking about love and relationships ) with indifference and humor most of the time she be like “i dont rly need someone to constantly be there for me men aint shit” but she be crying in her sleep for someone to cuddle her every night lmao thats the way she is man u gotta love her

WANTED CONNECTIONS

SO BASICALLY i love new girl a lot and i love it specially bc it gives u so many ideas for connections and stuff lmao if u want some inspo check a new girl blog and we will get a connection from it lol but yeah my most wanted connections as of right now are:

friends to lovers: they are RIDES OR DIES basically, it doesnt have to be like uh they known each other forever nah its alright if they just met like a year ago anyway they p much together all the time and one of them ( either ur muse or mel idc ) start to feel things for the other and its annoying bc they dont wanna ruin this thing at all .... plot twist ? if u like to watch ur characters suffer, like ME ! maybe this thing is a ONE SIDED THING like one has feelings and the other is like lmao yikes ! so everything slowly becomes awkward ! i dont rly know i dont mind how this actually turns out tbh as long as we have it !

bestfriends: ALMOST SIBLINGS they have known each other for literally YEARS they went to school, high school and maybe college together ! p much melanie is the mother and ur muse is the reckless teenager whos always asking for help but they love each other a lot ! think about cece/jess from new girl :)

roomies ( 0 / 3 ): they all different from one another its a miracle they all get along this well ! they are a huge fucking mess but they are there for each other all the time ! they all live in a loft or a house idk we could figure that out laters ! ( tba )

exes: well okay as explained before, mel is a huge mess when it comes to love ! this could go two ways, they ended on bad terms but try to be as civil maybe ? melanie is a caring loving bitch but when shes in a relationship her insecurities take over most of the times and thats why it messes everything up and MAYBE thats one of the reasons why they broke up ? idk man we can work something out.... OR THEY ENDED ON REALLY NICE GOOD TERMS and still care for each other and its like they are there for each other but its kinda awkward bc do we still love each other like that or are we like family now ? you know ? I DONT MIND MELANIE HAVING LIKE TWO EXES SO LMAO

sugar daddy: is she into that daddy kink ? whO KNOWS ! but lately shes been drooling over u and its kinda nice but shes afraid bc this will probably end up really bad but shes still willing to take one for the team !

big little lies ( 0 / 5 ): MY FAVORITE SHOW so im thinking a group of FIVE to SIX powerful women ( who havent killed anyone yet so chill ) who are there for each other and have wine nights and sit by the fire to talk about their days and stuff like that so yeah that would be so cute ! ( tba )

conspiracy theories buddy: they dont just talk about conspiracy theories but they do lmao also “did u heard about the haunted house up in the hills? wanna go?” they vibe Hard its 4 am n they texting about aliens the universe and sutff like that ! ( tba )

ok thats p much all i can think of ! if there any other connection u wanna have dont hesitate to let me know ! i love sharing ideas and crying over headcanons so its fine by me ! also im running late to work so if u wanna plot hmu and like this thing and ill make sure to reply to all ur msgs once i get back home !