Godric's muse

Artist's notes:

 I'm so prooooooooooud of it! All I had to do was figure out a simple light feature, and bam!
For someone I make clear is a soldier, I am far too attracted to drawing Star Catcher in pretty dresses.   I promise, one day I'll draw her in something more badass... 


I was originally going to write a one-shot to go with this, but because I've got a lot of other things to do and my muse is kind of dead, I'm just going to explain it.


Anyway, yes, Lieutenant Star Catcher has a creepy, borderline-erotomaniacal secret admirer from Griffonstone, and this is the painting he keeps of her in his room and stares at for hours. Ewwww! It is very much a representation of who he believes Star Catcher is (or rather, what he would like to turn her into--yikes!) rather than who she actually is. Lovely picture, disturbing background. I was also kind of inspired by Prince Demande's hologram of Neo-Queen Serenity in Sailor Moon. His name is Godric, and he is a griffon.

Godric is among the elite of Griffonstone, but one of the younger and lesser tiers. He first came across Star Catcher before she became an official Lieutenant, back when she was being groomed for Cabinet membership by Commander Cyclone (Commander Hurricane's predescessor). He was on a diplomacy trip with other griffons when he came across her exercising and bathing, and instantly became obsessed with her. He got it into his head that such an obviously noble-blooded lady must have been suffering terribly from the pegasi's bland warrior lifestyle and that she would happier living as a pampered bride, to the point where he literally thought she was subtlely telling him this was true through glances, secret messages, and prayers (as is common with de Clérambault's syndrome). Rather insanely convinced he had a solid case, he approached Cyclone and attempted to strike a deal, offering many glittering deals and trade offers in exchange for "allowing" him to take Star Catcher (who I might add, didn't even know he existed) back to Griffonstone so that he might marry her and give her the lavish life she didn't yet know she wanted. Cyclone, not being insane, saw how creepy this was, turned him down, and politely asked the other diplomats to not bring him around their city anymore.

Though disapointed, Godric is still fairly convinced that Star Catcher needs rescuing from her dirty, unfitting life as a soldier, and that she is in love with him but doesn't fully realize it. He believes his dreams of her are messages sent to him via prayers, and that someday, somehow, he will be able to make the scales fall from her eyes, and she will be happy to forget her old life and come live with him forever more. Because creepy. Until then, he just has this painting he made, always reminding him to have hope and be patient for the future.



Pfffffft...

I've always imagined that Star Catcher has some sort of cross-dimensional equivalency or connection to Helen of Troy, and indeed, the style of this piece was designed to be very Helen-esque. It's not really hard headcanon, but rather an idea I've played with. If Star is connected to Helen, than much like as shown in the Equestria Girls movies, their lives are very different if only due to the different circumstances between pony and human culture. While Helen was (as I see it) very much a victim of the extremely sexist nature of ancient Greek culture, characterize entirely by her physical beauty and the destructive things others are driven to do because of it, Star Catcher had the fortune of being born into a much more gender-fair society. While she is clearly a beautiful mare, this is not what ponies know her for, her position among the elite of her society is based on true power as a military commander and politician (Cynisca essentially being an expy of Sparta, which Helen herself was originally from) and she is valued as a true comrade and an equal by the other important ponies around her. She is also considered a patron for the young and for females. Essentially, I like to think that Star Catcher is who Helen would have been had she been born into a world that gave her real chances for success in life and placed value on her outside of her looks--as you can probably tell, I have a pretty sympathetic view towards the character of Helen, and am pretty unabashedly reflecting my personal interpretations.

All that said, if Star Catcher is Helen, Godric is Paris, who is equally bastardized by my biases.  There are no gods having shit-fits over golden apples in the MLPverse (remember, Hearth's Warming Eve is before the alicorns, and none of them seem petty enough for that shit in the first place), so Godric is 100% on his own in his boiling little obsession with the Lieutenant. While Paris' "love" for Helen was naive at best and selfish at worst, Godric's is downright insane, because... eh, because I am fascinated by crazy, what can I say. But really now, let's look at this from a less theatrical perspective, how would we in the modern world realistically view a guy who is willing to completely and utterly shit all over his good diplomacy with a war country by infiltrating and kidnapping (more or less, it depends on which version of the myth you read) the Queen from her husband, who is considered by many to be the most beautiful woman in the world and has caused near-war before? Crazy, fucking crazy, love my ass, that shit is crazy. Paris was crazy, Godric is crazy! But at least Godric, again, doesn't have the same sheer dumb divine luck Paris did. Not to mention Star Catcher is more than a fighting match for him, and, let's face it, there are probably much heavier consequences diplomacy-wise in attempting to whisk away one of the top military commanders and political leaders than a queen. Godric is just a bit smarter than that, if only because he knows his griffon superiors would actually be equally pissed at him for such a thing and probably easily throw him under the bus to avoid war with the pegasi in such a scenario. But, as you can see, he's not above trying.

So there's not going to be any Trojan War anytime soon (or will there?!!?!!?!!), but if there were, it would be far less... romanticized? Godric would be shown as an outright erotomaniac rather than merely lovestruck, Star Catcher would do everything she could to him and his people's lives absolute hell (for fighting on is her prerogative as a soldier--she would most certainly not at all be reciprocating Godric), and the Cyniscans would definitely set off to rescue her, but because she is actually an important leader whose kidnapping is a more direct threat and insult to the city-state and it's safety. Commander Hurricane is not pleased that you have taken his adviser and besmirched his sister-like mentor! Also, they don't buy for a second that Star Catcher was willing or at fault, and have no intention to execute her for treason like the Spartans did with Helen. The Cyniscans would fully intend to retake her alive, restore her to power, and leave Griffonstone with scars subsequent generations would not soon forget. The Illiad would take a very different tone.

But that, my friends, is a story far too complex and long for little ol' lazy me. So you'll just have to use what I've told you to imagine for yourselves.  


Star Catcher belongs to Hasbro, this is just my g4 take on her.


Here's a vector of this piece without the background: star3catcher.deviantart.com/ar…