#Town of Hallownest AU

[spectruminterests]

What other ideas did you also have for the Hollow Knight Modern AU?

I have… a lot. (For context: I originally posted about my Hollow Knight Modern AU here). I tried to type some things out and then tumblr erased it, so instead you get my unorganized ramblings that I have on my notes app. (Under the cut so not everyone has to read them). Essentially, Pale Royal (the Pale King) is the mayor of the oddball town of Hallownest and the somewhat negligent father of five chaotic children.

Character names:

Pale Royal (= The Pale King)

Blanca Royal (White Lady) 

Hollis Royal (The Hollow Knight/Pure Vessel)

Kinsey Royal (Broken Vessel/Lost Kin)

Hornet Weaver (Hornet- her mom insisted she should have the Weaver name)

Herrah Weaver (Herrah the Beast)

Greene Royal (Greenpath vessel)

Knight "Ghost" Royal (The Knight/Ghost/player character)

Grimm Nightmare Sr. (Troupe Master/Nightmare King Grimm)

Grimm Nightmare Jr. (Grimmchild)

Dr. Sophia Monomon (Monomon the Teacher, I chose the name Sophia because it means wisdom or knowledge)

Quirrel Monomon (Quirrel, Monomon's adopted son)

Morningstar Claw (Mantis Lord)

Lance Claw (Mantis Lord)

Arrow Claw (Mantis Lord)

Mace Claw (Traitor Lord) 

Bretta Scriber (Bretta)

Tiso Shieldsmith (Tiso)

Sybil Erebis (Seer)

Pale and Blanca have an open relationship - Blanca and Herrah get along fine and Pale having a child with Herrah wasn’t a problem for Blanca. Blanca is also bisexual and in a relationship with Dryya, the Hallownest Chief of Police. 

Tween Hornet: What are you talking about I have no interest in girly things I like ninjas and swords! *hides princess book under the bed* 

Ghost: second grade Force of Chaos

Grimmchild/Grimm Jr.: Second grade arsonist and Ghost's best friend/accomplice 

Pale King and White Lady: parenting is easy! Just let the kids figure it out for themselves! 

Teenage/Young adult Hollow Knight: the only responsible person in the household. Is slowly going insane taking care of four younger siblings. 

Troupe Master Grimm/Grimm Sr.: Similar parenting philosophy to PK and WL. Is *fabulous* Actively encourages his son to be a ball of chaos. 

Herrah: Like a crazy cat lady but with spiders. Her home is not a place for the faint of heart. 

Teenage Mantis Lords: Sisters Morningstar, Lance, and Arrow. Leaders of the student-run Fencing Club which is really just a veneer for a bunch of kids who want to be TOUGH WARRIORS! Members include Hornet and Cloth. 

Traitor Lord: Mantis sisters’ older brother Mace. A deadbeat high school dropout who makes a living as a drug dealer. The family doesn't talk about him. 

Lance: "Yes I'm a girl and anyone else who'd like to comment gets STABBED!" 

People know better than to mess with these kids. 

When Grimm gets a call from the school: "Oh? My son set a fire in the boys' bathroom, you say? Did he tell you why? Because toilet paper is very flammable, he said? Oh well, kids will be kids, it sounds very much like something I would have done at his age... Suspended? Surely that's a little harsh? With all due respect, I think this behavior is teaching him important life skills! Surely that should be more acceptable in a school?" 

I'm imagining Grimm Jr. asking Ghost to run away and join the circus with him 😆😆😆

"You'd be a great act, Ghost! I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind having another kid! You could be an acrobat or a clown or a mime... (at this point Ghost gives him a look).... okay, maybe not a mime."

The town of Hallownest is technically their "hometown," but the Nightmares travel. Grimm Sr. just drops his kid off at the local public school whenever he's too busy to take care of him, never mind whether or not he's actually enrolled. Cue a lot of teachers trying to figure out where the hell this kid came from. How much the kid is actually learning, missing school so often and being dropped in random classes is... questionable, but everything is fine! The Hallownest school system has already given up. Grimm Jr. really only goes to school because Dad is too busy to deal with him full time 😆

He's doing his best to just push his kid off on a stranger like in-game 😆

Ghost also often begs for Grimm to come sleep over, which of course causes more chaos than usual in the Royal household. Poor Hollis, trying to maintain some semblance of order. 

Bretta is already writing fanfic. Ghost once saves her from a bully by dropping onto him from a tree, at which point Bretta decides she’s in love. Then Bretta mentions this to Greene. Bretta: “Oh, is he your brother? He’s so hot! 😍😍” Greene: “… sibling. And they’re seven.” Bretta: “Oh… so that’s why he’s… they’re… so short….” *is mortified*

Bretta later develops a crush on Hollis and writes fan fiction about them.

Grimm just drops off his kid at the Royal house with no notice and no indication of how long he'll be gone 😆

The whole Royal family is autistic in some fashion, because look at them. Pale is an inventor in his spare time and is always thinking about how to optimize infrastructure in the town of Hallownest. He also works late and forgets to eat or sleep when he's hyperfocused. Blanca (White Lady) spends more time with her garden and her large variety of houseplants than with her children, and everything has to be clean and Just So or she'll make a fuss. She always adjusts her children's and stepdaughter's clothing before they leave the house, much to Ghost's and Hornet's chagrin.

Hollis couldn't break a rule to save their life and comes off as stiff and robotic when trying to interact with people. Their parents are proud of the former and entirely oblivious to the latter. 

Kinsey is sensory-sensitive and awkward. Loud noises, bright lights, and busy rooms drive them crazy. This does not stop them from being kind of an extrovert or from getting into trouble with Hornet. 

Hornet, for her part, has some sensory issues with clothing (and hates the fancy things her stepmother tries to shove her into with a passion) and speaks in a very blunt but also overly archaic/wordy manner (if you've seen her dialogue in game you'll know what I'm talking about). She has little interest in socializing with people unless a) they're her mom or siblings, b) she's causing trouble, and/ or c) it's something violence-related. 

Greene takes after their mom with their love of plants. They also love animals and are better with animals than people. They're super shy and awkward lol

Ghost is well, Ghost. They often struggle to speak/experience speech loss and have a raging case of ADHD in addition to the autism, making them constantly chasing after new and interesting things, unwilling and unable to pay attention unless they're interested, and entirely oblivious to social norms. In other words, they're hell to deal with 😆

Quirrel is Miss Monomon's adopted son and a giant nerd. He's 14 and a sophomore in high school because he skipped a grade as a kid. He has an I ❤️ isopods (group including pill bugs) pin on his backpack and is really into "bugs" and other invertebrates. 

Hollis, nicknamed "Holly" by their siblings, is Very Tall (like 6 foot 5 or something), rather gangly and skinny, and AMAB (in part to make their height more plausible lol). At first they look kinda intimidating but they wouldn't hurt a fly, and are just about the quietest, shyest person ever, with one exception: if you hurt their siblings, you incur their wrath. Other than that they will take anything that's thrown at them - bullying, name-calling, way too many home responsibilities for a teenager, etc. - with a stoic front. They have just about no self-esteem and have a bad case of "awkward tall person syndrome," always hunching over and trying not to stand out despite the fact that they are literally head and shoulders above their classmates. Like all their siblings they have white hair (which they keep long), pale skin and very dark eyes. 

Blanca (the White Lady) is an albino, thus the white skin, white hair, and very light blue eyes. She's also something of a Karen and acts like being an albino makes her an oppressed minority or something.

She also never leaves the house without makeup.

Tiso Shieldsmith is Hollis's classmate and maybe-friend who moved to Hallownest last year. He's kind of an idiot teenage boy and he calls Hollis "Stick Bug" thanks to their stick-bug-esque physique. He's, obviously, in the martial arts and fencing club, and he's kind of trying to be a tough jock but not always succeeding. I love the way he interacts with Hollis: 

"Yo, Stick Bug, my man!  I mean, my non-binary guy... I mean, uh...whatever. How are you doing, pal?" 

*Hollis stares at him in an expressionless way as Tiso rambles.* 

Hollis always refers to their parents as Mother and Father instead of just saying "Mom" or "Dad." It's out of respect mainly, and also because Blanca tends to like everything fancy. The outfit I drew Hollis in is what they normally wear to school, at their mother's request XD

Radiance is a local celebrity with a cult-like fan base. Miss Sybil (Seer) is the school's history teacher and the students are shocked when they discover she's an intense Radiance fan. “Radiance” is a stage name and she's Grimm's cousin (a relationship neither of them particularly care to mention most of the time). Pale hates her for reasons unknown, to the point where Pale has tried to pass all kinds of town restrictions on shows and circuses specifically because of Grimm and Radiance. Grimm either ignores the anti-circus ordinances or finds loopholes, and protesters stormed the town hall at the restrictions affecting the Radiance, enough that Pale had to undo them. 

Grimm has some level of ability to break the law in Hallownest in part because the police in Hallownest don't want to deal with him either (lol) and in part because Blanca has used her influence and her relationship with the Chief of Police, Dryya, to discourage the Hallownest Police Department from prosecuting him. “Oh, Mr. Nightmare can’t be in jail, his son is my youngest’s best friend, and the poor man is a single father. I can’t imagine what that would do to poor Grimm Junior. Not to mention I’ve heard that Radiance is actually a relative of his… do you want her fans storming the police department?” (This is, of course, behind her husband’s back.) 

Grimm is also very good at finding loopholes, twisting people's words, and generally being a pain in the arse to anyone who has issues with him. 

Herrah has dark skin and a fat but very muscular figure. Usually around Hornet and the Royal kids she's all motherly and sweet, but when dealing with people she doesn't like she's intimidating AF. 

Obviously the Royal family is white af because... a) they're entitled jerks, at least to a degree and b) look at them. 

Hornet has brown/light brown skin but still has the white-blond hair and almost-black irises that run in Dad's side of the family. She gets strangers trying not to stare occasionally, but at least she isn't so pale she could be mistaken for a corpse XD

In fact I imagine that several of the characters often get strangers trying not to stare- Hollis and Grimm Jr. come to mind.

Grimm has dressed his son in red and black since he was a baby; it’s not every day you see an 8-year old dressed in a fancy black and red suit with a cape and makeup that looks like a cross between "vampire," "emo," and "circus." 

Tiso: Yo, Stick Bug! What's with the dress? You look like you're going to prom or something! 

[Hollis is wearing a white frilly dress that's too long to be anything other than one their mom ordered specially made, along with a fancy necklace and earrings]

Hollis: Mother has tea with her gardeners' club this afternoon and would like to show me off to all her gardening friends (said in a completely calm tone, even with a slight smile) 

Tiso: "Show you off?!?” You say it like you're her favorite doll instead of her kid! Are you expected to do anything at her event? That sure doesn't look like gardening clothes. Your mom is definitely being weird, you sure you're okay with this? 

Hollis: Of course. It means Mother is proud of me. 

Hollis has issues.

They're shy and desperate for approval and their parents are (somewhat unintentionally) walking all over them. They need love and support that's not tying their value to being "perfect." Luckily, their siblings don't want Perfect Obedient Hollis, they want the real, happy them. 

[alecz-obssesionz]

Some designs I added to the ~Hallowest~ HK western AU

Herrah the Fighting Beast & Lurien the Diplomat

And Pale King[that's his name] the governor of Hallownest

AU belongs to: @pinktrapped and I

[bluegekk0]

fpk au reference sheets for the main cast!

(brief descriptions below the cut)

Vyrm (alternate spelling of “Wyrm”) - once the king of Hallownest, now a simple resident of Dirtmouth tormented by the guilt of his past actions and his own emotional trauma. Following the return of the infection, he disappeared in a self-manifested realm where he hibernated for years until he was woken up by Little Ghost. He roamed around Hallownest post hibernation, until he was found by Hornet and taken to Dirtmouth, where he reunited with Holly and Grimm, the latter of whom he would start a relationship with and later marry. He embraces his instincts by hunting animals and eating raw meat, though he is far from a dangerous beast. He owns a small workshop from which he creates new inventions and plans for Dirtmouth's renovations.

Grimm - the exiled god of nightmares and The Radiance’s brother. Following his banishment from The Higher Plane, he formed the Troupe with whom he would travel around the world in search of pleasures. Although he has a certain fondness for the mortals, he spent hundreds of years feeling loneliness, unable to find love due to his immortality, until he met Vyrm. They became close friends, though they were not able to confess their love and start a relationship until after Vyrm’s hibernation. Grimm and his Troupe now permanently reside in Dirtmouth, from which they travel to other kingdoms to perform their shows, and to fulfil The Nightmare King’s ritual needed to maintain his physical form. He drinks blood to prolong the lifespan of each physical body, and he has a fondness for fruits.

Hornet - the beloved daughter of Vyrm and the Deepnest queen Herrah. She grew up showered with her father’s love and formed a very close bond with him. Unfortunately, following her father's disappearance, she was forced to spend years all on her own, which turned her bitter and difficult to approach. She now struggles with anger issues and intense fear of getting attached, but deep down she cares a lot about her family. She moved to Dirtmouth following the end of the infection, though she still frequently patrols Hallownest, ensuring nothing threatens the little town.

Holly - the king's pure vessel born with the mission to contain The Radiance. After the plan's failure and the return of the infection, they were freed from the Radiance's grasp following her defeat at the hands of the void entity. They were taken to Dirtmouth by Hornet, and then nursed back to health by Grimm at Hornet’s request. With their arm missing and their body weak, they are unable to hold their nail, instead they focus on more relaxing activities to pass their time. They learned writing to communicate with the family, though their favorite forms of self-expression are drawing and sewing. They wear a prosthetic arm made from scrap by their father.

Lewk - Vyrm and Grimm's first son, hatched from an egg laid by Grimm. He’s surrounded by love from both of his parents, though with his growing curiosity about everything around him, he finds great interest in joining Hornet on her patrols, as well as in Ogrim’s cooking. He’s still discovering new things about the world and himself. He has a good heart and is very compassionate, if a bit naive; unlike the rest of the family, he doesn’t carry any emotional baggage, and his optimism and kind nature are contagious. He regularly attends classes at the small Dirtmouth school, taught by Quirrel.

Milo and Asta - twins, the newest addition to the family. Milo is the little skinny boy with pale skin and fluffy "pants". He hatched much later than his sister, and is quite weak and sickly in comparison. He's practically inseparable from his Tiktik plushie and spends most of the day sleeping or watching everyone else from his little blanket burrow. Personality wise, he's a little grumpy and with every passing day it becomes more and more clear that he's jealous of his stronger siblings. Asta is the dark colored, fluffy girl. She's a feisty one, has the reputation of a finger snapper and is usually the first one to hiss at strangers. She's much stronger and faster than Milo, but always makes sure to slow down and let him keep up, showing a degree of compassion and understanding for his condition, even at such young age.

Zote - a self proclaimed knight of great renown, in reality a lonely young bug living in a world of delusions. He was rejected by his hometown and his family, and so he traveled until he reached Hallownest. After the end of the infection, he found himself “adopted” by Vyrm’s family, and although he still remains his mean and egoistical self, he secretly appreciates the fact that they accepted him as one of their own. Holly is his best friend who most often drags him out of sticky situations.

[dailydegurechaff]

challenge: hollow knight bug tanya

vessel tanya

my thoughts got long. warning under the read more for Hollow Knight spoilers.

ok listen listen, while i have you i need to implant an idea here

This oversimplifies both character’s motivations and stories a bit but like. do you see what im cooking. the vibes are THERE

like. Being X wants to bring Salaryman to his lowest to see if that suffering will make him a believer. Salaryman's values revolve entirely around his autonomy & free will. so an au where being x reincarnates Salaryman/Tanya into Hallownest as a Vessel, a creature that is meant to have no agency and is generally very doomed

so we'd see HK AU!Tanya (Bugurechaff if you will) trying to survive in this new world, but also slowly learning the lore of this world and what's happened to it. and I think over time, as she discovers who the Radiance is/was, she'd probably realize the similarities between Radiance and Being X and go "Hey wait a damn minute." My thought is she'd have a classic Tanya Misunderstanding Moment and misconstrue the two of them as one entity. Whether this fills her with vengeful rage and she takes it upon herself to destroy the Radiance, thinking Rad is Being X, I'm not sure. I could potentially see it.

some other vague ideas

Tanya's whole shtick is that she wants to achieve a comfortable, safe life where she's free to do whatever she wants. I genuinely believe that after somehow escaping the Birthplace, fighting through the ruins of Hallownest, and eventually coming across the town of Dirtmouth, she'd gladly end her adventure there. Think about it. Dirtmouth is safe, nothing really substantial goes on up there. There's no point for her to go back into the depths if she can just live peacefully there without any problems. There is nothing to stop her from doing this. Like, does she need the Geo to buy a house? No point, the whole town is virtually abandoned, just pick a house and live in it. Elderbug actually says this about Iselda moving in.

I think the point I’m trying to get at here is that if the story will let her, Tanya would probably get complacent. Which means that we'd probably need to find a reason to force her to act if we want her story to go farther than just 'makes it to Dirtmouth, the end' Do you think she'd get bored eventually? What is there to do? As said previously, nothing really goes on there, and there are very few permanent residents.

One way I feel like Tanya could be pushed is in regards to her social motivations. Like. I feel like she needs to be seen as a respected, productive member of society in order to feel fulfilled. I don't think she could get that in Dirtmouth, so the question is: Is this desire enough to overcome her desire for safety?

I think motivating Tanya to get moving and back to exploring (and therefore learning about Hallownest & by extension the Radiance) could be more easily accomplished by giving her companions who drag her outside of her comfort zone. So like. Let's drag more YS characters into HK.

In my head I have the mental image of tiny little vessel Tanya rescuing some other travelers on her way to find a safe place to settle. These travelers being Bug!203rd Battalion (Visha, Weiss, Koenig, Neumann). And she just absolutely destroys whatever was endangering them. And they're so impressed by her they just end up following her like lost puppies.

And like. Vessels can't speak. So she can't just tell them to go away and leave her alone. So she has an entourage now, who at least can help her fight. They also probably tell her about Dirtmouth, and they travel as a group to bring her there.

Maybe after she makes it clear she'd like to live peacefully in Dirtmouth, they end up leaving her. Only to return later when she's gotten restless, new party member in tow (Grantz!), who she helps to train and such.

Also also, Vessels being unable to speak definitely creates problems for both Tanya and the narrative. It has the possibility for hilarity with the good old Tanya Misunderstandings that YS is so good for, but also it creates problems with getting her to interact with people. There would have to be a LOT of charades, characters conveniently bringing up information to her, or conveniently guessing what she's trying to get at, which i feel would be hard to do naturally.

You could perhaps solve this with her meeting someone who can teach her to write or sign? Like Lemm or Quirrel. I think it'd be cute to see Relic Seeker Assistant Tanya with Lemm for a little while. I doubt she'd have an interest in the relics, but he'd probably give her a lot of insight into Hallownest history.

the Type 95 is definitely a charm in this universe. In HK canon, we're told charms are created by a bug's dying wish or something to that effect, so my first thought was that it would be a charm made by HK AU!Schugel's death that Tanya ends up getting her hands on, and then Being X blesses it... But then we also see in HK canon that Leg Eater is able to make his own charms, albeit fragile/easily breakable ones.

so my concept is this: Bug!Schugel creates his own fragile charm. I'm thinking the effect would probably be something revolving around converting infection to usable Soul/Mana (akin to the canon Type 95's Mana fixation thing). So, wandering inventor Schugel, looking for an assistant comes across Dirtmouth! Vessel!Tanya, who's hanging around (probably bored out of her mind and desperately needing to do SOMETHING productive) sees this invention and think it might be useful for the world, happens to have nothing better to do, and gets roped into this. Naturally something goes wrong, and before it fails horribly and disastrously, Being X steps in and blesses the charm. This makes the effect work, but using it also causes the wearer to become more susceptible to mental corruption/infection.

Also, I think that it also needs to become permanently unequippable (Like Void Heart) so Tanya can't get rid of it. Also also, the charm needs to have some insane cheesy name after Being X alters it. Everlasting Blessing. Immortal Prayer. Idk. But it needs to be something Tanya would hate.

I think the Silver Wings Assault Badge could also be a charm. I'm not sure what it's effect might be, but maybe something like the monarch wings, but its powered by Soul. She's an aerial mage. She needs to fly. Also it needs a cheesy charm name too. Fluttering Soul. Wings of Argent. etc. you get what I'm going for.

The Pale King is described a lot as being pure white and gleaming. Vessels, as his offspring, do look a bit similar to him. I think somewhere within this concept, you could have Tanya gain the White Silver nickname based on her appearance. Her mask/head is pale white like PK and when she uses Soul she shines like silver? idk i think it could work. Someone (203rd member perhaps?) sees her fighting and bestows the nickname on her and it gets shortened to just Silver or something

(Before this, since Vessels cant speak so she can't tell anyone what to call her, she gets called "Little One" by Elderbug. She hates it.)

if you couldn't tell, i've thought about this a lot. i invite you all to think about it with me. if you have ideas. please. share them. especially if its about other YS characters and how to fit them into HK universe. also especially if its about how HK characters would interact with her. Is the Knight/Ghost running around in the AU? How do they feel meeting a fellow sibling like this? What about Hornet?

[nonuggetshere]

*raises hand* I have questions for the FaaF AU variant where Kids Come Early + Flower Outs Themselves Because the Babies Are Sick!

Were Sting and Spectre sick for several days before Flower came home to see the partners and kids only to have to rush the babies back to the White Palace? Or was Flower already at home with the family and the kids got very ill very quickly?

Which ended up being the faster route Flower could take to get to their father: the public hallways or more private passages?

This more of a 'Kids Came Early' general question but would Hegemol have already found out about Flower's personhood?

RUBS MY HANDS TOGETHER

I imagined that it's been going on for a while with Flower visiting even more frequently to check up on the twins, but their condition got even worse and worse and they eventually came to the conclusion that they have no choice but to turn to their father for help. As some bonus points, I also like the idea that Flower hasn't told their partners and family the whole truth just yet, they just know their parents aren't the greatest people (they'd even call them abusive, but Flower is not ready to admit that yet, they're in deep denial that what was done to them was unimaginably cruel and would violently oppose the idea of it being abuse because "it wouldn't have been cruel if he was right about me". It takes them a long time to come to terms with it), and Flower managed to convince them to keep the twins a secret and not take them out too often (this was working so far as they're young, but Flower was kind of at a loss on what to do once they grew up a little, they hoped that by that time they would have already be sealed and it wouldn't have mattered)

So the proposition to take their kids to their father was a hard one to make and their partners opposed it at first, as Flower heavily insinuated that they could get hurt if their parents ever found out. But it's not like they had many options here, the average Hallownest doctor isn't exactly trained in how to take care of a god and they were running out of time, and Flower was ready to take any punishment their parents found suitable as long as their kids would be fine.

And Flower didn't exactly pay attention to trying to stay hidden, just rushed down the town square and down to the Ancient Basin as fast as humanly possible, people seeing them be damned. It's not like it was going to matter for long once they expose their secret to their father. Though I'd imagine they tried to stay out of the way of other people once in the palace, for the simple reason that anybody gawking or stopping them in the narrow hallways would have wasted their precious time while the twins were getting worse by the minute. It wasn't much of a problem once they reached a certain part of the palace, it's not like their father's workshop was a frequently visited place. They were still ready to bodycheck anyone who got in the way, though.

And it's a possibility! I sometimes like to toy around with the idea that Hegemol finds out, and the kids coming earlier in the story is one of the ways he could for sure find out, especially if Flower hasn't told their partners the truth yet and Lummis has no reason to keep his kids a secret from his uncle. If Hegemol finds out I imagine he'd try to convince Flower to come clean to their parents, but he respects Flower and doesn't think it'd be his place to tell. So he kind of gets wrapped up in keeping the secret, both to the court and to his own family. Fun!

[basilbellona]

*claps hands together* Okay, AU time! Let's get ~Hypothetical~

Hallownest is a modern community— either neighborhood or a small town— in which several higher beings reside. It's basically the most popular place for young adults to get their start in due to the many diverse bugs living there. In fact, SO many higher beings have settled there that a brief political war broke out and was only settled once everyone had relented to and signed basically a peace treaty/cease and desist document. Some of the clauses include no swaying each other's followers away from their higher beings, no scheming against one another, monthly meetings, harsh punishment for anyone who breaks the rules, etc.

Of course, this doesn't mean they trust each other to follow this. So what better way to keep an eye on your potential enemies than to group them all in one living space!

(Many other ways. Possibly thousands)

After years of testing various arrangements, the current communal diety housing was set into place. There's a few houses dedicated to this but the one of most prominence is the Hallow House, which is old and rented out by a higher being who nobody really remembers. Here we can find our main cast: Unn, the White Lady, the Pale King, and the Lifeblood Creature.

Radiance got kicked out and PK moved in, lol. I envision this as a comedic sorta idea with surprisingly domestic household/neighborhood politics

Like why do the gods pay rent? Easiest answer I've got is so that none of them can take individual ownership of the house and kick the others out

Please feel free to ask questions about this! I'd love to answer them and develop this funky lil AU further!

[cloudyswritings]

Wasteland au thing? Also OCs

So this is an idea my brain cooked up at like 1 this morning. Basically this is a look at a group of characters living in the wasteland during the golden age of Hallownest.

Gomer: He’s a common cockroach who got a little(a lot) too popular in his home kingdom and was publicly beheaded by his political rivals. Except it didn’t exactly take, you see all of the adoration and belief from his fans elevated him into a higher being. I’d say he’s basically the equivalent of one of the great knights, but he’s physically much weaker and also missing his head. Despite being a higher being getting beheaded is still going to kill him eventually so he fled into the wastes(carrying his head) to search for a solution to his problem. He’s super charismatic and is a fantastic conman, although his pride and ego is what got him in his situation in the first place.

#9: She’s a worker ant who defected from her colony, specifically she’s a marauder ant supermajor. She fled her colony during active combat with a nearby fire ant colon. She’s extremely good at cartography, making maps at least on par with Little Ghost. Her mapping skills are the reason our little group hasn’t been killed yet. She’s slowly working her way out of the colony mindset that she’s expendable. She hasn’t picked a name for herself yet. Nominally the protagonist should I ever decide to make this into a fanfic.

Smiles: An extremely grumpy desert scorpion who nonetheless is loved a ton by their very, very large family. Joins our group after #9 helps them find their little brother who had wandered dangerously close to the border of a Wyrms territory. Per scorpion traditions a life is owed for a life and Smiles doesn’t mind tagging along nearly as much as they seem to. They’re fond of complaining but never actually mean anything by it. Smiles isn’t their real name, but a nickname that they use in place of it to prevent it from being stolen-there’s a superstition in the wastes that hiding your true name makes it harder for the Wyrm-Winds to strip your identity away.

Heleden: A spiky isopod(please look them up they’re adorable 😭😭) and by far the most lost out of any of our group members. She originally hails from the dense costal jungles far, far outside of the reach of the wastes. How she got there is a mystery to everyone including her. She’s got some memory issues, although if they’re a symptom of the wastes or merely her personality isn’t clear. She can secrete a highly deadly toxin in small amounts. The wastes are incredibly dry and being an isopod she needs a lot of moisture, so she wears layers and layers of soaked cloth to keep her from drying out. Even still running out of water is an issue. She’s a very powerful magic user, although there are some indications that she’s drawing her magic from a god she doesn’t consciously remember. She’s bright yellow/orange.

Alright so that’s it for the members of our little caravan, but there’s some other characters I’ve got mentally made rn

Golmagor: Supposedly killed a Wyrm in his youth, he’s an old bug now but no less fearful of a warlord. His primary weapon is a nail, a nail which looks suspiciously like the burrowing tooth of a Wyrm- it’s made from a blue-purple metal which no-bug has been able to identify. The blade constantly leaks water and is a large part of why he’s so successful as a warlord. By the time our group meets him his son(who’s name I’ve not thought out yet) is vying for control of his territories but hasn’t yet reached the town from which Golmagor controls his forces. He captures our crew and threatens to keep them as slaves unless they capture his son for him. He’s a Brazilian wandering spider, and a master of water and poison sorceries.

The Heirarch: The apostle of the long dead(??) god of lifeblood. Saves our crew after an incredibly deadly battle. Seems peaceful but likely has ulterior motives. Their species is unknown but he doesn’t seem to have an outer shell of any sort. May not be a bug at all. Wears a mask with five eyeholes that seems almost liquid. The only feature of theirs which is obvious through all of the elaborate blue robes they wear is their three pairs of arms.

Squidge: A blue death feigning beetle, she’s a merchant passing through the waste with her caravan. She herself is a native to the wastes and was born there. Bears a charm of an unknown make and function. She trades water she collected for charms, weapons, foreign currencies, or anything her caravan is currently lacking in. Her caravan manages to avoid being devoured by Wyrms despite traveling through their territories by collecting Wyrm pheromones from fresh Wyrmfalls-I headcanon that the (actual)death of a Wyrm acts as a sort of whale fall in the wastes, entire towns have sprung up in the long dead corpses of ancient Wyrms) and using them to scare off larger predatory bugs and gods.

Husk: A bug bearing a strange pale mask and terror-black chitin. They’re oddly sociable and tower over many other bugs they come across(Somewhere between THK and Hornet in size). They have a limp in one leg and horns covered in hundreds of small curved thorns. Their initial flaw was joviality and a desire to help others. The wastes haven’t dulled their good nature and they’re always willing to help out weary travelers by sheltering them until they’re ready to move on. Lives in an elaborate burrow system they dug for themselves, it’s roughly equal in size to the crossroads. Lives with their sibling Pebble, though no-one has met them…

Assorted other ideas I had for this AU/story

Masks are an absolute must in the wastes, they prevent the whispers that dead Wyrms leave behind on the winds from stripping the soul, mind, and moisture from a bug in moments.

Everyone in the wastes knows that if you see carnival tents on the horizon, smell fire without an obvious source, or hear carnival music, you turn around immediately and find another path to your destination.

There are many secret/hidden towns and kingdoms far below the surface of the wastes, finding your way into them is difficult but doable if you really need to, just be ready to deal with a higher being or worst case scenario a god

Hallownest is directly in the middle of the wastes and is perhaps the best known kingdom in the wastes for both its riches and hospitality. Although some say it’s ruled by a wyrm, these are widely considered false claims, afterall Wyrms are fiercely territorial and unlikely to rule as anything but a tyrant.

Warlords are a real problem in the wastes and often fight for control of good trade routes or sources of water.

Water is a very, very rare commodity in the wastes, on par with food, gold, and Wyrm metal.

There are some species of bug native to the wastes, they tend to be colored to blend in with the fossil stones and well adapted to survive surprise dust storms.

Cave bugs are also more prevalent on the surface here than elsewhere because the constant whipping of the winds blocks out any ambient lights(plus it seems like something happened to the sun locally…)

Theres a flea circus that periodically travels through the wastes led by a higher being. Yes they do hate Grimm for giving circuses a bad rap, they just want to make people smile. In fact their patron might be the god of joy or some related concept.

[aquilamage]

This is a continuation of my discussion of my “compressing the time between Leif getting stuck in snakemouth and the start of the game down to like 10 years so Muse can be around” au that I started over on @enbeemerang’s post. But I didn’t want to take that space up more than I already have lol

So in canon stuff I tend to go with Grandpa being Leif and Muse’s kid, so that would also be the case here. Which if I was writing something of this would mean I’d have to come up with a name for him. so. glad I’m not. But I’d put him in Tod’s spot because 1) he’s about that age and 2) Leif’s “Now, stay out of trouble. Don't worry your mother.” line after the lost toy quest already gets me in the context of his relationship with Tod in canon. Imagining him doing that kind of parental lecture towards a kid he has yet to realize is his own child makes me insane. (also makes for an amusing moment after the initial revelation stuff)

or there’s the alternate version of that quest (that would only happen in iterations where Muse is banished) where instead of running from the Midges he gets stuck in the cave. Team Snakemouth gets recruited to the search mission secondhand. Kid’s pretty shaken up by the time they get to him. Leif does a lot of the calming him (Kabbu or Vi comments on wow you’re pretty good with kids and Leif’s like ...yeah) They take him back to his grandparents (one of them carrying him as he directs, almost falling asleep as they get into town), tearful reunion. They turn to thank Team Snakemouth and stop at seeing Leif who’s dead still, staring at his parents.

I forget if I touched on this in the previous but it’s a much different emotional moment for Leif in any of the reunion scenarios for this, with it being bugs he already is connected to, his immediate family. More persistent guilt about what he put them through, for one. Definitely some awkwardness around their kid. And on top of Muse’s attitude (or treatment if she’s not there) feeding his existing hesitance about Elizant II, he’s also gonna feel more conflicted about continuing to explore because then he’s not being around for his family. Is that just abandoning them again??? (especially since I have a based-in-nothing headcanon that Muse and Leif’s plan when they started having children was going to have Leif doing more of the staying at home taking care of them)

I don’t have anything specific about it really but oough the cordyceps reveal really hits Leif harder when the identity crisis has to answer to there being bugs who knew the Leif from before. “ I am nothing but some...thing... Something that thinks it is him.” but also like. he’s a thing pretending to be Leif to Leif’s closest family, what a monster.

after handing in the first artifact Team Snakemouth immediately runs into Rebecca in the palace. And since I’m going with the headcanon that she was the third member of their scouting team we get family reunion: speedrun edition

slightly off-topic of everything else but I also had the thought that with this compressed timeline Elizant II’s age gives a lot more flavor to things. It works no matter what it is but like. If you want her more sympathetic she was barely an adult when she had to take over and little enough time has passed until canon that it still shows. And otherwise especially with Muse’s reactions/feelings I feel you could do some stuff with her being younger vs the same age vs older

also for anyone who knows and cares about my usual “mothiva’s related to muse”posting: she’s muse’s estranged younger sister in this one.

aaand hollow knight spoilers ahead for the rest of this:

so for the iterations that are “Muse gets exiled and goes out through the forsaken lands and ends up in hallownest,” it’s a rough journey exacerbated by the fact that she didn’t have supplies or prep when Elizant kicked her out. She comes in from the hallownest’s crown/crystal peaks side. It’s some medium amount of time after the ending of the game (godhome but ghost is fine they just have cool void god powers now). And she manages to get at least to the outskirts of dirtmouth. Her appearance causes a stir in general but especially for everyone who’s gonna read into her being a Moth specifically.

Now if I was writing this I would almost certainly ignore the question of potential language barriers completely. But since I’m not, that means they’re going through everyone who knows other languages to find a translator. Most reasonable candidate I think would be Quirrel, although there’s plenty of other options - any of the other bugs who’ve been outside of Hallownest (Lemm probably being my next choice because I’m biased about him. and I think him and Muse interacting would be fun); plus I like the idea that vessels can understand any language, but in that case Ghost and Hollow would only be able to translate one way (assuming they would even be willing to be around her). So eventually it turns into a language exchange with her learning whatever the common hallownest language is and some of them learning bugnish (which makes it easier for Team Snakemouth to communicate when they show up (doing some exploring for the queen I guess). Although when they mention that they’re working for the queen who exiled Muse it makes whoever they’re talking to hesitate about mentioning her)

and yeah for the most part on this it’s just otherwise me dumping all these characters in a salad spinner together and going “nice”

except there’s the variant concept of “the radiance survives as a tiny fragment of Herself and then possesses/inhabits Muse when she shows up because Moth.” Which I have two vague ideas about the when. 1) It takes root when she’s up at the crown by the Radiance statue but doesn’t do anything until the first time she sleeps, in Dirtmouth. And when she wakes up the effects become apparent 2) She goes down below the well and slowly starts feeling weird until she collapses. Either way I think it’d be a “something happens in her mind while she’s unconscious about it but then it’s actually clear what’s going on when she wakes.” Muse is not happy about this. She’s dealing with enough other stuff; she doesn’t need a random deity taking up residence in her head on top of it. Especially one that has all the bugs around her freaking out/hostile toward her now because of it. Two sort of flavors for this as well. 1) Radiance is equally unenthused about the arrangement, did not do it on purpose, did not ask for this, can’t leave, and is basically just exhaustedly resigned to it. 2) Radiance still at the active anger at the Everything. Still didn’t inhabit Muse on purpose in the way like infecting bugs, but yes in the form of purposefully directing Herself to that point, and is trying to do something about this opportunity. She’s not possessing Muse in the sense of being able to outright control her, but She can do some things by force, in brief moments, and also just mess with Muse’s mind. Made harder by Muse fighting Her, though. (And I do think She’d try and bargain with Muse. Don’t You Want To Go Home? I Can Make That Happen. With My Power No One Can Stop You)

[flecks-of-stardust]

Dreamless: Chapter Two — A Cry from the Dark

Chapter two of my Hollow Knight AU, Dreamless. Spoilers inbound.

Learn more about this AU; a link to the Dreamless masterlist.

Chapter summary: Ghost makes their way down into the beginnings of Hallownest and is confronted by a fragment of their past. They then bicker a bit with Quirrel over his nail.

Content warning for mild gore (nonspecific) and eye trauma.

Read this chapter on AO3.

It’s dim here. It’s a comfortable sort of dimness, a cozy darkness, something gentle, safe. They burrow in a little deeper, content. 

Then there is a light. It’s back. It’s been here several times before. Why does it keep returning? Tottering on unsteady legs, they wander over to the brightness. It contrasts the darkness, white pushing against black, but it is familiar, somehow. 

The light approaches, slow, precise. Plucks some of the darkness away, clasping it in its arms. Then it leaves, returning the way it came, rising gradually. They follow, stumbling every other step. What is this light? Why is it familiar? Why is it leaving? 

The darkness in the light stares at them without eyes. It calls, reaches out for them. They reach for it, stretching out their hands. The light can’t take the dark away. They won’t let it. But the light is leaving. They climb after it, jumping to and from fragments of stone. They will catch the light and return the dark. Yes, it will be simple. Return the darkness. 

Now they are the one being carried, whisked up and away in strong, firm arms. They wriggle, trying to break free of their grip. They do not like being carried like this. They want to go back, want to be with the others again. They don’t like the light. 

But up, up, up they go, carried still by the arms. They don’t know where they’re going. They don’t know why they’re being taken. There is darkness following them, seeping up the way they came, creeping closer and closer and closer and—

The world explodes. Their head explodes, splattering out over the walls, and they scream as a deep, ancient pain roars out from the very core of their being, howling through them and seeping through them and it is trapped, writhing and clawing at them as a dark, acrid orange strangles them. All they can see and hear and touch is orange, burning, burning orange that they cannot escape, because it is them, it is _inside_ them, and…

And this isn’t them. 

They jolt awake, shuddering violently. Their right eye sears, threatening to evacuate itself from their head, and they groan as they hold their face. This is… worse than usual. Much worse than usual. 

They stay in the same position for a few flickers, focusing on keeping their eye in its socket as their insides roil, until the pain slowly begins to subside. Little by little, it drains away, until it returns to the familiar pain of the Call. They wearily lift their head, rubbing at their face. They need to get this done and leave. 

They had a similar dream the previous sylark, though they don’t remember it very well. Another strange one about… somewhere dark again. Black, and orange. The same incandescent orange in the dream they just had. They shiver slightly, gripping their bed a little more tightly. There is something about the brightness of that orange that unnerves them. 

There was something calling them too in that last dream. They dream of the Call sometimes, but in the past two dreams, it felt different. Closer. 

Either way, they just need to get this done. Shaking their head to clear it, they grab their gear and slip it back on, tightening the straps as they head for the main door. Not long now before they’re rid of this whole mess. They’ll be glad to not have to worry about their eye potentially exploding.  

There is a brisk breeze wafting through the air as they shut the door behind them, adjusting their gear absently. It brings the sounds of Elderbug’s knitting, the quiet clacking of his knitting needles the only sound to pierce the quiet. Amid the all encompassing darkness shrouding the small trade town, it’s hard to pick out his silhouette, which is little more than a faint shadow against the metal bench he’s perched on.

They make their way over to him, shaking out their hands. He glances up as they approach, waving his antennae in greeting. “Hello, traveler,” he says once they’re within hearing range, setting aside his knitting and folding his hands in his lap. “I hope you rested well.” 

They shrug. “Good enough,” they respond. It’s not quite a lie. 

Elderbug’s hands fidget; they’ve grown accustomed to the sounds of his fingers scratching at each other in the short time they’ve been here. “Did you need anything?” he asks, carefully standing. “I can go fetch it for you.” 

They flick their hand dismissively. “Nah. Just wanted to let you know I’m leaving.” They would be more inclined to leave without telling him if it weren’t at least somewhat likely the old beetle would keel over from sheer fright at their ‘sudden disappearance’. 

His antennae droop. “Oh.” A twinge runs through them; they fuss at their cloak, brushing at it to rid it of dust specks. “I see. Thank you for… letting me know.” 

They shrug again, the motion slightly uncomfortable this time. “I’m going now. Thanks for letting me stay.” 

“Of… of course. I hope it was pleasant.” 

“It was.” They adjust the straps of their pack again, giving Elderbug a last nod of farewell, and head for the staircase on the other side of Dirtmouth. He had pointed it out to them the previous cycle, along with a brief rundown of the history of the town. This stag station—they glance up at it cursorily as they pass it—used to be for shipment transport only, and the stairwell was the footpath down into the kingdoms below. Both structures bear the marks of age, with crumbled bricks lying around them and various dents decorating the walls. The town is clearly long past its prime.

Despite that, the entrance to the stairwell still has a mostly intact stone awning. They admire it briefly, raking their gaze over the half broken prongs curving up off the top, before peering down into the stairwell. It’s surprisingly well lit, and the line of wall mounted lumafly lanterns stretches off past the bend of the spiraling staircase. From the way Elderbug had talked about the town, they thought that no one would bother to keep the lumaflies fed, but they’re glad to be wrong. With an appreciative tap on the glass of the nearest lantern, they start down the stairs.

“Traveler!”

Pausing mid step, they look over their shoulder with a sigh. Elderbug is hurrying towards them, haggardly running towards the stairwell. They walk back up to the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall and crossing their arms while he scurries closer. What does he want now? They don’t have the time for this.

Elderbug stops a few widths away from them, taking a few ticks to catch his breath. There is yarn tangled in his fingers; they give it a quizzical look. “I… I apologize, traveler,” he pants out, clutching his yarn tightly. “But may… may I make a request of you?”

“What.” 

“There… there were others here, a while ago.” He sighs, starting to untangle his yarn. “A fly, who is a fairly old lad, like me. He goes by Sly. And… a child, a young beetle. Bretta.” His antennae droop. “She went missing a few harvests ago. The poor thing went down there”—he tips his head at the stairway—”we presume, because there’s nowhere else she could have gone. Sly went down afterward to look for her.” The rest of his body slumps. “He hasn’t been back in a while.” 

Ugh. “What does he look like?” 

Elderbug’s fingers scrape against each other, scratching at his chitin as he hesitantly says, “He’s about your height. Maybe a little taller. Dark chitin, with a bluish tint to it. Big dark eyes. The child is taller, a brighter blue, with little ridges on her elytra.” He slumps again. “I don’t… expect you to find them, but…”

_Ugh._ “I’ll keep an eye out.” Why are they even agreeing to this? 

Elderbug’s antennae do a happy twirl. “Thank you, traveler, thank you kindly,” he murmurs, clasping his hands together. The yarn is still tangled in his fingers. “I won’t keep you any longer. May your travels be fruitful.” 

They flick their head in an approximation of a nod as they turn and head down the stairs, grumbling to themself. They’re not even going to be here long enough to help with that. Who knows how far both of these people have gone by now? They’re not going to spend cycles looking for some beetle. 

They did only agree to ‘keep an eye out’, though, and he doesn’t expect them to find either person anyway. So it doesn’t really matter. With a huff, they quicken their pace, descending down deeper into the Wyrm’s Jaws. 

The stairs go down surprisingly deep, and they lose track of how many times they spiral around before they reach the bottom. It opens up into a little alcove of a room, populated with nothing but the end of the staircase. Here, the air feels more moist, sticking to their chitin as they survey the junction they’re in; they swipe at themself, disgusted. Even the air is trying to cling to them.

There are three branching paths, two to their right and one to their left. The two exits on their right are small, set into the wall in a way that makes them blend in, while the one on the left is a long tunnel that stretches off into the darkness beyond. The smaller exits also look more rundown, more smoothed down and banged up by the passage of time. It’s clear that the left exit was intended to be the way down into the kingdoms below. 

As they move towards it, something in the air shifts, and their insides lurch. The Call sears through their eye, screaming through the entirety of their head and scrabbling, scratching its way out of their eye socket. Wrong way, they somehow instinctively know, shuffling towards one of the smaller exits. They push open the door. There’s another staircase. They descend anyway, each step sending a knife through their eye. The pain pulsates, crawling through their head and wrapping around their insides, twisting, bursting, but they keep walking, keep pushing, staggering down the stairs as each step burns, burns, burns— 

*help*

They nearly pitch forward, and they grab the wall to steady themself, limbs shaking from the effort of staying upright. It was not a voice that rang through their head, but they heard it nonetheless, the raw plea of… of _someone_ being shoved into their mind, their desperation clawing its way into their thoughts until it becomes theirs.

It’s familiar. They’ve felt this before. Where have they felt it before? 

*help please*

That dream… The way the darkness had called. Is this… 

They trip forward again, unsure of whether they’re falling or if their head is. Has the Call been someone this whole time? All those cycles they spent trying to ignore it, have they been ignoring… Who is this? Why are they crying out for them? How are they even… 

*... sibling?*

They lose their footing, crashing down the last few steps of the staircase. _Sibling?_ They have a _sibling? Here?_ They push themself up—their eye screams, and their arms give way, and they fall, but they keep pushing, bracing their feet and they half fall, half crawl their way forward, closer closer closer to their sibling, white and black and orange all around and they’re _here_—

The moment their hands connect with the smooth stone in front of them, the pain vanishes, leaving behind little more than a mild itch. Their mind quiets, a presence they hadn’t realized was there earlier fading away, and they’re left with their hands pressed to the stone, blocked from progressing further. They pound on it, screaming, trying to call back to their sibling, trying to hear them again, but there is no response. It’s just them left.

“Traveler?”

They whirl around, standing and drawing their nail in the same motion, and point it directly at a short blue isopod. The isopod yelps, raising their hands as they back away. “I don’t want any trouble!” they squeak, pushing their ridiculously oversized hat up out of their face. “But you seemed to be in—in a fair bit of distress there.”

They glower down at the isopod, angling the tip of their nail towards the isopod’s chest. The isopod’s maxillipeds quiver as they continue, “And you crawled in here, like you couldn’t walk, but you seem alright now and—and I’m glad! I’m glad you’re feeling better, but—”

“Shut up.”

The isopod lets out a last peep of fear, but does as they’re told. They take a step closer, gripping their nail more tightly. “Why are you here?” they sign, keeping their signs tight and sharp. 

“Like, here, here? Or why am I here in the Wyrm’s Jaws? Because—”

They take another step closer, and the isopod switches to signing, their hands moving so fast they can barely keep up. “I’m just exploring! I came here a few cycles ago and I’ve been examining the ruins here since, and there’s been a lot of interesting organic and magical structures around and that’s why I’m here, I don’t mean to cause you any trouble at all, you just scrambled right past me and—and now we’re having this conversation!”

They stare at the isopod for a few ticks. “Did you do anything to”—they gesture at the stone behind them—“that?”

The isopod cocks their head at them, adjusting their hat again. “No…? Why would I have?”

Then why did their sibling go quiet? They had been crying out so loud for them. Even their dreams had the influence of their pain; it must have been them, that darkness they’d seen and felt crying out. Are they alright in… in whatever stone cage they’re in? They should have come sooner. 

They snap back to the present as the isopod hesitantly waves at them to get their attention. “_Are_ you alright, traveler?” they say out loud, wringing their hands. 

“That’s none of your business.” They level their nail at the isopod again. 

“H-hey, I—” The isopod shakily draws their nail. “I don’t want a fight, but…”

Any prior thoughts they had about the isopod vanish as they witness the horrific spectacle of the isopod’s nail. Moisture stains populate the length of the blade, which has multiple dents in it, and the tip is notably blunted. The wrap on the handle is old, a little moisture damaged, and the glue is starting to come off. The isopod’s grip is also off; it’s not ideal for cutting or piercing, and would make them ineffective when actually fighting. How did this isopod even get here?

“… why are you looking at my nail like that?”

They glance back at the isopod, then sheathe their nail. “Do you even sharpen your nail?” they ask, hands lingering on ‘sharpen’.

The isopod gives an awkward titter, lowering their nail and looking at it. “Not as often as I probably should,” they admit, returning to signing. “It’s not great, but I don’t need to use my nail much, so I haven’t sharpened it in a while.” 

They sigh heavily, gesturing towards the isopod’s nail. “Give me that.” This idiot is going to get themself killed. 

The isopod stares at them. “Why?”

“I’m sharpening it.”

“... I can do that myself.”

“But you haven’t.”

“... so?”

They toss their hands into the air. “_Just give it to me._”

The isopod splutters, holding their nail closer to them. “No! How do I know you’re not going to attack me once you take away my weapon?”

They glare witheringly at the isopod, who shrinks away from them. “Do you honestly think you could beat me in a fight?”

“Is that supposed to be reassuring? Because it’s not.”

“Your nail is literally blunt and dented.” They sit, pulling their file and whetstone out. “Give it to me. I’m not watching you get yourself killed out there.”

They stare at each other for a few moments before the isopod slowly hands them the dented nail. They take it with a scoff, digging around in their pack for their flask of oil and their cleaning rag. “How often do you even oil your nail?” they ask huffily as they set their tools down.

“I’m supposed to oil it?”

They consider strangling the isopod to save them the trouble of getting killed elsewhere. 

The isopod sits, sighing. “I just gave my nail to the nailsmiths for upkeep. I was never taught how to properly care for my nail.”

They drop their cleaning rag into their lap, carefully setting the nail down on the ground. “How do you have a nail and not know how to take proper care of it?” they demand, their signs loose from their agitation. “Who even gave this nail to you?”

The isopod doesn’t respond for a long while, staring down at their nail. Suddenly awkward, they busy themself with sharpening the blade, briskly working their file over the dull edge. Sure the isopod may give their nail to nailsmiths for routine upkeep, but either those nailsmiths had no idea what they were doing, or the isopod just hasn’t done it in over a shyo. They doubt the isopod even removes their nail from its sheath regularly, given that they apparently don’t know basic nail care. 

“I honestly don’t know how I got my nail.” 

They look up at the isopod, putting their file aside. Lacing their fingers together, the isopod continues with a quiet voice, “I hadn’t thought about it until you asked. I’ve had this nail for as long as I can remember, but I don’t remember its origins.”

“Did you not trade for this?” There’s no way to get a weapon without extensive trading, not when most people have no use for one. They’d had to prove their own need for one some fifty years back.

“... no. I would remember if I had.” 

“That’s not possible. No one gives out nails without making you earn them.”

The isopod falls silent again. They watch the isopod for a while, then go back to sharpening their nail. At the very least, the nicks in the blade aren’t too deep and thus are easy to grind out. Otherwise the isopod would need an entirely new nail. 

They glance up when the isopod adjusts their hat, clearing their throat. “What brings you here?” the isopod asks, pivoting hard into the new topic. “I’m sure we’ve both heard of the many tales about Hallownest.”

They scoff, letting the question hang. Their nail is sufficiently sharp now. Picking up their bottle of oil, they carefully pour some out onto their cleaning rag, then spread it over the whetstone. They give the nail a cursory look over before starting to polish it. 

“I came to uncover Hallownest’s mysteries,” the isopod continues, their voice brightening somewhat. “I’ve wondered about this kingdom cluster for quite a while, but I finally decided to come pay it a visit.” The isopod reaches into their satchel, pulling out a small notebook as they switch to signing. “Even in this upper area, there’s lots to discover. There’s a strange snarl of vines up top that blocks off an old path. I sketched them for future reference; I’ve never seen plants grow like that before.”

They stare at the isopod, puzzled, as they launch into a rapid fire ramble about the vines, the signs flying by too quickly for them to keep up. How can they be this enthusiastic about plants and still know so little about how to care for their nail? With a huff, they return to polishing the isopod’s nail, glancing up every now and then to humor them.

“And there’s also this structure,” the isopod adds, gesturing to the stone cage trapping their sibling. They tense. “Just another of these oddities. There’s a strange energy to it, and the way it’s built makes me believe it may be a set of doors. But to what?”

Doors… They look over at the cage. The Call is quiet, little more than a hushed whisper of pain fluttering through their eye. Where is their sibling inside the stone? The Call is too weak for them to pinpoint anything.

If these are doors, then there must be a way to open them, whether by force or some other means. And even if they aren’t doors, there must be a way to break through the stone. Their sibling is in there, somewhere. They can’t just leave them there.

They turn back to the isopod’s nail, grimly polishing it as the isopod continues to ramble. One way or another, they’ll find a way to get their sibling out. They didn’t come all this way just to let their sibling down. 

Previous chapter: A Call to Struggle | Next chapter: First Reckonings

[iztarshi]

Me, wandering through my old google docs, "Oh, I totally forgot about that time I wrote notes on a Hollow Knight/MDZS AU".

HK/MDZS AU

This is far in the future, after the events of the game, and Hallownest has been repopulated. However it still has a lot of dark emotions, ghosts, dreams, etc. and so the Clans have risen to prominence as the ones who can deal with that.

Jiang Clan

Water beetles (possibly water lily beetles?)

They live in the Blue Lake which is now a thriving town. They cover the City of Tears (still almost entirely uninhabited), the Forgotten Crossroads, and the Royal Waterways (surprisingly inhabited by damp loving bugs).

WWX is a cheerful red and black cricket.

Lan Clan

Mantises

They live in Fog Valley around Monomon’s Library, and cover the Queen’s Gardens, the Greenpath and the Fungal Wastes. This is a large area, but the Fungal Wastes and Greenpath are often more a matter of careful diplomacy with the natives to be allowed to help them than having any kind of authority.

They’re not vegetarians (this not being possible for mantises) but they do have unusually strict rules about exactly what they can eat. This also helps in some ways, since some of the people they serve are vegetation in both the Fungal Wastes and the Greenpath.

Jin Clan

Beetles (metallic/golden beetles?)

They cover Kingdom’s Edge which is a smaller territory than most but has become both a densely populated one and a wealthy one. The source of most of their wealth is the new bees that have moved into the Hive.

Nie Clan

Spiders

They live in the Hidden Village and cover Deepnest. It’s a troublesome territory, once again full of spiders and centipedes and other cannibalistic types, and the Nies themselves don’t have a great reputation. But they maintain relations with the other clans and take care of their own area.

NHS plays up being small and helpless to counteract the stereotypes, but he’s a very adept web spinner.

(It occurs to me that if people are looking for NMJ’s body parts in this at some point they’re going to find a few more limbs than they expected. And well. That narrows it down.)

Wen Clan

Butterflies? Maybe wasps? Something diurnal and flighted, that needs access to sun and open air.

They live at the top of Crystal Peak and cover Crystal Peak, the Resting Grounds and Dirtmouth (now much larger). Despite the stories told about the Radiance they love the sun and do still use it as their symbol, setting them apart from the majority of bugs.

It’s pretty rough for the Wen remnants to wind up living in the Ancient Basin.

Lan Sizhui is also going to stand out a whole lot more among the Lans, but there’s really no avoiding that in this AU.

*

Initially I wanted Baoshan Sanren to live in the Howling Wastes, but I think that for plot reasons she’s going to have to be somewhere in the Ancient Basin. Either that or no one knows where she is to such an extent that WWX was able to claim she was in the Ancient Basin, because I do want him to be thrown into the Abyss and learn heretical Blood Magic.

[pure-v3ssel]

A Spider’s Dance - masquerade AU lacenet fic!

already wrote most of it, but i’ll be uploading a few parts per post :)

-

Hornet had been here for far too long.

She was starting to get tired of all of these games. She had a kingdom to protect, and a family to watch over. Even if everything was a shell of its former self, she wouldn’t go down so easily. She would protect Hallownest until her final breath.

Although, it isn’t exactly easy to protect a crumbling kingdom if you aren’t there.

So she wandered the streets of Pharloom- its lively merchant stalls and town squares, still bustling, were quite a stark contrast to the Hallownest she had grown to love. But it was nice, at the least, to not see death left and right. It was a privilege she had only experienced once before, in her childhood. The eternal sleep… no, she couldn’t think of that now.

For what felt like eternity she searched for a way out of this forsaken kingdom. However, this time, she was the outsider. In a kingdom she had never seen before, with no allies, she was hopeless.

Unless…?

Driven by the wind from the ashen plains near the edge of the kingdom, a flyer flew right into her face. Great. She couldn’t see anything. Tearing it off her mask, she inspected its contents, and found it to be- a flyer for a ball?

Come one, come all- you are invited!

Dear recipient of this message, you are invited to the annual Ball of Roses. Do be prepared!

All invitees are expected to appear at the given venue at exactly midnight tonight. Do not be late! And come in your best disguise, fair ones.

Signed yours, Lace

-

A masquerade? It seemed as if it was too good to be true- perhaps she could find a way out through the other guests. But even if she seemed like an outsider there, she could show her invitation as proof. Yes, it was all coming together- all she needed to do was sew together the perfect outfit.

And so, sacrificing her spare cloak, and using some bioluminescent mushrooms that might or might not have been poisonous, she sewed herself a dress.

A deep shade of violet red, with bright blue accents- with a glowing blue mask to complement it.

And by the time she had fitted it on herself, and everything was complete- it was eleven. Just enough time to find the site of the ball.

But she knew all too well already- where it would happen.

The bed of white roses, of course.

Dashing her way across Pharloom with a crunch on time, she arrived soon where petals littered the street, dotting the dark roads with white. She pushed through the thick vines, a thorn poking her and drawing some blood- she smeared it on the wall, dismissing the prick.

And before her eyes, a ballroom completely consisting of vines, roses, and shroomlight encapsulated her- a magical feeling filling the air.

She took in a breath, the slight fragrance of the petals calming her- soothing, almost. The light was low, and bugs were starting to pour in- some seeming familiar, others complete strangers. But a horn resounded throughout the room- “Please welcome- Princess Lace of Pharloom!”

-

[spectruminterests]

Ok, ngl, I love how much effort you put into your Human/Modern AU. It's quite fantastic to read, I do have to ask on other characters like the God Tamer, Zote, Elderbug, and Lace, what're they like in your AU if you have any ideas for them?

Honestly, I haven’t thought of much for most of them yet, but my friend and I had some discussions that led to more character lore regarding Zote and the ghost characters, so here ya go! • Gorb: the school janitor and a crazy Radiance fan. He occasionally talks with Sybil about their obsession. • Zote: The Hallownest public school’s horrible gym teacher, who may or may not be on drugs. He thinks way too much of himself and keeps talking about how his precepts are the way to success. Bretta develops a crush on him. • Marissa: an up and coming young singer who likes Radiance’s music but wants nothing to do with The Fandom (TM). She’s Marmu’s older cousin.

• Marmu: One of Ghost and Grimm Jr.’s classmates. A sweet, naïve little girl who likes to play ball games. • Xero: An absolutely obsessed Radiance fan who got arrested for threatening the lives of the mayor and his family during the Radiance protests. • No Eyes is the local legend/Cryptid.

[thethrillof]

Hollow Knight time travel AU except characters go into the future instead of the past?

oh no.

(this bounced between headcanon and funky plot summary, as these things tend 2 do for me......)

let’s handwave this as an extremely mcfucked up experiment with soul and void with the pale royals trying to look into the most likely (and, they hoped, best) future way too hard.

everyone pretends not to panic while noticing everyone is panicking from the instant they notice what’s around them. they start from the white palace being gone to the void being uncomfortably barely-contained to, ofc, the entire dead hallownest thing. they try so badly to reason with the shambling infected guards and rich bugs they find once they get to the city, even though they know it probably won’t work...and then the white lady and the pale king absolutely blast those infected into ashes. for safety! and, to everyone else who were dragged along for the ride, exceptional trauma and grief that both are not letting themselves process.

lurien and monomon and the great knights, including hollow are probably there...

...but it’s too early for herrah, who has agreed and has placed her terms but hasn’t finished the deal completely.

this is a blow to hornet--who definitely noticed the terrifying white light that flashed through half the damn kingdom--and she is...not quite as helpful as she could be beyond tersely explaining the situation once she investigates. just there and gone again, watching as she did the little ghost from her webs above to see what happens. in particular, if the pale king fails and flees again.

“the situation” is solely the infection, the pure vessel’s failure, and everybody’s deaths. she does not explain much about herself and absolutely nothing about the fact that other vessels exist and there’s a strong one running around right now.

the pale king takes the hollow knight not being hollow badly, of course. because it’s terrible, the plan failed, and...he knew, on some level, but had been so deep in desperate denial and arrogance that he didn’t allow himself to think it through. tries to interrogate them but it goes nowhere b/c they’ve been acting hollow for so long they don’t know how to just stop--

--and they’re also horribly wrecked by the knowledge they failed and getting to see the ruins of the kingdom they were meant to protect before seeing the kingdom as it was living. they never left the white palace before, and would not gain the full knowledge of it until they were sealed within the Egg with the World Sense as a final gift. so for a long time they’re barely listening to more than the most direct orders, like “look at us” and things like that.

lurien wants to lock himself in his tower; monomon wants to go to the archives; neither of them do this because it is terribly dangerous to split up. this ratchets the tension up further. there is a lot of bickering that, again, everyone pretends is not bickering and is just discussion, because they are all too dignified and have more important things to be paying attention to for something so petty.

this doesn’t last, of course. they are reasonable enough not to storm off into the helltrap the caverns are, but everyone just gets fucking angry and starts flinging accusations at each other. and hollow. not the pale king because he’s the pale king and creator, and not the white lady because she is the queen and powerful, but quite frankly they’re both accusing themselves internally and every word flung at hollow is the same to the pale king as at himself.

dryya is defending the white lady as doubting the whole plan without quite saying so directly. ze’mer is incredibly loud and goes so far into her own language that nobody really knows what she’s saying. hegemol wants to go patrol the city and keeps nearly going off on his own anyway. ogrim and isma try to settle them down and fail.

(above, hornet is suddenly far less shocked in hindsight about everything going to shit for the kingdom. her childhood memories were maybe too steeped in nostalgia when she allowed herself to consider them.)

they do end up in the Watcher’s Tower just to get a better look in the city after all the arguing burns out for a bit (and calls infected their way). lurien suddenly doesn’t want to stay there anyway, since it’s wrecked and there are bodies of his loyal servants and also possibly his own self, dreaming. nobody learns anything of value and everyone just gets more upset! just what they all need amirite

the pale king decides the thing to do is to go to the temple of the black egg for a direct investigation. sort of in denial but mostly just floundering. the white palace is gone and so is his workshop. he knows only he could have done that. everything he ever built is gone, in fact. it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense, he’s latching onto something.

the theme of “everyone knows something is wrong but won’t directly call it out” continues! nobody else really has better to do. monomon is the most optimistic and tries to think of this as a chance to study the infection further, which she says aloud. she sees this as a chance to study the hollow knight as well, which she does not.

it’s not that hard to get through hallownest, all things considered. this seems like a good thing until the realization sets in: it’s only easy-ish (for these gods and knights) because most of the worst of it has passed. most of the potential threats died a long time ago.

quirrel! quirrel quirrel quirrel. he shows up at some point and it’s definitely freaky because he knows monomon but doesn’t, and this is somewhat stressful. on the flipside his lack of memory and having her mask unsettles everyone but her greatly. 

he doesn’t come with them. instead, he wrangles a promise from monomon and the rest to meet him at the archives (once they talk a bit and he remembers where they are) later to talk things through properly. he’ll see the kingdom as it is before discussing memories of how it once was.

the little knight gets a heads-up from hornet when she sees them nearly crossing the path of the pale court’s remains. she warns them away, specifically, but it’s their choice, and they choose to go look at them. they’re not at the level of knowledge yet to fully understand the significance, only that there’s a bunch of non-infected and hornet not challenging them to battle, but speaking to them? warning them? must be a huge deal.

can’t say all hell breaks loose once they show up. really, everyone freezes. more guilt for the royals! various degrees of dawning horror for the rest. 

hollow finally reacts, if only to step closer. they remember the little knight. oh, they remember.

the little knight does not remember them, but it doesn’t matter. familiar enough. and some answers, potentially, if they stick together now. so that’s what they do--once everyone starts moving again, the knight is there too, though they go off to wander fairly often.

the egg reveals nothing. watching the vessel reveals what they should have known already--impurity, or rather, that they are people. 

they end up in dirtmouth, where people still live, and try to plan further there. 

the knight basically abducts hollow to explore the kingdom with them anyway, after that takes a while. waiting is not giving them answers and hollow will listen to them as long as they aren’t given contradicting orders, and the pale king is suddenly unable to do that! 

hollow gets to learn to be a person, in their own little ways. it’s not easy, but being away from the rest and with a vessel that expresses themselves in minor-but-genuine gestures helps immensely. 

hornet shows up also for Sibling Bonding even if is not intentional on her part.

the future white lady is visited, eventually, and that goes rough. she’s glad to see the pale king and the rest, sure, but she can do little to help. it’s disturbing for everyone else to see how she’s bound herself, and dryya is extremely messed up by the fact she is dead and the white lady was unaware.

monomon and quirrel run the archives, sort of. quirrel tends to disappear for a while. monomon insists she’s fine with it. she’s not, but she’s certainly not going to discourage or stop him.

for the travelers, there’s no way home. the white palace’s tools are too important. all they can do is...rip their way into the Black Egg and end the Radiance. the pale king takes this upon himself, once this is apparent.

and once he bonds (barely) with the little knight, anyway, and they let him know about the dream nail. this takes a while, but not that long. the hollow knight of now still exists, and suffers, and they can be united in hating that if nothing else. 

they take her down together. 

the void drags them down together.

the pale king’s light and the knight’s power over void is enough to drag them back. the little knight, the king, the hollow knight of now and the not-pure vessel of then, and...

...there’s no running away. nothing else left to do. the kingdom is still dead, if not still rotting.

calling them a family is definitely incorrect! but all of them end up with a bond, and mostly choose to stay in dirtmouth, retrieving helpful things that still exist in hallownest and planning improvements to make it a better, bigger place to live. a good town, if nowhere near a kingdom. that’s for the best.

[bluegekk0]

how much power do the weavers hold in deepnest

At this point in the AU, they're basically all gone. They left Deepnest and returned to their homeland once the infection started. So Deepnest right now is just a region full of dangerous creatures, with no tribe occupying it. The few Little Weavers who survived after being infected likely left as well, though it's possible that some of them moved to other settlements within Hallownest (though I could see them being ostracized, Deepnest has always had a negative reputation in places like the City of Tears).

I think there's one Weaver we can see in the game, and while writing this, I just got the idea that perhaps that Weaver also moved to a different settlement instead of leaving Hallownest. Maybe they could even live in Dirtmouth? I wanted to design some background characters for the town, and having a Weaver living there would be pretty interesting, and coming up with a reason why they didn't follow the tribe would be fun. Maybe they chose to stay behind for whatever reason? Maybe they were rejected by the other Weavers? Dirtmouth is, after all, known for being the home of many outcasts and weirdos, so it wouldn't be surprising that they ended up there. I'll have to think about it.

But yeah, currently they don't have any influence on Deepnest. Wherever they went after the first signs of the infection, that is where they reside now. Considering that Herrah is dead and Hornet hasn't taken over as the Deepnest queen, there's nothing left for them to do there, and the dangerous fauna only serves to discourage them from coming back.

[pokemonswshbutionlyplayedsword]

I thought of this a long time ago but I never really put much thought into it. It's like a turf au or an apocalypse au I don't really know. But it's like it eternatus wasn't defeated galar went into this state of panic and basically collapsed. Now like everyone's against each other and like galars divided into the cities themselves based on the gym type. So most dragon trainers in hammerlock's and so on. The wild area would be life free war areas just thought it would be a cool postgame thing.

Okay, so I’m kinda new to the idea of turf aus, but I like what I’ve seen so far. As for apocolypse aus??? I love them. Like, a lot. One of my favorite types of aus. And now, Anon, you’ve got me thinkin about it, so sit down and lemme tell ya, cause I’ve got somethin’ to say. And tonight I’m feeling like ranting, so buckle up.

So here’s the plan, you’re on the right track. Eternatus demolishes Galar. There’s no leader that can ease the chaos that’s broken out. The economy is just gone. Wyndon fell apart and every other town was either mostly destroyed or abandoned. Now, what exactly is preventing Galar from putting itself back together? Good question. If you know me, you’ll know that my favorite game is Hollow Knight. In Hollow Knight, the player battles a plague caused by a godlike creature known as The Radiance. The Radiance creates this infection to gather the bugs of Hallownest and restore them to her hive mind (Yeah, I know that’s a lot to take in, but just go play the game. You’ll understand and you’ll also love it because it’s the best game.)

Now, I’m not saying that Eternatus creates a plague of sorts to bend the people and pokemon of Galar to its will, except that is exactly what I’m saying. That is what is happening. No other region can come help them because there’s nothing they can do, and even if there was some way to help, there’s no way for them to know if there’s actually anything left to save at all, and since Galar’s a big island, there’s no way for it to spread, so they’re on their own.

Here’s the vibe. Y’all ever heard of Darkwood? Yeah, another video game. Fantastic, incredible, intense and emotional. Aside from the fear and desperation to survive the night, the players of Darkwood will experience foreboding, hopeless and violent feelings. Protect what is yours and trust no one, essentially. Kill on sight kind of vibes. You know what I mean. And if you don’t, well, go play Darkwood, you won’t regret it. Warning, though, it’s graphic, bloody and can be really gross at times. But, like, that’s the aesthetic of it.

So, as a quick recap, what Eternatus has done: Effectively destroy most of Galar, especially the northern part of it; scorch the earth where Wyndon used to stand; spread plague and disease to technically enslave people and pokemon to only their base, animalistic instincts; and pretty much ruin the lives of the people who weren’t killed by the blast.

And, for the sake of convenience and my poor little heart, let’s say that no one was present for the event. Yes, Eternatus emerged in Hammerlocke, but it wasn’t defeated and it moved to Wyndon, taking possession of Rose Tower before creating the devastating blow that caused Galar to fall. No, no one we know dies, so that’s nice. But Eternatus is gone. There’s no tower to climb. No evil to defeat. No way out of this hell hole. Oh, and dynamorphing is officially cancelled, too.

ANYWAY, here’s where things get interesting. We now get to see what happens to our dear characters.

Milo is in Turffield. It’s a mess, but it’s not the worst place to be in Galar. He was there on his farm when it happened. Almost every plant was wiped out. Most barns were destroyed and the pokemon in them were either released or killed. It was hard, but Milo and his farmhands were able to salvage what was left and create a new, less impressive farm. Still, they have the most reliable food source in Galar. They had to build a lot of defense and acquire a lot of guard pokemon. They had to get really aggressive about defending their things because so many people would try to steal. But they get everything they need by trading with the other mini-societies that formed when the dust settled.

Nessa was in Hullbury. Things are extremely hard, but they’re on the sea, so a lot of the survivors tried to sail away. Nessa stayed, but she did help them try to leave. This was before the plague spread, so it was relatively safe, if not dire. After that, and when things get bad, she finds Sonia and Magnolia, and they go to Turffield to work and get protection. Magnolia definitely needs the sanctuary. Hullbury was abandoned.

Kabu is leading Motostoke the best he can. There are some survivors that follow Kabu, and they keep the production that comes from Motostoke, you know, metal production and shit. Most of Motostoke is abandoned. There’s a line of large warehouses and a nearby grocery store that the people made into a base. They’re a large crowd, but they do well because they’re so close to Turffield. There’s a lot of paranoia, though, because there’s not a lot of room for trust.

Bea is an excellent fighter, of course, so she protects Allister and the rest of the people who stayed in Stow-on-Side. They moved into the cave with the statue of the two kings. It’s so easy to fortify and, in fact, due to their pokemon, and the fact that a lot of people there have the right kind off pokemon, they are able to carve the cave out more and make an actually viable place to stay. They struggle with food a bit because they’re far from any reliable source, but they’ve made it work for their small group. There are very few of them left, so there’s a lot of trust.

Allister stays close to Bea. He’s terrified of what’s happening. He does his best to help, but mostly he stays in and tries to think of ideas. He’s come up with the idea of making tunnels to the other mini-societies. He understands that they survive if they have something worth trading. They have the power to make transportation possible. He’s currently looking for other ideas, too. If they make resources easier to access and they get means to acquire them, they’ll have a better chance of survival.

Opal knows that the woods around Ballonlea are thick and hard to traverse when the proper paths are not kept up. Thus, she has a choice to make. Does she make her town vulnerable or does she isolate herself from any other resources? She chooses isolation. They build into the trees to expand. They’re able to make farms of sorts, but they also forage. The survivors in Ballonlea isolate themselves from the plague and survive by living like the fairies- with the fairies. Most of the outside world don’t know if Ballonlea still exists. Opal knows she likely won’t live to see the end of this situation, she can only hope that she can teach her successor to lead the people of the forest.

Melony sets aside her problems with Gordie to protect her family. She works with Circhester to isolate herself from the rest of Galar. It’s hard to get to Circhester because the event caused the snow to come down harder. That makes resources hard to come by as well, though. The hot spring and a large home that houses the survivors are their stronghold. They’re not worried about being stolen from. However, monthly a group of people have to take their pokemon out and journey to the rest of Galar to trade and get resources. It’s risky, but its their only option. Melony normally leads these expeditions, and Gordie takes over while she’s gone.

Gordie is the second in command in Circhester. He’s the strategist, so to speak. He comes up with the plans. He takes care of everything while Melony is gone. He’s especially protective of his younger siblings. It’s going to be hard to grow up in a post-apocolyptic world. He used to sit around and think of what would happen in this situation, but now that he’s actually here...? He’s completely forgotten about his problems with Melony before the disaster.

Piers counts himself extremely lucky. Spikemuth has walls. It protected everyone within the city from the blast. But the walls are thin and they were already poor to begin with. The thing about Spikemuth is that they’re survivors. They may not specialize in anything, but they scrape by any way they know how. Piers may come off as an apathetic and careless person, but in this disaster, Piers steps up to lead Spikemuth. He fortifies the town with metal from Motostoke, he manages to barter with Milo to get food. They’re on cliffs right next to the sea. Some days it’s an Arceus send, some days it’s another way for Eternatus to laugh at them, but it does bring in food and scavenge sea garbage. In a town full of Zigzagoons, what else do you expect? One of the things they barter with is sending people to be temporary warriors/bodyguards. The people of Spikemuth can mf SCRAP.

Raihan fled from Hammerlocke with the rest of the survivors. They went to find Leon in Wedgehurst. There was nothing left to salvage in Hammerlocke. Some people split off from the main group. Raihan convinced Piers to let them seek refuge in Spikemuth. Some of them joined Milo. A few hoped to find Ballonlea, which wasn’t unheard of. Compared to the rest of the Galar, the rumors sounded like utopia. Raihan still has hope that help is on the way, and he’s used that to lead his people as far as they will go. His pokemon are strong and he can defend himself and his loved ones. He joins Leon in Postwick, where they retreat into the Slimbering Weald.

Leon evacuated Wyndon along with everyone else who was smart enough to leave. He immediately returned to Postwick to join Hop and his mother. The people there were pretty unharmed, since the blast didn’t reach quite far enough. Wedgehurt was abandoned for sure, but that didn’t really matter. They’re close enough to Milo to not have to worry about food so long as people came to help tend to the farms sometimes. Eventually, when things turned even worse than they already were, Leon led Postwick into the Slumbering Weald. With his powerful pokemon, he was sure he could protect them, especially with Raihan at his side. They’ve made themselves a home there, in that Weald, hoping that Zacian and Zamazenta reveal themselves to end this.

Rose is not safe anywhere. The people of Galar hate him for what he’s done, and there’s no one there to listen if he tried to explain himself. He’s not a survivor, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He and Oleana end up leaving Wyndon with a certain small group headed towards Motostoke. He keeps his head down and his hood up. He wants to find the gym leaders and other authority figures around to make a plan to fix the region, but he can’t do that yet. He doesn’t have the means or the plans to make it happen. He eventually branches off from that path because he has no choice but to follow Oleana. She leads him to Spikemuth, and she convinces Piers to accept them. It’s not easy, but Spikemuth is probably one of the safest places for him now.

Oleana stays with Rose. She calls all the shots, but she protects him at all costs. She knows he never meant for this. She’s a fighter and good at surviving. Through rumors and travelers, she learns that Spikemuth is accepting of all stragglers who need walls to protect them. One of two things happen if she takes Rose. 1. They’ll be killed on sight or 2. Piers will accept them and they’ll be safe. Oleana doesn’t ask Rose, because she knows he’s still in shock and not of right mind right now. She thinks she’ll be able to get through to Piers, they understood each other. Luckily, she’s right, but she has to work extra hard to earn both their keep. She doesn’t exactly mind, since she rises through the ranks quickly and proves to be especially valuable to Piers.

Sonia goes with Nessa to Turffield with her grandmother. She regrets leaving Leon behind, but she had no choice. She had no idea if he was even alive. She hears rumors that he’s leading Postwick, but she can’t make the trip to see for herself. She won’t leave Magnolia behind, even if it means mucking around in Wooloo pens to earn her and her grandmother’s meals. It’s a simple life, not much to it, but she knows she’s extremely lucky. A lot of people never got this far. Plus, Turffield is an empire compared to the rest of Galar, and it’s one of the best places to be since they’re so wealthy there and Milo is so kind.

Magnolia is too old and weak to survive on her own. She knows she’s lucky that her granddaughter brought her with her. Turffield is the perfect place to be for them. Sonia earns both their keeps, so Magnolia lives a very easy life. She’s researching the phenomenon that’s happening, and Milo is happy to let her. She really hopes to find out what happened to everyone and to find a way to end this. She really needs Oleana and Rose to help her, but she thinks they’re dead, so there’s no point in looking for them. She’d go to Wyndon to look for answers, but there’s no Wyndon left to go to.

Hop was terrified when it happened. Luckily, not days after the disaster struck, Leon came home and led them all to the Slumbering Weald. He’s been Leon’s apprentice of sorts. He’s been learning to be a leader like him. He hopes that he’ll be able to help more soon. He misses his friends, and right now, he’s been looking into a communication method without cell phones or electricity.

Marnie is in Spikemuth, as Piers’ second in command. She’s incredibly important because she can see things that Piers can’t. He’s fiercely protective of her, more than he was before. She’s looking for solutions to all of Spikemuth’s problems, and she’s the one that convinced Piers to let Rose and Oleana into Spikemuth. She has been listening to all the rumors and stories that pass through, hoping to hear about anyone she knew.

Bede is in Ballonlea, being taught everything Opal knows. He was the one who suggested building into the trees. Opal’s proud of him, but he knows she worries. Bede doesn’t know how long they can last until they need to make contact with the rest of Galar. He’s stressed about the future and he doesn’t know how to fix any of these problems.

Anyway, the point is, Eternapocolypse AU is a thing now, and I encourage all of you to interact with it. I love apocolypse aus so much. Only post for tonight btw because I’m tired and this took an hour to write out.

[crazyclouds5281]

Royal Knights AU Chapter 1

Inspired by @deroko-sinnermode‘s art

The Pale King was not an explorer. He never set out into the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on his shell and what provisions he could fit in his bag, camping out in the uncivilised tunnels of Hallownest. He may have memorised the official maps of his kingdom, but reclusive as he was, he’d never actually gone out and seen most of the sights for himself. He’d left his adventurous days behind him, along with the decaying corpse of his original Wyrm form, and secluded himself in his Pale Palace, rarely leaving.

As such, there were many things the Pale King did not know of his land. Tunnels and passages that were not recorded on any maps, dens and nests of vicious creatures that killed all who trespassed, such that there were none alive who knew of their presence. The lair of Nosk, the treacherous mimic of Deepnest, was hidden from his light. The vile experiments of the Soul Sanctum were unknown to the one praised as all-knowing. The surface town of Dirtmouth had never occupied his thoughts in anything more than passing wonderance. And at the crown of Hallownest, far above Crystal Peak, was the statue of the Old Light, which the Pale King would surely have blown to smithereens- if only he knew it existed.

The Pale King, nowhere near as omniscient as his subjects believed, also did not know that there was more than one way to escape the Abyss.

---

The Vessel could not get the burning pale light out of its mind. So painful to those eyes born in darkness, yet so entrancing, enticing, calling it to ascend from the pit, heedless of the hundreds of its siblings that fell to their death around it. The dozens it itself sent tumbling back into the pitch black, thinking only of removing any obstacle in its climb. Others had similarly tried to bring it down, but this Vessel was stronger, battering them off the nearest ledge and continuing on its way.

Strong though it might have been, it was not the strongest. Not the fastest. By the time it had reached that metal bridge, hanging desperately onto the edge, so close to the pale light it could almost reach out and touch it, another Vessel was already there. Before it stood the embodiment of the pale light, and it heard the words of the Pale King.

“You shall seal the blinding Light that plagues their dreams. You are the Vessel. You are the Hollow Knight.”

The Pale King turned and left, followed by the Hollow Knight, who glanced back at the struggling Vessel. For a moment, their dark eyes met, and though it was designed to be without emotion, the Hollow Knight felt some measure of pity for its struggling sibling- not that it knew what the slight pain in its empty heart meant. However, the Hollow Knight was more compelled to follow the pale light of its sire, which was getting further and further away the longer it dallied, so it turned its back on its sibling. The first of its kind to ever escape the Abyss.

It would not be the last.

The great doors slammed shut, sealed by the King’s Brand, forever locked, and the Vessel fell down, down, down, back into the place of its birth, the graveyard of its less fortunate siblings. Resigned to its fate, the Vessel went limp, understanding without understanding that only death remained. It simply waited for the moment when its shell cracked open on the corpse-covered ground, to become yet another in a sea of broken masks. It was not expecting to be caught on the way down.

Hundreds of eggs, thousands of grubs had been sacrificed to the Void by the Pale King in his now-finished search for the Hollow Knight. He thought them truly empty, unable to feel emotion, to think for themselves, little more than automatons. Not alive, just the reanimated corpses of his children, puppeted by Void.

What a fool he was. The Vessels were the progeny of the Pale King and White Lady, beings of Mind and Life. Powerful though the Void was, even it could not devour the godlings without their eggs being dropped directly into the Void Sea. Instead, by exposing the eggs to the miasma of the Abyss, the darkness had seeped into them, mixing with- not consuming- what was inside, creating a unique species.

Shells of hardened Void, masks of solidified Soul, organs of twisted Root, and brains of shaped Mind; the Vessels were an amalgamation of the four mystic elements. They were alive, they could feel and think, even if they did not know what emotions or thought were. Young as they were, the Vessels were driven purely by instinct. And that instinct told them to follow the pale light, for it would lead them to their father, who would pull them free of the darkness. Instead, they were cast down to their deaths, by their siblings or by their own missteps.

Root and Soul gave physical form. Mind gave mental form. The Void, alongside physical form, also gave the Vessels spiritual form. From the thousands of broken masks rose a legion of Shades, pitch black ghosts with Soul-white eyes.

The Shades would not let the last living Vessel in the Abyss join their ranks. Hundreds of them flew together, melding into a floating blob of Void, and the final Vessel dropped into the undulating mass. It bounced once, then lay there, dazed.

The combined Shades lowered the Vessel onto the shell-covered floor, dispersing back into their singular forms and crowding around it. They nuzzled against the sole living creature, ghostly black masks somehow making contact. The Vessel was jostled upright, standing on stubby legs. It stared blankly at its dead siblings, mind far gone, still entranced by the glimpse of the Pale King.

It had to get to him. There had to be another way out of the Abyss, another way to reach that pale light, even if it would not reach for them.

---

Time meant nothing in the Void. The Vessel searched and searched, enlisting the help of the Shades, and would have kept looking for eternity if it had to. Along the way, they found many strange things.

Through a tunnel, there was a towering structure, which bathed the Void Sea in yellow light, quelling the bottomless depths. A corpse lay in the top, of a creature unlike any of the siblings. It didn’t do anything other than lay there, obviously, so the siblings quickly lost interest in it.

Halfway up the pit was a dais with a glowing blue rock in it- a locking mechanism for the door beyond it, most likely. It couldn’t be opened, just like the door sealed by the King’s Brand. The siblings moved on.

Far beyond the lighthouse, across the Void Sea and through a stretching tunnel, was a fountain of overflowing Void. The Vessel, curious, jumped in, and attained the ability to warp into a Shade for a moment, passing through all obstacles before reverting back to its original form. It thoroughly startled both the Vessel and its siblings the first time it happened.

On the opposite side of the Abyss was a chamber filled with stone faces, mouths wide open, as if they were screaming. Overcome by an otherworldly voice, an Abyssal Shriek ripped out of the Vessel’s throat, sending a cacophony of Soul and Void into the air, shaped like the wailing visages surrounding it. It shouldn’t have been possible- the Vessels did not have vocal chords. They were not designed to have them. But, such was the arcane nature of Soul (or magic, as many ignorant bugs would call it).

It was in that same room that the Vessel found what it had been looking for. The force of the Abyssal Shriek shook the stone chamber, making dust fall from the ceiling in a heavy cloud. After it cleared, the Vessel noticed a portion of the wall was littered in cracks. Another Abyssal Shriek (and subsequent dust tornado), this time closer, completely shattered the weakened section of fossil stone, revealing a tunnel behind it.

Excited, the Vessel rushed in headfirst. Currently, there were only two Shades with the living Vessel, the others scattered about the rest of the Abyss, searching for alternative avenues of escape. The two ghostly siblings glanced at each other, coming to a decision. One followed the Vessel down the tunnel, while the second returned to the Abyss proper, to inform their siblings of their new discovery.

How unfortunate, then, that not soon after, the weakened foundations of the room collapsed, once more sealing the Abyss off from the rest of the world.