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flecks-of-stardust · 1 year

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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

#hollow knight #dreamless au #godslayers #i guess i should do this sooner than later #dreamless whispers #ghost #the knight #quirrel #elderbug #wrt punctuation: see first chapter #yall should have seen the way i edited chapter 3 for this tbh #4k edited in two days. unreal

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thyssenic · 3 years

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So my friend and I came up with a 10/10 hilarious Hollow Knight AU driving home late last night and I had to share.

Everything is the same except…they drive. The bugs all own cars.

To sum it up:

-The Pale King loves roundabouts, he just makes several that lead to absolutely no where because “that’s a great way to defend the palace cause, you know, it’ll confuse everyone” and “they’re round and circular like my other favorite item in the world, buzzsaws.” He also drives an older car that’s being held together with string and duck tape, while swearing that it’s fine. In reality, this was PK’s first plan, before the White Lady was like “sweetheart, honey, I love you but…no.” And gave us the current canon layout instead. Though for now, WL just watches the chaos enfold and has great enjoyment from it.

-The Radiance, despite being a flying moth, still participates in this ridiculousness. While the roundabouts may confuse the void, it certainly does not confuse the moth goddess. She comes rolling in with infection in tow, going at top speed in her fancy convertible with modded ungodly bright lights, blinding everyone in her path. The Pale King is reasonably freaking out at this point, cause he was so certain his plan would work.

-Meanwhile, Pure Vessel/THK is just going along in their little Volkswagen Beetle, their horns sticking out from the roof cause they’re too tall, obeying all the speed limits. They’re just trying to do their best out here.

-While on the other hand, Little Ghost is just going absolutely feral in their Beetle. Spinning round and round and round again in the roundabouts, taking turns at 30mph, while destroying everything in their path in the process. Their car is still fine and in tact though, somehow, and no one questions it.

-Meanwhile, Hornet joins the White Lady at being the only ones who are actually competent. She has a sleek Mustang, driving with ease and looking 10/10 while doing so, but can’t help but put down some traps like it’s Mario Kart just to see how Little Ghost handles them.

-Then, of course, we can’t forget Grimm, who we were torn between driving a clown car recklessly or a fancy garish car also recklessly. Either way, the entire Grimm troupe along with Grimmchild is along for the ride of absolute insanity, with loud music bumpin from the speakers.

And that was all we had time to come up with, but we loved every second of this and I had to share.

#hollow knight #hollow knight au #character spoilers for my one friend who still needs to finish the game #sometimes you just need a late night headcanon in your life #we went way too into this but loved every second

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rymyanna · 2 years

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Title: Hollowed By The Depths

Tags: AU - Star Wars Setting, Sizhui PoV, wangxian, Established Relationship, Force Bond, Non-Graphic Violence, Minor Character Death

Summary: The Untamed Star Wars AU! There’s a Sith in the Senate. Jedi Master Lan Wangji and his Padawan Sizhui to the rescue (along with the infamous Sith Lord Wei Wuxian, apparently)!

Inspired by Built On Hope by Alaceron

Read it on AO3

Chapter One under the “Keep reading”, the rest on AO3 (WIP)

Chapter One: There’s A Sith In The Senate!

On Yiling, a moon of Planet Yunmeng:

Sizhui landed the ship on a clearing on the forest covered moon. He remembered learning about Yiling, but he still felt like he wasn’t prepared for what it looked like on the surface. When he had heard “a forest moon”, the first thing that had come to mind was a lush green place full of trees and wildlife. Yiling was not that.

“I don’t Sense anyone here,” Sizhui said, standing on the ramp of their ship next to Master Wangji. The trees surrounding the clearing were twisted and bare.

Master Wangji didn’t say anything. He started walking down the ramp and into the woods, while Sizhui hurried after him. Sometimes, Sizhui wished that his Master was a bit more forthcoming about what they were doing and why, but all he could do was trust him and follow.

They stopped in front of a stone bunker. Master Wangji examined the control panel next to it. As Sizhui tried to peek over his shoulder at what he was doing, he laid his hand on the scanner and a moment later, the door slid open.

That was when Sizhui realized that he had been wrong about there being no one on the moon. He saw a man trapped in carbonite.

The moment the door slid all the way open, the frozen slab began to thaw. Sizhui could Sense how the Force pulled towards the man, as though he was a drain and the Force but liquid.

He knew who the man was; both from the living memory of the Knights and Masters who walked the halls of the Jedi Temple, and from the far less factual whispers of the Younglings and Padawan.

Darth Neider, the most powerful Sith to have ever lived.

Sizhui stopped himself from activating his lightsaber and concentrated on his breathing. He watched in shock as Master Wangji walked across the grate floor, to the rabidly unfreezing slab of carbonite, to hold out his arms. Sizhui thought highly of his master, but was Master Wangji’s plan to throw a worse Sith at the Senate until the Sith already in there went away? There had to be more to it.

The Sith thawed and fell into Master Wangji’s waiting arms.

Sizhui couldn’t see detail in the dimly lit bunker. What he did see was Darth Neider grasping the front of Master Wangji’s robes and Master Wangji holding him tighter in response. They stared into each other’s eyes, bright Sith red against Master Wangji’s light brown.

The moment stretched out and then ended. Darth Neider turned his face towards Sizhui.

“Oh! And who’s this?” His voice was raspy from disuse, but the tone was delighted. Sizhui glanced at his Master, who nodded for him to speak.

“I’m Lan Sizhui, Master Wangji’s Padawan.”

The Sith’s face went through several emotions. None of them were the type of rage Sizhui associated with the Sith Order. “Master Wangji! A Padawan! How long has it been? You say Lan, that must mean you’re from Gusu as well?”

“I…” Sizhui took a deep breath and answered the questions asked in the order that they had been asked. “I’m unsure what you mean by ‘how long’. Yes, I spent a short period of my childhood on Gusu, before I was taken in by the Jedi Order.”

“Thirteen standard years,” Master Wangji said. Darth Neider turned back towards him, still in his arms like that was just a normal thing that they did. Sizhui had never seen his Master hold anyone before.

“Thirteen?” The question rang empty in the bunker before the Sith grinned wide. “That’d explain why you’re so broad and even more handsome than I remember, Master Wangji.”

The Sith winked at Master Wangji before addressing Sizhui again. Sizhui was reeling, the grate floor and the pit beneath it felt a little too unsteady, all of a sudden.

“My name is Wei Wuxian. I know you’ve probably heard all sorts of things about me, but I can assure you that I really don’t eat Jedi Padawan for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!”

“So all of the other things are true?” Sizhui asked before he could stop himself. Darth Neider, Wei Wuxian laughed.

“Yes, well, I do occasionally eat Padawan for a light snack.”

“Behave,” said Master Wangji, but it was more of a fond scolding than anything serious, and it was immediately followed by Wei Wuxian saying, “Make me.”

Sizhui got the feeling that this was an exchange they had had a million times before. Which was weird, since his Master had never mentioned Wei Wuxian.

But then again, Master Wangji wasn’t big on mentioning things.

Wei Wuxian swayed in Master Wangji’s arms. “We need to get you back on the ship,” Master Wangji said, holding him tighter.

“I’m fine,” Wei Wuxian replied, still swaying. He reached out and Pulled something to him. It disappeared into the folds of his black robes before Sizhui could get a good look at it.

“Did you forget that I’m the most powerful Sith ever and so on? A little freezing won’t hold me down for long.”

In response, Master Wangji walked out of the bunker, towards where they’d landed. Wei Wuxian had no choice but to be taken along. Sizhui followed.

“Thirteen years of freezing,” Master Wangji corrected.

Sizhui fell into step with his Master, watching the exchange from the corner of his eye.

“You’re absolutely right, as always. It could’ve been a much shorter time.” Wei Wuxian shot Master Wangji a pointed look, which he returned with a glare. Sizhui was pretty sure that he was missing some important context. Or, a lot of important context, more likely.

“For anyone interested, it is obvious you are alive. You need your strength.” Master Wangji’s word count for the day was rising so rapidly that Sizhui worried he’d get a sore throat.

“Who’s interested? Besides the entire Jedi Order, and all of the other authorities both local and Galactic,” Wei Wuxian asked.

“Most of the common people, too”.

The Sith smiled, and turned away so his long, loose hair could hide his face. “Right, yeah, of course.”

It was bizarre, and in Sizhui’s humble opinion, in bad taste to joke about the impact Darth Neider had had on most of the galaxy. What about all those atrocities he’d heard so much about? Surely Master Wangji couldn’t find the loss of life funny.

“The Council strongly suspects that there’s a Sith in the Senate,” Sizhui explained for his Master, who was just staring at Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian stopped smiling and the Force whirling around him went still and suffocating. Sizhui took a step back, but Master Wangji held Wei Wuxian closer and more secure in his arms.

“The apprentice of Wen Ruohan, then,” Wei Wuxian said

“Weren’t you his apprentice?” Sizhui asked. He had been taught that there could only be one at a time, and that the apprentice, in order to become a full-fledged Sith, had to kill their Master. That was what the elders had said had happened between Darth Neider and the Sith Master Wen Ruohan, Darth Igniferus.

Wei Wuxian looked over at him, smiling again, but now that Sizhui had seen him smile for real, he could recognize that this one was fake.

“Isn’t your Master still big on reminding everyone not to believe any old rumor they hear?” Wei Wuxian asked. “Consider this Lan Sizhui: a scenario where I was there when Wen Ruohan died, and he was pierced by a lightsaber wielded by a Sith, and in light of what you know about the Sith hierarchy, there is now a Sith Lord in the Senate.”

Sizhui looked at his feet with a thoughtful frown.

“You don’t need to figure out the answer right away. In fact I think it’s better if you let it simmer for a while,” Wei Wuxian told him, and when Sizhui glanced at him, he looked fond. It wasn’t an expression Sizhui had been expecting, but it did stir something in the back of his mind. Like he’d seen it before.

Their ship was right in front of them. Sizhui snapped out of his reverie and opened it so Master Wangji could take Wei Wuxian inside and place him on a bed. There were only two beds on their small ship; a bit of an oversight on his Master’s part, Sizhui thought.

With a final glance at his Master and their new… Ally? Prisoner? Bait? Sizhui left them alone in the tiny sleeping quarters and went to pilot the ship.

It was peaceful for the first few hours of their journey back. Likely, Wei Wuxian had given in to his exhaustion and was resting while Master Wangji saw to his healing. They’d jump into hyperspace once they were out of the System. The Star System AFC-3 was huge, with many inhabited planets and moons; getting out would take a while.

Sizhui took a moment to admire the cloud and mist covered Planet Gusu as they passed its orbit. He had been too young to remember much about those days, and his home was the Order now. Pondering on who you had been before the Order was ill advised and one of the many paths to the dark side.

The peace didn’t last much longer than that. Wei Wuxian, with Master Wangji in tow, burst into the cockpit.

“It’s so annoying though, and I forgot to grab a hair tie or anything while you were dragging me out,” Wei Wuxian complained. It was true that his hair was long and all over the place.

Shizui tried his best to concentrate on preparing for the next leg of their journey. It was a challenge.

“Padawan, you have long hair, too. Surely you have ties to spare.” Wei Wuxian grabbed the back of the pilot’s seat.

“Do not bother him,” Master Wangji said just as Sizhui was turning around to tell Wei Wuxian that he did in fact have a spare. Before he could get the words out, his Master reached inside his sleeve, fiddled with something for a moment, and pulled out a red ribbon.

“Here,” he offered it to Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian blinked, his mouth opening as if to say something, and then just stayed open for a good few seconds. Sizhui hadn’t known that his Master was carrying a ribbon around.

When Wei Wuxian did speak, what came out was, “Shouldn’t you tie me up, Master Wangji?” He held out his hands, wrists together. “I am your prisoner, after all,” he said in a tone of voice that was completely at odds with his reaction earlier.

Master Wangji wore an expression Sizhui couldn’t quite read. “Not until we’re closer to Coruscant,” he said.

“Um, Master?” Sizhui asked and watched as Wei Wuxian’s eyes took on a delighted glint.

“Why, Master--” he began and then stopped and changed tracks completely. “Wait, we’re going straight to Coruscant?”

“Hm.”

That was more like the Master Wangji he knew and Sizhui filed away what he’d just seen and heard. “We’re going to bring you back with us,” he said, back on track, centered by the mission. He glanced at his Master to check that he’d understood the next step right and got an approving nod.

“On whose orders?” Wei Wuxian asked.

“We’ve been tasked to find a way to best lure out the Sith in the Senate,” Sizhui explained their mission parameters. It was common for the Jedi Council to just toss Master Wangji at the general direction of the problem and trust that he’d sort it out.

It was a weird plan, with layers to it he couldn’t see yet, but Sizhui trusted Master Wangji’s judgment. If he thought that locating the infamous Wei Wuxian and taking him back into the Temple was the best course of action, then that had to be the case.

Wei Wuxian narrowed his eyes at Master Wangji. In response, Master Wangji held out the ribbon in a more insistent way.

“We, uh, we’re about to make the jump to lightspeed, you’ll need to sit down,” Sizhui said, even though interrupting felt deeply uncomfortable.

At that, Master Wangji glanced at him and then back at Wei Wuxian and the ribbon, raising his brows. Wei Wuxian let out a put-upon sigh.

“Fine,” he said and spun around. “Don’t think you’re off the hook. We will talk about this later.”

“Of course,” Master Wangji said and moved closer to tie Wei Wuxian’s hair back. Sizhui watched as he gently combed his fingers through it, gathering it into a high ponytail. Wei Wuxian had closed his eyes at some point, but he cracked them open when Master Wangji’s hand settled onto his shoulder, with the thumb brushing the nape of his neck.

With a wry smile, he reached up to take Master Wangji’s hand in his before turning back to face him. “In front of the Padawan, really?”

Sizhui had never witnessed his Master rolling his eyes before. Wei Wuxian’s smile widened and he swung their joined hands from side to side before letting go to take a seat.

“At first opportunity, we’ll talk,” he reiterated. Master Wangji nodded and sat down as well.

Sizhui jumped the ship into hyperspace.

#mxtxnet #wangxian #cql #the untamed #mdzs #fanfiction #my writing #this is my ficbaby #so naturally I'm going to throw it to the wolves

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omgrachwrites · 3 years

Text

The Princess and The Duke - Chapter Ten

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: As the Princess of Spain, you were always supposed to marry King James of England to make an alliance between Spain and England. When he marries a woman at his court for love, you are married off to his best friend, Sirius Black the Duke of Bedford to keep the alliance. However, the court is riddled with secrets and a rebel in the North starts to rise against the Throne. Royal AU.

Warnings: angst, character death, mentions of blood, mentions of violence, fluff

Words: 2816

A/N: How are we on chapter ten already?! I’m so sorry for this chapter, but why is angst so fun to write? Hope you guys enjoy this part and please let me know what you think and let me know if you would like to be tagged! xxx

Chapter Ten - To Die in Battle

The harsh winter wind was raging fiercely as Sirius stood on the frozen front lawn of the castle, if he didn’t die in the fighting then he would surely freeze to death. But, the wind was nothing compared to the emotions swirling in his heart. He was leaving his beautiful wife and his unborn child; he was surely walking to his certain death. Sirius didn’t know – no one did – what the numbers were like in Cumbria. But, with Scotland on this Lord Voldemort’s side, Sirius and James would be outnumbered, even with the Frenchmen that King Francis had sent.

Y/N looked beautifully sorrowful and melancholy as she looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. She reminded him of a painting he had once seen of Guinevere, when she had heard the news of Arthur’s death. Sirius hoped that he wouldn’t go the same way.

Sirius tried to smile but he feared that it came out as more of a grimace as he cupped Y/N’s rosy and frozen cheeks, “I’ll come back to you, my love. I promise, I love you so much.”

“You better had come back to me Sirius, I love you too,” Y/N sniffled and pulled him into a long passionate kiss, he poured all the love he had for her into the kiss and he knew that she was doing the same.

The kiss lasted for so long that James had to speak up, “Sirius, I’m sorry but we have to go,” reluctantly, Sirius pulled away from Y/N and pressed a kiss to her forehead, her eyes were pleading with him not to go, but he had no choice. As he rode away, he stole one last look at his Princess, hoping that he’d be able to see her again.

The journey up North went by without so much as a hitch and it surprised Sirius but he was glad that they hadn’t run into any trouble. There was enough trouble in Cumbria, they didn’t need more. The army made camp about a mile outside of Cumbria close enough to the fighting but fat enough away that they could feel safe.

Nerves swarmed in Sirius’ stomach as he heard the pounding drums of the battle, this wasn’t his first time fighting but now there was so much at stake; the state of the country and the life of Y/N and their child. What would happen to them if he died? He was going to fight tooth and nail to make sure that he survived, he had to.

“You look positively green, Peter. Are you alright?” Sirius tried to laugh but it came out hollow and humourless.

Peter swallowed, “I’m scared.”

Sirius nodded and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, Sirius would have called him a coward if he didn’t care so much about him, “so am I, Peter. But, we’re going to win, I know we are,” Sirius’ voice sounded more confident than he truly felt.

Peter nodded and gave Sirius a tight smile but for the rest of the day, he looked increasingly better.

The first few days of the fighting started off slowly but that didn’t mean it was any less brutal, Sirius hated killing men, even in battle, he felt like a monster. Dark red blood tainted the pure blanket of white snow, like spilled wine. The screams of dying men and the stench would forever haunt Sirius’ dreams as he fought in the beautiful countryside of Cumbria. He prayed to God every night, thanking Him for keeping him safe. Sirius had never before been a religious man but now seemed a good time to start believing.

What Sirius thought was odd was the fact that they hadn’t seen the fabled Lord Voldemort yet and they hadn’t seen the Scots. Thankfully, Sirius didn’t see Regulus among the men who were trying to kill him. He hoped that his kind little brother was somewhere safe, somewhere far away from the fighting.

Days rolled by and the fighting continued and the warring men painted the countryside red with each other’s blood. James had received an arrow in the shoulder and Remus had been on the receiving end of a dagger in the side, though they would both pull through. Sirius and Peter remained unscathed apart from a few cuts.

Sirius worried more about the effect that this battle would have on his mind and his dreams. James’ army dwindled in size, too many good men died, too many men that Sirius had known when he was a child.

A couple more days went by and Sirius’ young squire, Johnathan succumbed to a fatal wound by the frozen river. He asked Sirius to hold him, he didn’t want to be alone as he died, “it’s a beautiful place to die, apart from the battle of course,” Johnathan tried to laugh but he only choked on the blood that spilled from his mouth as he looked at the frozen river and the mountains beyond.

Hot tears fell down Sirius’ cheeks as he held his friend, Johnathan was so young. Sirius hadn’t wanted him to fight but Johnathan had begged him, he had wanted to be a Knight, “Johnathan, you crazy bastard,” Sirius sniffled as he tried to hold the life inside Johnathan by putting pressure on the wound but he knew it was no use. Johnathan was going to die, “you would have made an amazing Knight.”

“Damn right,” Johnathan gave a little pained smile as his voice grew weaker and began to fade, “when you get back home to your lovely wife, please tell the Lady Sophia that I love her. I’ve thought of her every moment and I’m thinking of her now as I lay dying. My only regret is that I didn’t see her beautiful face once more.”

Sirius nodded, “of course, I will.”

“Thank you, my friend,” he gasped out in pain as his breathing slowed and the life left his body. Sirius sniffed as a great wave of sadness crashed against him and he closed Johnathan’s eyes so now it only looked like he was merely sleeping. Sirius made a mental note to bury him when the fighting was over.

Rage filled Sirius’ chest as he saw red and he swore that he would find the man who had killed his friend. Sirius cut down many men and anguished cries filled his ears but he didn’t flinch as he once did. For the first time since the fighting began, the sun peeked over the mountains and filled the battlefield with watery winter sunlight. The mere sight of it filled Sirius with hope, hope that he would get back to his wide and he’d be able to see his child grow up.

That night when Sirius entered the war tent, he found that James was smiling brightly, he looked like a young God as the light bounced off his golden crown, “the Scots aren’t here, I think we’ve been lured into a trap but we can win Sirius.”

Sirius’ eyes widened and it felt like all his dreams had come true, “it was Malfoy who told us of the Scottish presence. Where is he?” Sirius wondered whether Malfoy had been a traitor among them and had tried to lure them off to their deaths. Whatever the truth was, it was definitely suspicious.

James shrugged, “I honestly couldn’t care less.”

When the rest of the army realised that the Scots – or Lord Voldemort – weren’t going to show up, it filled them with new hope and they began to fight tooth and nail. They fought so fiercely that in hundreds of years, songs and stories would be told of this day. Till the end of history would this day be sung of. It would be the stuff of legends and Sirius doubted that the mighty King Arthur had fought so well.

“They’re retreating like the cowards they are!” James yelled gleefully after hours of brutal fighting.

Sure enough, ahead of them men were retreating, led by a man in a mask and Sirius wondered if it was Lord Voldemort. Though, he couldn’t find it in his heart to care, he was just so glad that this battle was finished, even though he knew the threat was not yet defeated and there was still the Scottish to worry about.

But, he was going home, even if Johnathan couldn’t be at his side, he couldn’t tell Sophia that he loved her himself, he would be remembered. All Sirius wanted to do was ride all the way back to the palace, to his wife’s arms but of course he couldn’t do that yet. As the men celebrated, Remus turned to Sirius with a grin, dozens of cuts littering his young handsome face.

“Where is Johnathan? He should be celebrating with us! I like that man.”

Sirius’ face dropped and he felt hot tears pricking behind his eyes, Johnathan couldn’t celebrate with them and he wasn’t coming home, “he’s dead, I held him as he died,” Sirius’ voice broke,

Remus sighed mournfully as he pulled Sirius into a hug, “I’m so sorry, I know how much he meant to you. We’ll have a funeral for him and he’ll be remembered as a hero.”

Remus was true to his word, Sirius and his friends buried Johnathan – and all those who had fallen. Johnathan’s funeral was beautiful; James said a few words for him as did Sirius, who knew him best. On the day that they buried Johnathan, the sun come out and melted the snow and the river began running again. It gave Sirius hope that better days were coming. He knew that better days were coming.

Sirius was in high spirits as the army began the trek back home and he joined in with the triumphant bawdy songs. He grinned at those who remained those who would see the people they loved again. He thought of Y/N every second of the way, he was going to sleep in her warm comforting arms for a whole month and nobody would be able to stop him.

---------------------------------------------------

It had been two weeks, two whole weeks since your love had gallantly rode off to battle and you were missing him terribly. You had vivid dreams about him every night, and in those dreams you were happy but that happiness was shattered when you woke up with a broken heart when your beautiful husband wasn’t lying next to you.

He was your anchor, you had shared so many experiences with one another, it felt like you were a widow already but you wouldn’t think about that. Even though, you had heard no news of the battle. Though, you weren’t the only one who was feeling lost, Lily waited for her King and Sophia paced around your chambers with a nervous look on her face as she held her stomach.

“It’s going to be okay you know,” you smiled at the pretty girl as you knitted baby clothes by the warmth of the fire, “they’ll come home safe,” you tried to convince yourself of that too. There could be no alternative; you didn’t even want to think about it.

Sophia shot you a nervous smile, “it’s not just that,” she sighed, biting her lip, “I suppose that I should tell you, word will travel fast when the army return for the victory feast,” she took a deep breath as you frowned at her words, “the father of my baby is King Francis.”

“Sophia, I…” you trailed off, gobsmacked and hurt that your dearest friend had lain with the man who had threated your child. The only sound in the room was the crackle of the roaring fire.

“At the summit, when you were with Lily, he came by to apologise to you for being rude. He saw that I was upset and he comforted me. I wrote to him and he bids me to come to court as his mistress.”

“Do you want that?” you asked weakly as you found your voice, you were utterly shocked at this news.

Sophia shrugged as she played with her fingers, “I’d be ruined here when people find out, France will be the safest place for me and my child. He was a kind lover,” her eyes welled up, “I know that I’ve shamed you.”

You shook your head as her voice broke and you pulled her into a hug, “you could never shame me, if this is what you want that I’ll support you,” she was right, France would be the safest place for her and you couldn’t be angry at her for wanting to keep herself and her unborn child safe, “I’ll miss you,” you teared up, your heart feeling heavy, “can I persuade you to stay until I give birth? I want you by my side, Sirius and I will see to it that you get safe passage to France.”

Sophia pulled away from you and she smiled kindly as she took your hands in her soft ones, “of course, it would be an honour to attend you in your birthing bed. Thank you, Your Highness.”

The two of you warmed yourselves by the fire and Sophia told you stories of what the King was like and what she imagined his court to be like. She looked so happy that you had to support her decision even if it killed you to hand her over to France. You talked with her for a couple of hours before a trumpet was blown outside and Sophia looked at you with sparkling, happy eyes.

“That means that the army has returned!”

You gasped, your heart felt impossibly light, your husband had come home – you hoped – and without another word, you picked up your skirts and hurried onto the front lawn. The King was riding at the front of the company and you heard Lily squeal in delight before she ran to him, and you knew that Sophia was looking for Johnathan. Your heart stopped when you looked behind James and saw him, he looked so beautiful and gallant.

You watched him as he dismounted his horse and at once you ran into his arms, you never thought that you’d see him again or feel his warmth around you. Sirius chuckled as he lifted you off the ground and spun you around. You pulled your head away from his neck long enough to look at his handsome face, his eyes were soft as he gazed at you but you could tell that in their depths he felt haunted. You gently trailed your fingers over the bloody cuts on his face before leaning down to kiss him desperately. Sirius put you down as he kissed you back, clutching you desperately as his tongue dived into your mouth.

“I missed you so much,” he spoke in between kisses.

“I missed you too,” you stroked your thumbs against the hollow of his cheeks, “I’m so glad that you’ve come back to me. I love you.”

“I promised, I love you too,” he smiled as he pressed his forehead against yours.

Later that night, you were wrapped up in each other’s arms; it was obvious by the look on Sirius’ face that he didn’t want to talk about the battle so you didn’t ask him. He had been so brave but you wished that he didn’t have to be, you couldn’t lose him, it must have been so horrible for him. The only thing that Sirius had told you of the battle was the fact that Johnathan died in his arms. Sophia sobbed when Sirius told her the news and she sobbed even more when Sirius told her that Johnathan loved her and she was the last thing that he thought of.

Sirius huffed out a laugh as you leaned forward and lovingly kissed every single cut on his chest before you placed a kiss over his beating heart which jumped beneath your lips. You smiled as Sirius’ fingers dived into your hair, “you were all I thought about when I was away, every day I fought to come home to you.”

Your eyes teared up as you felt an overwhelming wave of love for the stunningly handsome man that was at your side, “I thought about you too, I dreamt of you every night, wishing you were here with me. Thank you for coming home to me, to us, thank you for keeping your promise,” tears fell down your cheeks as Sirius kissed your forehead.

“You don’t have to thank me my love, I keep the promises that I make, no matter what happens, I will always come home to you,” his thumbs wiped away your tears as he pulled you in for another kiss, resting his hands on your stomach.

You didn’t know what you would do without him, you knew that you could never love another, and you thanked God that he was home with you.

---------------------------------------------------

@smiithys @elayneblack @amelie-black @siriuslyjanhvi @pregnant-piggy @lindatreb @mabelle-cherie @hxrgreeves @britishspidey @mads-bri @classicrocketqueen @sxtansqueen @hufflepuffzutara @missmulti @bruxa0007 @ourstarsailor @fific7 @galwithbluethoughts @2410slb @sunles @krismeunicornbaobei @theincredibledeadlyviper @deathkat657

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fury-brand · 3 years

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top 10 villains

my brain hurts so this is video games only and the order is whatever and I’ve picked villains that I like rather than ones that are good at making me hate them

1. Kreia - Knights of the Old Republic 2

A cunning manipulator with a fairly excellent point who will forever be the pinnacle of what Star Wars can be when no one’s being a fucking coward about it. Also, the drama? The lies? The being my overbearing mom who can’t love me properly and just wants to drive me to greater and greater heights? All so good

2. Delita Hieral - Final Fantasy Tactics

Delita’s such an impressive villain because like you’re on his side, really, except that he is slipping so far that suddenly you are not. Some people see Delita as a second hero of this story, and that is because he is good enough at what he does to convince you

3. The Practical Incarnation - Planescape Torment

Planescape Torment is just excellent at showing you up-close the fucking horrifying amount of damage you’ve done to people as the Practical Incarnation, and calling him “the practical incarnation” is itself just so choice, what an evasive way to put it. Anyway, Justice 4 Deionarra

4. Sephiroth - FFVII

I am Contractually Obligated to include him on any such list, please peruse my tags on this blog or @cryoftheplanet for rationale

5. Emet-Selch - FFXIV

The latest addition to my catalogue, he’s got RANGE. I don’t usually go in for affably evil because it can get old quickly but he feels very naturally relaxed when he’s dicking around with you, yet still overflowing with pathos and human failure when he’s not. Honourable mention to Emet-Selch for being the most likely to call you and ask what you’d like from McDonalds

6. Sydney Losstarot - Vagrant Story

The inverse of Delita in the sense that he’s got all the trappings of villainy but is mostly... on your side? And mostly has the right of it in what he’s trying to do? Except of course that he’ll step on anyone and do absolutely anything in order to do that. It’s ok, I respect his conviction

8. Elizabeth - Bioshock Infinite

OKAY HEAR ME OUT, I know she’s NOT a villain as we get to know her, but Bioshock Infinite is basically just a time loop AU where we try to stop Elizabeth from becoming a villain and EVERYTHING we know about the Lutece’s suggests that this, as her end, is nigh-inevitable! And boy she’s got all the shit I love, from the tragic backstory to the unbridled rage to the sorrowful too-late realization that perhaps another way was available to the willingness to walk over who she has to walk over in order to save herself in the end. Fuck Burial at Sea and I’m happy she avoided her fate but we do stan regardless

9. Loewe/Leonhardt - Trails in the Sky

Staying as light on spoilers as I can here but Loewe’s like the epitome of the villain who knows what he’s doing is wrong and stupid but just cannot turn away from it because of his own darkness, rooted in heinous injustice, absolutely will not allow him to move on and heal. What kills me about him is that it still doesn’t stop him from seeing better paths for OTHER people!!!! I think he’s probably the least villainous on this list if we measure by harm done, a little closer to Sydney, but still going to count him.

10. The Radiance/The Hollow Knight - Hollow Knight

Again, gonna try to stay light on spoilers here and just say... I STRONGLY appreciate the otherworldly jenova-like qualities at play here and the way they integrate so elegantly into such a sparse setting

#subdee

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dino--draws · 4 years

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Ghost takes the place of the Hollow Knight in this AU, and is a vessel for the Nightmare Heart and Grimm by extension. They’re sealed within the repurposed black egg temple (now looks like a silk cocoon hehe) and the secondary seal is also in place. The Dreamers of this AU have changed- now being Markoth, Seer and Thistlewind. Here’s like- a mock lore tablet I typed up for what the Dreamer monument in the resting grounds (or perhaps it would be in the City of Tears since the Hollow Knight statue isn’t there in the fountain square)

“To protect the Vessel, the Dreamers lay sleeping.

Seer the Keeper

In the grounds she kept, surrounded by the ghosts of the past.

Markoth the Warrior

In his village’s remains, tucked within the ashen grave.

Thistlewind the Druid

In their garden, protected by the twisting growths.

Through their devotion, Hallownest lasts eternal.”

A second tablet would be one replacing the one that’s within the temple itself, that one is:

“A vessel, born of false light and dark,

Purpose remains, to seal the heart,

Fire and brimstone trapped within,

Disrupting the ritual of the Troupe of Grim.”

I’ve got other mock lore tablets for the sealed places of the higher beings, those can be shown on request or if I like draw something for em I dunno

~Mod Dino

#hollow knight #hollow knight au #sweet dreams au #hollow knight sweet dreams au #ghost #grimm #body horror #?#Maybe? I'm not sure but it prob counts #dino's art

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kimenochan · 8 months

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Deep inside the white palace The bugs and beasts claim the mysterious mirror room. No one know if it really exists or not. But they say there is an old light sealed in a mirror by lies and deals. And that light awaits the day for revenge.

Suddenly got an idea for a hk au while listening to the last trial musical wahaha

Quick summary: pk makes a deal with Radi to let her work with him. But he doesn't trust her. He decides to seal her in a mirror deep within the White Palace. Redi is mad af, so she plans to ruin his life. And many years later, Pk n wl had a child, Hollow, the perfect vessel. So she gotta possess that child rq. and ruin their lives🔥🔥🔥 I'm still working on the storyline. But if you have any idea Please tell me! I'd love to hear them❣️

#au tag babyyyy #trapped light au #hollow knight trapped light au #art #doodle #hk art #hk au #fanart #hk fanart #hollow knight fanart #gijinka #hk gijinka #hollow knight gijinka #hollow knight #absolute radiance #hollow knight radiance #au #*: kimeno’s goodies :*

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vesperlionheart · 4 years

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Vesper’s Quarantine ‘Finished’ Reading List

If you’re stuck indoors and feeling anxious sometimes the best thing is to drown your brain in distractions until you’re able to function again. Thus, I’ve put together a list of Sakura centric stories to entertain you. There’s a lot of shameless self promo here, fair warning, but it’s my blog and my blogpost so that’s where we’re gonna start. Some of my favorite fic are ones still being updated but this list includes only stories marked as [complete].

[Finished personal fic]

Obelisk: Kingdom of Man By: VesperChan 'She could swear she smelt sulfur when she exhaled. Nothing good ever came from boys who smelled like sulfur.' An ancient Egyptian curse and a world of dreams opens Sakura up to a life devoid of safety. In the darkness her nightmares bow themselves to her. In the morning they feast on her heart. AU SakuraMany Obelisk: Kingdom of Beasts By: VesperChan One Kingdom down, three to go. Carrying the scars on her heart, Sakura must brave the dreams again as this time, there are more sinister things then men waiting for her when she goes to sleep. The wolves have come to feast and her body will know their teeth. AU SakuraMany Obelisk: Kingdom of Monsters By: VesperChan More than halfway through the curse, Sakura's nightmares hold nothing back as fangs and spells seek to drag her down and bury her with the dead. Monsters have come at least to feast on what is left of her bones and devour her wounded heart. Beyond the scars and bloodshed, her soul is beginning to fade under the dim lights of another enchanted speakeasy and ruby eyes. AU SakuraMany Obelisk: Kingdom of Gods By: VesperChan Entering the final kingdom, Sakura stands atop a castle of sand to face down the gods who first orchestrated the curse and began the bloody tradition of collecting human souls in a little black obelisk. Gladiators, Egyptian gods, and blood thirsty pharaohs paint a vivid picture on the inside of her mind as she sleeps, dreams, and struggles once again. AU SakuraMany Total word count for Obelisk series: 565,292 (just over half a million words)

RED KING By: VesperChan In the wild country where it never snows but always freezes, the Red King marches his armies against the White Tsar. That is why Sakura is swept away from the lonely streets and the empty barracks into a car with a bastard prince and a promise of redemption, but if only she can face the demons that chased her in the first place and be what the king needs in his war. SakuraCentric

Touken Revolution by Vesperchan (rated E) Sakura, a sword smith, is nearly killed for what she really is: a sage, one who can animate weapons into warriors and give bodies to the souls she hears inside swords. Now a refugee in the land of Kiri she's building an army because it's her only hope for survival and maybe even happiness. SakuraKiri Sakura centric

Things We Lost in the Fire By: VesperChan Years later, living alone in the woods with half a dozen dogs, questionable reading material, and crippling non-attachment issues, Sakura realizes she has turned into her teacher. Agebent Sakura Sensei ShiSaku

Jealous gods by Vesperchan When a coup takes the lives of the king and the rest of the royal family, Sakura, the sole surviver, escapes to the edge of the world with Kakashi to strike a bargain with an old god. Her worship in exchange for his power. She's warned he's a dark and jealous god, but that's not enough to sway her. ItaSaku Kakasaku darkItachi AU

Lindworm & the Tam Lin Love a Changling by Vesperchan Sakura travels as a curse breaker across the land, doing what she can to put some peace back into the world. She doesn't think much of it when she breaks the curse on a lesser dragon or a fae knight, but maybe she should have. MadaSaku, HashiSaku Poly

A Confluence of Stars by Vesperchan (my WitcherAU) With the war over between two princedoms, Sakura, a sniper, returns home to celebrate Confluence with her grandmother, the local Story Keeper. She had expected it to be nothing more than just another celebration when the star rivers overlapped and the poor people partied. But, along with the rest of the world, Sakura soon realizes that Confluence did more than just give people a reason to celebrate. A wicked new world filled with monsters and magic straight from Baba's tales spills into theirs, and Sakura is forced to turn to her rifle and her stories to make sense of it. Sakuracentric

Sugarplum by Vesperchan "They will use you up, and love you all the while, until there is nothing left of the girl you used to be." Sakura had been a chosen one, once upon a time, but that was years ago, and all the magic has left her. Still, the world calls her back and she has a new role in supporting the next girl savior many years her junior. ItaSakuSaso

Stag by Vesperchan He was a wizard with a tower and a set of rules he should never break. Sakura was a girl with just a bit of budding magic he decides he can't ignore. Some things were made to be broken. TobiSaku

[Finished general fic list]

Hollow Point by Sariasprincy @sariasprincy Arms dealing is her trade, but young and in a man's world, it takes a criminal mastermind to play with the big dogs without getting bit. TobiSaku/ItaSaku. Crime!AU. Rated M for mentions of adult themes.

Where it Happened also by @sariasprincye He was the new head of Cardio and her new boss, and though she thought him a little full of himself, it seemed there was more to the famed Uchiha Itachi than he led on. Not that she could claim her life was that uncomplicated as well. ItaSaku. Modern AU. Grey's Anatomy AU. Rated M for mentions of adult themes.

Nightmare in Red by @sariasprincy Haruno Sakura used to think the eyes were the windows to the soul, but after witnessing the horrors of the Sharingan firsthand, she's convinced they are the doors. ItaSaku. Nonmass. Rated T

Blurred Lines by @sariasprincyHe was an international criminal. She was a federal agent. And she wanted nothing more than to arrest him - or shoot him - if only he would stop providing her leads to more desirable criminals first. MadaSaku. Rated T.

The Man in Black A man in black haunts her hospital. But what does he want and why is it that Sakura is the only one that can see him? ItaSaku. Modern Myth AU. Death AU

The Choices We Make by @sariasprincyHe was the Head of the Uchiha Clan and she the fearless discipline of the Hokage, but how the hell was she supposed to find the strength to tell him she was pregnant? MadaSaku. Rated M for mentions of adult themes.

halcyon days by jaylene @thefreckledone Sakura sees dead people. Well, two dead people to be exact. Everything changes. Sakura-centric. Indra/Sakura/Ashura.

hands like houses by @thefreckledone Sakura finds herself trapped in the past and discovers a new family along the way, however unwilling she may be. Time travel. Fix-it fic. Sakura-centric.

Borage by @thefreckledone Sakura is in search for answers. What she finds doesn't please her.

Forest Fire by Moor @kendochick-moor Mod AU. Sasu x Saku x Ita. A small spark can launch a forest fire.

Forest Fire II by Moor @kendochick-moor Sequel to "Forest Fire". University AU. Sasu X Saku X Ita. After Sasuke inexplicably broke up with her when he leaves for Oto, Sakura throws herself into her school and social life. Friends like Ino, and surprisingly Itachi, are there to help her along the way. Meanwhile another threat, in the form of unbalanced Uchiha Madara, stalks her, ever nearer.

Tipsy series by Moor @kendochick-moor Mod AU. MadaSaku. The 1-5 part of the "5 Drunkfics" prompts. (Rated 'M' for language & themes)

Akatsuki Sakura AU by moor DeiSaku, ItaSaku. Konoha-verse AU. Akatsuki Sakura AU. Raised by Uchiha Madara as part of the Akatsuki, Sakura is sent to infiltrate Konoha's ranks. Things become complicated when she is promoted to a team with one of Konoha's most well-respected ANBU captains, Uchiha Itachi.

Soulmates by Moor - KakaSaku. Age-swap AU. Based on the "Soulmates" prompt from the October 2015 tumblr KakaSaku fest. Kakashi has a reputation as an enfant terrible; at least, until Sakura sensei takes him under her wing. Rated M for later chapters.

Fancy Footwork by silverfootsteps @silverfootstepswrites For Sakura, there's always been dreary days of schoolwork and unreliable people. Who knew a clumsy womanizer, an accidental pervert, a soft-hearted glutton, and an incredibly sexy virgin would light her life up like this? A friendship founded on dancing and the strange threat that tied them all together: "Fiji". AU

Equinox by silverfootsteps Sakura is half-siren, half-human, and 100% unprepared for what waits for her when she moves to a little seaside town. A place where calling someone a monster always receives the answer: "….well, duh". Monster AU. Multisaku.

Lullaby by Silverfootsteps Sakura is part-siren, part-human, and learning how to deal with a nest of lovable dorks. But nothing seems impossible in the sleepy little town of Old Pines, where magic hangs heavy in the air and a certain werewolf has learned to stop pissing everywhere. Sort of. Sequel to Equinox. Monster AU. Polysaku af.

Butterfly by silverfootsteps After winning her first and only Olympic gold, Haruno Sakura shocks the world by announcing her retirement from skating. When she returns to her little hometown of Konoha, she finds that not much has changed. The same old temples, the same old persimmon trees. Resigned to a quiet life, she settles in for what she hopes will be an uneventful retirement. Skating AU. Itasaku.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead by Evil Is A Relative Term After the Forest of Death, Sakura comes to realize that being weak is no longer an option. However, she finds that change is sometimes painful and that truth doesn't always come easy. Luckily, she'll have some help along the way.

Vertigo by Cynchick Sakura accepts the most critical and dangerous mission of her life, but the price of success may very well be her soul. When your entire world turns upside down, how do you keep from going under? DeiSaku.

An Indispensable Assistant by TayMor Professional. Intelligent. Intuitive. Haruno Sakura is the assistant every boss wants. She is smart, she is capable, and she is experienced. Operating with her own hard and fast rules, Sakura has one, very important personal rule. Never fall in love with your boss. However, being indispensable to Uchiha Itachi will put that rule under heavy duress. AU.

The Third Chance by TayMor reviewsJust because he died didn't mean he got to stay dead. The Rikudo Sennin reincarnates Uchiha Madara as his 26 year old self and he begins his third life broken, humiliated and full of despair. But things change as Madara finds himself competing against Sasuke for the attention of Konoha's favorite medic... MadaSakuSasu Set after the final battle and during the blank period.

Rainy Days by Wynth It took her a while before Sakura was convinced that she was once again in her twelve year old body, but by that time it was too late. •Time-Travel / AU•

Consequences of Saving a Life by BelleDayNight reviewsAt the end of the war, Neji is revived by Sakura. She has saved his life, now she is responsible for it. The Hyuga clan leader covets the power that Naruto and Sakura could bring the clan with unions with Hinata and Neji. Can they survive the politics of the noble clan? Naruto trains with Sasuke and Hanabi for CPE while Sakura and Neji embark on a mission together for the Daimyo.

Take It or Leave It by kc-archive Akatsuki & Sakura. After a moment of shock, Sakura realized that two fully grown, fully naked men were sitting squished uncomfortably together in her bathtub. (dubcon warning)

Till Death Due Us Apart by SpeedDemon315 Ever since he was gone, she never was the same. The world was warm and cheery while she was cold and dreary. She thought there was no hope left for her…or was there? Oneshot, character death [SasorixSakura]

Bringing Back What's Dead by SpeedDemon315 Sequel to Till Death Due Us Apart. She made a promise to herself to discover a way to revive him and have him finally see his son. What happens when your greatest enemy from the past is the only one who can grant your fondest wish? SakuraxSasori

Time Flies Like An Arrow by katlou303 Sakura traveled back in time with the intent of changing everything, but something went wrong, and now she's a four-year-old civilian having nightmares about impossible monsters and losing friends she has yet to meet.

Uneasy coexistence by DeGlace One grinning shark–man. One pink–haired medic. Ankles. Teeth. Kisame x Sakura. Yes, you read that right.

The Art of War by leafygirl Entry for the LJ Kakasaku AU contest. Sakura gets stuck following her teacher after a bet with her friends. But his mysterious life is nothing she ever expected.

Vespertine by Cynchick Two enemies strike a bargain to save what they both hold dear. He will reveal a truth that shakes her beliefs, drawing her into a web of lies and betrayal. She will offer the redemption for which he never hoped and show him how to be human again. ItaSaku.

Caught and Set Loose by Celtic Oak AU. On a mission, Sakura and her companions find themselves in the custody of the wildest clan of the East Province. Forced to accept their hospitality and a redheaded escort, the medic must make the best of her situation, wherever it leads her. GaaSaku.

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thethrillof · 3 years

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Kind of a random question, but inspired by that fanart where Ghost Hollow Knight has a house- how d'you think the siblings might furnish their homes individually vs. if they were sharing a house?

HMM

well, they’re all kind of independent messes, so on their own, their houses would be a little...rough.

ghost’s would be best in terms of comfort. soft-ish thing for a bed (though they’d honestly still probably still sit up snoozing, so a large cushion or something?), probably a few shelves to store random things they don’t use much (unhelpful charms, surplus map pins) and definitely geo containers because they’re sick of losing stuff to their shade and they’re too organized to want to just leave them in piles on the floor (even if they’d think about it sometimes).

hornet’s would just be a ton of spiderwebs on the inside. lots of webbing and sharp traps in those webbings, and then she has a little nook hidden deep inside that she sleeps in sometimes and has food wrapped up in. she probably wouldn’t stay there very much, tbh. she has everything she needs on her person and staying in one place alone all the time would unsettle her, even if it was up in dirtmouth, where nobody is really dangerous (as far as she knows).

hollow. hollow......assuming this is post-canon good-ish-end au, they’d need a huge soft nest of some sort to lie down and heal on, but otherwise they’d just. whatever. they wouldn’t ask for things and it’d be ages before they tried to get anything.

all together...they’d probably have a pretty large house, first of all! gotta fit all of hollow in it next to others. i think they’d try for having their own bedrooms each, but they’d almost never all use them at the same time. hornet and ghost get used to watching over hollow as they get better, and tbqh hollow gets used to being watched over, so they’re all most used to curling up in hollow’s room.

hornet would still web parts of the house for traps, but way less. she’s got two sibs to account for possibly running into ‘em. her room would still have plenty and ghost would get caught up in it several times before they learn, which does not stop hornet b/c it happens when they’re crystal dashing in the fuckin house which is troublesome. she’d still leave sometimes to patrol and just have breaks away from people, but she’d be back within a day or two. there’d be more supplies hidden in that room as a result, and eventually little tunnels in the web where at least little ghost can sneak through. tiny bits of furniture like chairs or boxes. not a ton.

ghost’s room would be the same as their house above, but they’d use it much less and it’d be more of a storage room and a place to decompress sometimes. actually, it’d mostly end up being grimmchild’s room probably :V and they’re too baby to have much opinion over the furnishings, other than having something to hang upside-down off of eventually.

hollow would still have their huge nest in a bigger room, and they’d have even more blankets and stuff to shield them from their siblings when ghost started sitting in the nest instead of beside it. there is a little stool there tho for ghost or for hornet, who does usually stick to sitting on it except for very late at night, and their room would specifically be adorned with a few lumafly lights hornet would steal straight from the street lamps. the dark is sometimes comforting, but pale light something like the white palace’s is better. still not a lot of stuff, but they’d be able to pick their blankets and eventually graduate to a hammock big enough for all three to rest in.

the house itself would have a rarely-used kitchen (the vessels can eat but don’t need to and don’t think about it much, hornet prefers fresh hunts) stocked with mostly stuff that the people of dirtmouth give them, and an open living room area that would probably also not be used overmuch, though there’d be seats for each of them, and hollow would use them a lot to just chill on and look outside.

a little shrine in the corner created by both hornet and hollow for all that was lost, which little ghost would respect and give offerings to but not help with. and i can see collections of weapons ending up hanging on their walls somehow, though i can’t imagine exactly whose decision that would be, and it wouldn’t be until hollow was strong enough there’d be little worry about them tripping or bumping into ‘em.

definitely fresh journals around. ghost would get into writing a lot and would do their best to coax hollow into joining them. mental and physical limitations would make this unlikely to happen for a long time, but ghost would keep offering anyway. hornet would have her own silk creations strewn around, once she’s comfortable enough to try to get into creating for creation and tradition’s sake instead of purely survival mode.

...and that’s all i can think of atm :V!

#goodbyenorthernlights

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saturno-sol · 3 years

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Ok Here’s that Hollow Knight Four Swords AU heehee

So basic gist of this is what the Four Swords crew would be like if they were bugs in Hallownest! (This AU would lie just before the infection starts up, and then cut to in-game) I’ll put this under a read more because whew boy did I pour out my soul into this

First lets start off with Green!

I’m thinking that he’d either be a Mantis, or a leafbug, def something green (but lets go with leafbug for now)

I think he’d live in Greenpath (heh) helping out the Mosskins just to make sure that the pilgrims traveling to the City of Tears don’t go where they’re not supposed to

He’s helpful though! offering up his services as a guide if anyone got lost

He’s loyal to Unn, because he got separated from his parents when they were travelling to the City and a few Mosskins adopted him instead. So they taught him to be wary of Hallownest and its King

He learned how to wield a Nail from them and also uses a shellwood sheild.

Once the Infection starts up, he and the Mosskin family that adopted him decided to try to travel deeper into Greenpath, thinking that the Infection was caused by contact with other bugs, not dreams

Sadly, the Mosskins he was with ultimately fell to the Light, and left him alone to fend for himself.

He then keeps to himself, thinking that he’s better alone (Kinda like the start of the Manga when he’s just Link) until he ventures out of Greenpath and stumbles into Blue! They fight until they both realize that neither of them are infected.

He tries to stick with Blue, because he really doesn’t know the biomes of Hallownest that well, but they butt heads often.

Now onto Blue!

Blue in this AU is a Blue Mud Dauber

He lived in the Hive, then later in Kingdom’s Edge where he would test his strength in the Coliseum of Fools

He’s still arrogant and a bit hot headed, so he decided to leave the Hive since he kept butting heads with Hive Knight on how to be a better guard.

He first trained in the Hive using a stinger weapon (Like Hive Knight) before picking up a club when one of the challengers from CoF died

I feel like he and Oro would get along somewhat, though Blue doesn’t appreciate how training is behind a pay wall of Geo that he just doesn’t have.

He would occasionally fight in the CoF just to prove that he’s strong, but he’s stopped at the first trial (He’s still young and a lil bit scared of what would happen if he lost)

Once the Infection started up, Blue decides to steer clear of the CoF due to the fact that more Fools started being hyper-aggressive in the fights, so he looked for a better place to go that wouldn’t kill him (He doesn’t know where to go though, so he decides he’s going to leave Hallownest entirely to go look for another fight ring)

He found a way into the Royal Waterways through Isma’s Grove (Though it wasn’t called that just yet) and into the Fungal Wastes near Mantis Territory

He skirted the Mantis Village (This would be the time that the Traitor Lord split from the other Mantises) and found himself at the entrance to Greenpath from Fog Canyon

That’s where he stumbles into Green and they spar, he then tells Green to get lost before continuing his travels (With Green following behind lol)

Next up we got Red!

Red is a ladybug (I couldn’t find a better bug but if anyone else has a better idea for Red please let me know!)

He grew up in Dirtmouth as an orphan due to a mining accident killing his parents as they worked in Crystal Peaks

Luckily he was taken care of by the town and he became a baker’s apprentice

(Ok I like to think that the Grimm Troupe came to Hallownest before the Knight summoned them since Grimm knows about the vessel plan)

When Grimm and his Troupe pay a visit to Hallownest, Red was one of the only bugs brave enough to see one of their shows.

He became absolutely enchanted by the circus and it left an impression on him

When the infection hits his mentor and kills them, leaving Red without a job or a home, he decided to join the Grimm Troupe

When he does, he’s given a mask and a new name “Rouge” and learns how to be a fire dancer.

Rouge is a bit more daring that Red was, trying out highly dangerous stunts, but he’s still a kind soul, helping out to pitch tents or help mend costumes or cook food for the Troupe.

His primary weapon as Rouge is a Flame Staff

Once the Grimm Troupe is summoned by the Knight, Rouge is tasked with collecting Nightmare Flames for the Ritual.

(This is going to go through the Banishment Route just so that there’s an excuse for why Red stays behind) When the Knight banishes the Grimm Troupe, both Brumm and Rouge stay behind in Hallownest as Nymm and Red because of Red’s attachment to Dirtmouth (Ig? Idk I just need Red to stay)

As he now has no memories of either his past or his time with the Troupe, he decides to stay in Dirtmouth and sometimes wander into the Forgotten Crossroads before it gets infected.

He meets up with Blue and Green when they make it up to Dirtmouth for a supply run, and he decides to travel with them (much to Blue’s chagrin)

He’s still a capable fighter! Now he wields a staff he made from the metal scraps from ruins of the old village in the Crossroads

Now for Vio!

Vio is a Purple Emperor Butterfly

He lived in the City of Tears as a burgeoning scholar, planning to work for Monomon’s Archives once he was done with his studies.

He prefers being alone, holed up in a library pouring over the history of Hallownest.

When the infection starts up and the City is blocked off from the rest of Hallownest, Vio panics and decides to hole up in his apartment until the hysteria calms down.

Once most of the panic dies down, there’s a big struggle over finding supplies and food among the citizens of the City, with the nobility hogging most of it

In the scuffles, Vio stumbles into the Soul Sanctum, hoping that the Sanctum has food/supplies

He instead finds a container, and in that container is a Shade, a near to melting Shade

He decides to break it out of the container it was in as a sort of act of pity, and gets the hell out of the Sanctum, not knowing that he was followed...

(I’ll explain why Shadow can do all this stuff once we get to them but) It turns out that the Shade he freed now resided in his shadow as he traveled into to the Ancient Basin after stealing a Tram Pass and traveling to Kingdom’s Edge

He finally notices Shadow and promptly freaks out but slowly learns that Shadow is just chillin, and he tries to communicate with them to an extent of charades

They soon become good friends, with Vio telling them stories about the different subjects he learned about and Shadow trying to mime out what had happened to them, causing Vio to learn that their shell had split open and they needed a new mask to keep staying alive outside of their container

Not to mention that Vio started experiencing Void exposure due to Shadow leeching off of his life force to stay corporeal (Like the Bug from the Queen’s Garden, the “Too long spent together we became as one”)

So now with the both of them up against the clock, Vio decides to do something hella risky, head to Deepnest where the supposed “Mask Maker” lived and hoped that a new mask would save the both of them

They head to Deepnest, almost die, but make it to the Mask Maker where it seemed that he was already expecting them.

Bada-bing bada-boom, Shadow now has a new mask and a new form, and Vio stops feeling the effects of Void exposure

They both decide to go up and out exploring, hoping to leave Hallownest behind

So they travel together, and actually run into Blue, Green and Red in Dirtmouth, and decide to stay for a bit to at least advise them of the dangers deeper below.

Oh before I forget, Vio wields a crossbow, and practiced target shooting on the Primal Aspids in Kingdom’s Edge (hehe)

They join the little band of travelers and wham! Four Swords Squad is united

Now onto our final character, Shadow!

Shadow is a vessel! They have two horns on their head that curve in a wave behind (Like his hat in the Manga)

Shadow actually escaped the Abyss after it was sealed, since they hatched after the Pure Vessel ascended, they along with a few others took the tunnels out into Deepnest.

They encountered Nosk before simply running out of its lair, not looking back to see if their siblings needed help (It’s not because they’re cruel, it was simply a flight reflex taking over before helping type thing)

They somehow slipped into the tram and ended up in the Ancient Basin and into the City of Tears.

None paid them any mind because no one knew what Vessels were except for the Dreamers. So they slunk around the City just marveling at all the new senses they were experiencing

But there's a reason that Vio finds them as a Shade. They had just so happened to be near the Soul Sanctum when they were captured by its denizens

Vaati (Yes he’s here but he succumbs to the infection real quick) is one of the Soul Twisters that tries out a new experiment in hopes of gaining favor from Soul Master.

He decides to try to leech Soul off of Shadow without turning them into a husk, thing is, Shadow didn’t have any Soul to begin with, so the process breaks their shell and their Shade pops out

But due to the nature of the container being able to hold intangible things like Soul, and Shadow’s will to live being super strong, Shadow’s Shade stays trapped in the container

Vaati decides to keep them in there and simply monitor how they react to Soul, and even Infection exposure

It goes like this for a while before the City shuts down and chaos erupts, with the Soul Master instructing his minions to capture more bugs for more Soul, leaving the Sanctum pretty empty....and thats when Vio shows up

Vio breaks the container, and with no where else to go (unless you count the Abyss but Shadow did not want to rest) Shadow dives into Vio’s shadow as a last ditch effort, being able to cling to Vio’s soul reserves to keep them from truly fading

You know what happens next, they both live in Kingdom’s Edge for a while, and Shadow used miming through the shadows reflected on the walls to try to puppet out what had happened to them when asked by Vio.

Once they make it to the Mask Maker and get they’re new mask, they finally are able to experience the world again, this time with someone trusted by their side. Vio promises to try to learn sign to help teach them so that they can communicate now that they actually have hands

Due to the fact that they had been in Vio’s shadow for a good while, they’re naturally clingy to him, either by leaning against him, or holding his hand (with Vio being a bit flustered at the contact) and they’re very wary of the other Four Swords at the start, but soon warm up to them little by little

Now it’s canon that all Vessels are genderless, so Shadow in this AU goes by they/them, later on once they’ve been with Vio and the Gang long enough, they decide that they like He/Him pronouns too, so Shadow does go by They/He

Shadow has no weapon, but they do know Shade Soul and Desolate Dive from being experimented on in the Soul Sanctum so cool spell combos along with the Gang’s fighting style

And there you have it folks! If you have any questions or any suggestions please don’t be afraid to send me an ask! I love interacting with people who share my interests!

#hollow knight #hollowknight #legend of zelda #four swords #au #I wanna call it either Hollow Swords or Four Nails #Ill put both and see what sticks #Hollow Swords #Four Nails #Jeezus christ my brain went on hyper speed for this one #my eyes h u r t from concentrating on this #but this was Fun!#hope you guys like my interpretation of the story #even if it may look a lil unpolished #thats because it is #haha

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skyedragonwrites · 4 years

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wow it’s 4k words of mer baby suffering merry chrysler mons!

Fic of @dooblebugs mer au!

hey hey hey there is some heavy gore in this shit and a lot of breathing trouble. Also Hollow starts with two arms and ends with one,,, so,,, if arms b gone isn’t your speed? don’t,,, don’t read this

It woke, as always, in pain. Its eyes snapped open, the dirty water stinging terribly against their tender surfaces. Its right eye grew cloudier every day. Despite the loss of vision, the lights still burned it the same as its aching left eye.

The wires attached to its tail floated in the water as it shifted. The small tank it was in left little room to move, but its gills fluttered with the strain of even moving its tail. The ever-present hunger gnawed at its energy, and it slipped further and further into lethargy every time it opened its eyes once more.

Thoughts were hard. Its mind was as hazy as the water it was in. The only thing that ever seemed to properly register was pain. Pain in their stomach from everything it’d snapped up in a desperate attempt to feel full, pain from all the cuts and scrapes and old scars, pain from the disgusting water it was in. Pain in its chest from breathing sickening sludge, day in and day out for every moment it could remember.

Its memory was as full of holes as its ragged fins, so it couldn’t help but wonder, in its rare snatches of lucid thought, if it had ever known anything else. It dreamed of clear water, of breathing without pain, of more of it…

It dreamed of siblings with horns like its own. A sister, red and sharp.

Sometimes, rarely, it dreamed of a small, pale being, barely larger than itself with a whispery voice.

Those dreams always left it feeling odd.

It would tear at its fins after it woke from those. Maybe if it put enough holes in itself, the memories would slip through.

That never worked, and all it was ever left with was more pain.

Slowly, it felt its eyes begin to slip closed, the ever-present pain pain pain shouting in its mind slowly being overwhelmed by sleep sleep sleep.

The burning lights flickered.

It blinked.

That was new. New was dangerous. New meant traps and tests and being poked and prodded and held down in the air. It meant more wires and more pain and more remembering.

It was tired of pain and wires, but remembering was the worst of all. Teasing, taunting flashes of clear water and easy breathing and swimming freely and working eyes.

How cruel, it could remember thinking once, when its mind was clearer, to remember something that never happened.

There was a tapping sound on the glass bottom of its tank.

It flinched.

The tapping grew louder, slowly increasing in volume and pressure until it could feel the vibrations in the water. Suddenly, a hatch on the bottom of their tank that they didn’t remember existing flew open. it flinched violently, pressing against the clear back wall of the tank.

It was so tired, please, just let it rest.

Dully, it saw two small shapes slip through.

Food?

It couldn’t remember the last time it ate. Its gills fluttered painfully as it tried to pinpoint the small shadows. One was dark, much darker than the dull grey of its own flakey scales. The other was a bright red, and wielding something sharp.

Perhaps it should avoid the red one. The black one would be easy prey, being so small.

The lights flickered again.

It coiled its muscles, bracing against the pain the movement brought, and pounced.

The small one was pulled out of the way by the red one, and they felt the sting of the blade the red one carried.

A tail bashed into the side of its face and it hissed. It was starving and it needed to eat. The small one was its prey, not the red one’s.

It swiped at the black one, catching its frilly fins on their tip of its claws. The black one wriggled helplessly.

Yes… finally… food.

It snatched its hand back, an unearthly scream escaping it as the red one’s blade once again bit into it, this time on their arm. NO! MY FOOD!

It pounced on the red one, ignoring the sounds escaping from it. If this mer wanted to steal from it, it would kill them.

The blade bit into its side again and again, but it ignored the pain. Its tail slammed into the red one’s head briefly stunning the smaller mer. It threw the red one against the wall of the tank, where it hit and slid down to lay limp on the rough, pebbly floor.

It watched the red one for a few heartbeats, ignoring the sting in its side from the cuts. When it was certain the smaller mer was truly down for the count, it turned slowly around and pricked its ears.

The hunt is on.

The murky water was still, aside from the rasping of its gills. Irritated, it tried to stop breathing in order to listen for the little creature, but instead, it started coughing. It doubled over, heaving up bright orange gunk and small bits of plastic. Glass shards and bottlecaps sprayed into the water as it shuddered, sinking to the floor of the tank.

Something was caught in its throat. It hacked and struggled, gills fluttering wildly as it tried desperately to breath. The dirty water swirled around it as it thrashed desperately, the air beginning to grow dark.

Something struck its stomach, and in a massive heave that shook its entire body, the thing in its throat was expelled.

An old car tire flew across the small tank and slammed into the far wall, landing right next to the red mer. The lights flickered wildly.

It looked down, seeing the small black mer underneath it.

FOOD-

Before it even realized what it was doing, the smaller thing was clenched tightly in its fist. In one smooth motion, it brought the little black mer to its mouth and snapped.

Nothing.

It attempted to open its fist, see if the smaller mer had escaped, and locate it to swipe once more, but it couldn’t feel its arm.

Then, the pain began.

It curled up on the floor, convulsing as white-hot sickening pain shot through it.

Their arm, their arm was gone. They pushed themself up through the floor once more, trying desperately to defend themself from more needle strikes.

They understood now. The smaller mers weren’t food.

They were food now.

Hissing, they pressed their back against the wall. Their tattered frills flared, and their wounded tail whipped back and forth.

The water was turning darker, and dully, they realized they were bleeding. They raised their head and made eye contact with the red mer-

They know who that was.

Their sister.

Hornet.

Much larger than the last time they’d seen her, when she’d barely been more than a pup, still at the side of her mother.

They had hurt their sister.

Unforgivable.

Frantically, they tried to locate the other mer, tilting their head to give their good eye a view of the whole tank. Their vision was growing hazy, likely from blood loss. They’d die very soon, they realized.

They wished they had a voice to thank their sister, and to beg her to leave before she got caught. She’d freed them from this torture and given them awareness in their last moments.

The lights flickered weakly, before going dark.

Where was that other mer?

Finally, they located a shadow of a flicker on their blind side. They whirled around, coming face-to-face with…

A sibling?

But…

But all of the siblings are dead.

Their sibling reached out, and they flinched away. They’d tried to eat their sibling. They shouldn’t be near them. They were a danger to this small, precious mer.

It didn’t matter. They wouldn’t be here much longer. Their gills fluttered as they struggled to breath, and their vision grayed out as they sank to the floor.

Baring their neck, they turned their working eye to Hornet.

Please, they tried to convey, be merciful. I won’t struggle. I understand now.

Their sister knelt beside them, resting her needle behind her.

They watched her, wheezing quietly. She was right. They did not deserve a quick death after hurting their siblings.

They were so sorry.

Colors blurred as their sibling lifted them off the ground at Hornet’s direction. Something was wound tightly around their waist, constricting their already raspy breathing.

They coughed, trembling in Hornet’s arms. What was she doing? Why wasn’t she just letting them die? She needed to leave, before somebody came to check on them. They powered the whole facility, and if the lights stayed off for much longer, somebody would realize that something was up.

The bindings on their chest were tied off, the flow of their dark blood stemmed by the clean wrappings.

It was the first clean thing they’d touched in years.

It was too good for them.

They could feel the smaller mer lifting up sections of their long tail, and Hornet wrapping those just as tightly as she’d wrapped their chest and the stump of their arm.

When their siblings reached their fins, they heard a sharp intake of breath from Hornet.

“Hollow, I’m going to have to bind these down until I can get a better look at them. You’re not going to be able to swim until I take the bandages off.”

Hollow.

That was their name.

They were The Hollow Knight, once.

It was disconcerting to have their fins bound tightly together, for their tail to transform from a powerful way to push through the ocean water to entirely dead weight, but they could survive. The only real threat in this tiny tank was the poison water. The only way they could move now was to drag themselves along with their remaining arm.

It would have to do.

Water shifting against their face urged them to open their eyes. They propped themself up as Hornet lifted their chin and peered at the cracks on their face.

They studied her face – sharp teeth, dark eyes, her mask a mirror of her mother. Angry and stern, yet completely in charge.

“Your eye is badly damaged.” Hornet told them, pulling another roll of bandages from the satchel Ghost carried. “I don’t know if I can save it.”

Save it? What?

They were so confused.

“Close it please – I’m going to wrap it up until I can get a better look at it.”

Obediently, they closed their eye. They barely managed to stop themself from leaning into her touch as she wrapped their head, but they stringently reminded themself that they did not deserve it.

They had hurt their siblings.

They were unforgivable.

Hornet finished and paused for a moment. Hollow followed her gaze to their sibling, who was watching curiously.

“Ghost, not a word of what I’m about to do reaches anybody.” She told them.

Their sibling – Ghost – nodded.

Hollow tensed. What was she going to do?

Hornet looked them in the eyes, and then pressed her forehead to Hollow’s in the same way they had used to do, in order to soothe her after nightmares when she was still a pup. “I missed you so much,” She sobbed. “I love you and I missed you and I never want to lose you like that ever again!”

They stayed like that for a few minutes, their mind racing as Hornet sobbed softly.

She was hiccupping and trying to pull herself back together when they moved. Straining, they managed to pull their supporting arm up and over her shoulders, pulling them close in the same manner they had when her mother had vanished.

It seemed Ghost had had enough of being left out. They wriggled in between their siblings, nuzzling under Hollow’s chin and letting out a series of small chirps.

At first, Hollow was nervous, but slowly, they began to sink into the embrace.

BOOM!

Hollow flinched violently. Hornet and Ghost looked up, alarmed.

“Is that mom? She said she’d wait until I gave her the signal…” Hornet frowned.

<<Mom worried? Took long time find Hollow>> Ghost signed.

Hornet considered that for a moment. “Probably. Hollow, hold on to my hand as best you can. Ghost, guard Hollow’s injured side. Don’t let them land on it. This… is going to get rough.”

Faintly, Hollow became aware of a rushing sound. It almost sounded like… moving water?

They hadn’t heard a sound like that in years.

It grew louder and louder, and more loud explosions were heard. The screech of metal and the sound of buckling wood echoed throughout the room.

The door to the room where Hollow was kept bugled and burst. Water shot into the room with the force of an erupting geyser, striking the thick glass of the tank.

There was a crack, and with a burst of strength they didn’t know they had, Hollow curled around Ghost, protecting their delicate fins from the shards of glass. What little control they had over water went into keep glass out of Ghost’s tender gills.

Hornet’s grip on their hand tightened, and Hollow risked a peek at her. She was panting heavily, clearly strained to her limits.

The reason for her strain became apparent as the churning, whirling water of the room abruptly stilled. Hornet floated limply, gasping as her limbs trembled.

Ghost wriggled out from under Hollow’s tail and rushed to Hornet’s side. She shooed them away, direction them to check on Hollow. “I’m fine, little Ghost. Don’t expect me to do that ever again.”

Hollow felt their torso being lifted off the ground. Their sibling was swimming beside them, pulling them upwards, towards the cleaner water. Their tail followed, and they glanced down to see Hornet pulling them up.

“That water is disgusting.” She told them. “You’re not staying there for another minute.”

They blinked hazily at her. The minute the fresh, clear water hit their gills, they started coughing frantically. Ghost patted their back as they heaved, expelling more and more orange. Strings of fishing wire, a plastic straw, yards and yards of netting, all being relentlessly coughed out. Their chest ached underneath the bandages, and the stump of their missing arm was an agonizing constant.

Greedily, they sucked in breath after breath of the blessedly clean water.

It was saltwater.

They hadn’t had a breath of saltwater since they’d been pulled from the ocean and trapped in this tiny tank.

It felt so good, just to breathe.

Hollow would have been happy to spend the rest of their life right there, breathing freely, but Hornet had other plans.

“Ghost, we’re going to bring them into the hallway, and try to get mom’s attention. Are you ready to move?”

They felt Ghost nod, and Hornet began calling out directions to them. The door was a bit tricky, but eventually they managed to reach the large, open hallway.

Hornet set them on the floor and directed Ghost to lean their head against the wall. “I’m going to go get ahold of mom – don’t let them fall over. They can sleep – that’s fine, but don’t let them injure themself any further, all right?”

Ghost nodded, and snapped her a salute. She stuck her tongue out at them and darted away.

Hollow watched her go. Their little sister truly had grown up into an apex predator of the sea, sharp, fast, and smart.

Tap tap tap.

They looked up. Ghost was standing near them, signing at top speed. <<Sibling! Sibling, I missed you!>>

Hollow tilted their head, searching their ragged memory for Ghost’s face.

A flash of a face, and the unique shape of their mask, forever burned into the back of their mind.

Oh.

The sibling they’d abandoned.

Why did Ghost miss them?

Hollow jolted upright, hissing as the pain in their arm flared. They’d almost fallen asleep sitting up. Ghost patted their shoulder to get their attention, and when Hollow turned to look at them, they signed: <<Sleep.>>

Hollow shook their head, even as their eyes began to slip shut. No! No! They didn’t want to leave this dream, to wake up choking and mindless and tear at themselves until they felt something other then dull numbness.

Please…

Just a little longer…

Their eyes drooped shut and their mind slipped away.

They awoke, as always, to pain. Two strong hands, one on their back and one at the base of their tail, pinning them down. Something was peeling back the bandages on their tail, spreading their delicate fins wide.

They laid limp and still. Whenever they woke out of the tank, they were expected to be still. They’d learned very quickly not to thrash, or try and resist any of the poking and prodding.

Something burning was pressed against their tail, and the hand on their tail tightened at their involuntary flinch.

Their ears caught sound, but their mind only produced one word: awake!

Something flashed by their good eye. A dark shape – a hand on their cheek?

They let themself press against the hand, the good feeling of another mer’s touch sending an involuntary shiver down their spine. The hand left, but before Hollow had time to mourn the loss, it was replaced by a face.

Hollow pressed their cheek against their sibling, using the gentle pressure to distract from the burning in their tail. The hands spreading their fin weren’t human, they realized, but clawed. Another mer?

The large fin at the tip of their tail was gathered, and wrapped up tightly once more. They realized that the bandages on the stump of their arm were different – no longer just a simple layer of fabric, they now were thickly padded and tightly bound.

The hand holding their tail shifted, instead reaching under them to scoop them up. Hollow’s head spun at the sudden change of position, and their vision went spotty. More conversation – an agreement being reached?

They were moving, a steady rhythm. Slowly, their eyes closed, and they began to drift off to sleep once more.

Ghost had completely exhausted after everything. Even with Herrah carrying them most of the way, the swim to Deeptrench was long for their tiny fins.

Now, they were curled up happily in the middle of a snuggle pile. Hornet was on their right, and somehow in their sleep, Hollow had managed to pull both siblings into their chest. Herrah was wrapped around them entirely, and Monomon was leaning against her back. Quirrel was sleeping in Monomon’s lap, and Ghost could hear his snoring even through two of the largest mers in the sea.

That wasn’t what had woken them up. Ghost was quite the lazy little thing, and often had to be woken by Hornet for them to be moving any time before late morning.

Of course, other times, they were up at the crack of dawn, driving their sister insane.

But what had woken them this time?

It wasn’t until Ghost look up that they understood.

Hollow had been a dull grey when they broke them out – a color they’d only seen on mers nearly dying of pollution. Bioluminescent mers wouldn’t glow until they reentered clean water – one of the best ways to tell if somewhere was uninhabitable early on was to bring a glowy mer along and see if they stopped glowing after a few days. That way, everybody could get out quick before any permanent damage was done.

So it made sense that they didn’t know Hollow could glow!

Gently pulsing spirals covered their sibling’s body. The arm that was coiled around them was banded with soft rings of light, and all of their fingertips were lit up. Ghost edged closer trying to get a look at their face.

Swirling lines gathered under their left eye, although Ghost could faintly see light from underneath the bandaged right eye, so they figured their whole face must be lit up.

They wriggled higher, slowly pushing themself the ground with their tail, trying to get a look at the rest of Hollow’s glow.

Oh! It was so pretty! Ghost clapped their hands together over their mouth, doing their best not to cause any of the other mers to stir.

Large glowing stripes ran down Hollow’s back, the light visible even underneath the bandages. It looked like their tattered fins were glowing too, although those were so tightly wound that they really couldn’t tell.

Ghost allowed themselves to sink back to the floor. Once they were sure everybody was still asleep, they rolled over and prodded Hornet, trying to get her to wake up.

Was that her tail flicking? Was she awake yet!

Oh! She was up! Mission accomplished!

Hornet opened her mouth, likely to snap at them for waking her up, but she stopped when Ghost pointed her upwards.

“Oh, Ghost, I haven’t seen them glow since I was very little,” she whispered quietly. “That means they’re very, very happy. Let them sleep for now, okay? Tomorrow is going to be hard for them.”

Ghost nodded and curled up against Hollow’s chest again, closing their eyes.

They woke, as always, in pain.

Hollow laid still for a moment, savoring their pleasant dream, the feeling of their siblings curled around them, of lying on soft sand, of breathing again. They braced themself and cracked a single eye open, expecting the sting of dirty water.

It didn’t hurt.

Their eye popped wide open.

Their siblings were still there. Ghost and Hornet curled around each other, pressed into their chest. Their gills fluttered anxiously, and they realized that they could breathe.

They raised their arm-

Where did their arm go it hurts it hurts it hurts-

Right. That’s right. It was gone. Their punishment for trying to eat their siblings. They deserved it.

The wall they were leaning against shifted and Hollow found themselves looking into the face of a very big mer.

Their ears flattened and their eyes widened as they took in the six-eyed mask and very sharp teeth. Herrah the Beast. Hornet’s mother.

They tried to push themself up, to bow and show proper respect to a queen as someone of their rank should, but their remaining arm trembled and gave out under their weight.

Instead of letting them fall as they deserved, Herrah caught them. She was nearly three times their size, and she easily scooped them off the ground.

Hollow trembled against her chest. They’d sparred her once, at the king’s command. They’d lost within seconds, even at full strength.

Now?

They could barely move.

“-gry?”

They flinched at the sound of her voice, only able to catch the tail end of her words. They lifted their ears in her direction, silently asking her to repeat herself, hoping desperately she wouldn’t be upset at their inattention.

Not that they wouldn’t deserve her ire, of course. They deserved every bad thing that had ever happened to them.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to mind their slip-up. “Are you hungry?”

Just the thought of food had their stomach screaming.

They nodded frantically, but stopped when their eye protested the movement. They pressed their face into Herrah’s side, the same way they’d often rub against the tank wall to stop the aching, before snapping their head back.

Their chest heaved as they realized what they’d just done.

They were sorry they were sorry they were so sorry they didn’t mean to lean in or touch without permission sorry sorry sorry sorry-

They didn’t even realize they were coughing until they’d hacked up a large blob of orange pollution directly onto Herrah’s chest. Desperately, they tried to stop coughing, but they couldn’t. Hands rubbed their back as they hacked pathetically, until finally, mercifully, they collapsed.

Numbly they registered movement, and before they could get their remaining eye to focus, smaller, clawed hands lifted them up.

“Sorry, this is going to feel nasty, but you need to get that garbage out before you can eat, and mom is the only one big enough to hold you.” Hornet’s voice sounded near their ear as she propped them up into a sitting position. “We cleaned your wounds while you were asleep and your breathing sounded better, so we thought you’d gotten everything out, but it looks like we were wrong.”

A cup of something odd-smelling was pressed to their face. Obediently, they swallowed it. “This is going to make you feel very sick, hopefully enough to get that stuff out of your system.”

Make me sick?

What?

Oh no.

They coughed and heaved and their entire body shuddered. Orange, littered with bottle caps and glass shards and plastic bags and old tires and fishhooks and wire floated in front of them. Their chest ached and their stomach hurt, but they couldn’t stop.

Gills fluttering desperately, Hollow gave a large, violent cough, and expelled a goopy glob of orange matter twice the size of their fist out of their gills and crumpled limply in Herrah’s arms.

They weren’t even afraid of her rage anymore. They just wanted to be held so badly. Please don’t be angry please don’t be angry.

One last weak cough shook their body, and they spat out a single paperclip.

Hollow’s gills pulsed as they struggled to sit up, to show their gratitude for the help, but the convulsions had left them shaking and weak.

Something brushed their side, and they looked down, finally managing to focus their vision. Hornet was holding a large kelp satchel, and a truly delicious smell was emanating from it.

Everything else in the world vanished.

All that mattered was the contents of that bag.

Hollow felt their mouth water as they tracked the bag with their eyes. The minute it was within arm’s reach, they snatched it and snapped.

Not a minute later, everything in Hornet’s bag, along with the bag itself, was gone.

Hollow blinked, taking in Hornet’s shocked expression. They didn’t dare glance up to see what the mer holding them thought.

They felt a rumbling in Herrah’s chest and tensed, expecting some kind reprimand for their atrocious behavior, and truly they did deserve it-

A large hand stroked down the side of their back.

They stiffened.

What was she doing?

The hand returned. It felt… it felt nice.

“You were definitely hungry!” Herrah’s voice was rich with good humor. “That might have outstripped Hornet at her hungriest!”

“MOM!” Hornet snapped, her face turning scarlet.

Hollow relaxed, letting their eyes drift closed.

Maybe… maybe everything was okay.

Maybe this wasn’t a cruel dream.

Maybe, just maybe, they would swim again one day, breathing freely, with their siblings at their side.

#my writing #fanfiction #hollow knight #mer au #look what you made me do mons #this is all your fault

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