#text is interspersed with old art for your viewing pleasure

[flame-shadow]

Okay, so this is all sofd's fault. <3 This is what happens when I'm encouraged to talk about my characters. I'm going to ramble about some HK OCs of mine who are in the forefront of my mind right now. For everyone's sanity, it'll be under the cut. Enjoy!

It's only right to start with the first. Cyra, my beloved wasp.

But more than that, she's very often conflicted. She's some sort of paper wasp [since I couldn't find the image to make an ID, I took creative liberties with what she is], she has the eusocial desire to be around others and contribute to something. But she didn't have a Hive growing up. She had structure for work, but it wasn't family. So she became adamantly independent and put a lot of effort into being antisocial and hating other bugs.

(edit: fuck Tumblr for deleting the first part of this paragraph. It said something about my seeing a blue wasp pic once and being inspired. And I think there was something else I said but I don't remember. RIP) Typically, I try not to lean into negative stereotypes with my characters. Wasps are generally not angry and aggressive and ready to sting at the slightest offence. Buuuuut, in a lot of ways, Cyra is. But it's for more than just "she's a wasp so of course she's angry and stabby;" she has ~trauma~

In her earliest iteration, she had been trained by the mantis tribe to fight and that's where she found her sense of purpose. That's since been retconned because as I started to expose myself to more of the HK fandom, I saw that seemingly everyone had at least one character who was trained by the mantises, and I never figured out a great reason for why they'd train Cyra specifically, so I quietly removed that. Now, her weapon-related backstory is that she is mostly self-taught through watching warriors train, and through many years of doing her best to survive the Infection with whatever weapons she keeps on her or finds as she travels.

She's never been big on authority, so she saw most laws as optional when she thought they were stupid and wasn't trying to blend in as a model citizen. She kept her name clean, if not her hands. She wasn't particularly distraught over the King's absconding.

Cyra was distrustful of the Soul Sanctum, but circumstances brought a scholar from that place across her path at just the right time. The right time to get out of the City before it was closed up, and the right time for a character arc. Against her better judgement and over the course of the subsequent adventure, she started to trust the soul twister, started to rely on him at times, and even saved his life at the risk of losing her own. And after all that, she couldn't save him when they were finally safe, finally at a respite. It affected her deeply. Her... friend. Gone now. Not her first exposure to death, of course, but the first one that was truly personal. It took her a long time to get over that. At least to get over it enough to go back to living a more vibrant life.

And the bug that gently coaxed that life out of her was none other than Jerome, everyone's favorite boofly! (well, except one of my friends whose favorite is Jerome's half-brother, but we're not talking about Zip today :P)

Beloved boofly. Wonderful, cherished friend. He is in many ways the thing anchoring Cyra to life, to caring and self-care, to trying to be a better person. He cares for people a lot, and he directs a measured amount of that care towards the defensive wasp. It took a while for her to warm up to his presence, but he was patient and respectful, existing nearby and being a pleasant presence, and eventually, she realized that she actually wanted to interact with him. [if you're wondering how a boofly can be more than just a passive cow-fly-thing, I explained that a while ago HERE]

It took longer for them to become friends. Cyra isn't the sort to rush into friendships, and especially not after the last few.... The Infection couldn't be blamed for all of her losses. So despite Jerome's open friendliness, Cyra was very reluctant to connect, to become vulnerable again. She was glad that she did, but Jerome never faulted her for her slowness. It made the friendship all the more meaningful afterwards to know so clearly that it was mutual and deliberate.

It wasn't a one-sided relationship either. Jerome might've helped Cyra with building a connection again, finding a purpose, and having a sturdy friend, but she helped him with communication, quality of life improvements, and treating him as a person with a mind, complex thoughts, and feelings.

Sometimes when I want to explore other ways to hurt Cyra, I'll target Jerome. Not that he deserves it, but it's the most direct way to elicit a reaction from Cyra. Though, I have turned the tables, and it's fun to explore Jerome's reactions to bad fates befalling Cyra too.

It's not just the two of them in their world, though. He encourages her to seek out connections and companionship with other bugs. She sometimes orchestrates for other bugs to meet with Jerome. He enjoys interacting with other bugs! And he's got other booflies to interact with too! Just because he has more mind than them doesn't mean he thinks he's better than they are. They're still his species, his family and friends.

Okay, I don't have a good segue this time. Last bug I'll talk about is Mossy Fool.

Big, strong, dumb man who means well but often forgets important things .... like the people he has befriended and what promises he has made. Oops.

A moss knight who made his way to the Colosseum of Fools. Fighting is lots of fun!!! He's very good at it!!! Not the best, not undefeated, but he has a reputation and he has a good time. And really, what else can you want from the life of a gladiator?

That mossy cloak isn't just for show, either! Removed from the verdant lands of its origin, it cannot offer camouflage, but it has changed with its wearer, and if Mossy Fool gets too injured or gets knocked out, the cloak itself takes over.

It can be rather scary if you're one of the Fools left in the arena, and this is what you find yourself facing.

Mossy himself doesn't recall these periods of time. He just thanks Unn for his life and happily moves on to prepare for the next fight.

[Okay, so there's actually more to him, but I'm tired, so this is where I stop]

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Very cool of you. Have a cookie 🍪

#hollow knight ocs #cyra #jerome #mossy fool #long post #hopefully tumblr's wonky post submission thing didn't delete or replicate any parts of the text #text is interspersed with old art for your viewing pleasure