Ideas/ HCs/ scenarios for Hornet's & Lace's relationship post canon
I'm considering a canon-like scenario here where they have a familial relationship with a distinct generational gap, & Hornet likely becomes a mentor/guardian to Lace post-canon.
Step 1 might be to get Lace to treat mortals more equal-like. Maybe Hornet taking her along to help with reconstruction / do some requests off the nearest wishwall, & at first Lace scoffs as doing "peasant work" - but then Hornet makes a point of showing that there's no such thing as being too good for honest work, & maybe at first Lace only particiates out of some competitive urge, but ends up actually enjoying it/ finding something worthwhile in it when ppl start thanking her & showing her the recognition she never got from her mother (over time she'd probably probably feel less of a need to cover insecurity with bullying/power plays once her underlying need for recognition is actually being met)
There'd be the challenges of giving her better copes without reinforcing the bad ones ("maybe vent your bloodlust in the collosseum.... wait, no, don't get all sadist or self-destructive with it it" ) ~ Somewhere in the process Hornet would probably also have to reckon her own complicated feelings about her "nature"
In relation to that you could maybe do a plot like maybe Lace laments not having bladed claws, & Hornet thinks of building her prosthetic ones, sympathizing because of her own difficulties as a hybrid / how Lace also had to compensate for perceived imperfections with skill, but then you'd run against the complication of like, not reinforcing might-makes-right mentality she'd have been raised with ("Now I can rip things to shreds like you and mother!" ) - the difficulty finding a balance between no longer feeling helpless but also not stoping on others to feel strong.
though on some level if she was made able to draw soul/sustenance from killing things; I always thought of Lace as having the instincts of a predator but in a body that doesn't quite match it, like a declawed cat - & very frustrated as a result. So I'd be interesting to see her reclaim things that were denied to her. (kinda like Hornet ended up climbing Mt. Fay & mastering all the Weaver techniques despite never being accepted as one of them)
Another complication/ challenge is how Lace's resentment/ jealousy whacking Hornet right in the survivor guilt - especially given that her actual disadvantaged siblings didn't resent her but instead acted all noble & brave about their unjust fate (which might bring out "I haven't a right to complain cause I'm the lucky one"/ "I'm tough I can take it" type reactions on Hornet's end)
During the story Lace never seems to clock that Hornet's anything other than just another weaver mutt. (& had burning jealousy even then - probably already saw her as basically getting everything she's ever wanted / being the real version of what she's the cheap consolation prize knockoff off) She's gonna have a major emotion upon finding out that Hornet is a) a properly recognized princess b) a higher being c) a properly recognized knight d) used to be drowning in loving parental figures & mentors.
Also at some point they gotta find out each other's names. Like Lace just doesn't care for typical villain reasons but Hornet seems to mistakenly assume Pale Being naming conventions were followed & that 'White Knight' is actually what she's called. So there could be a dramatic blowout about this. "What? You'd think mother would give me what she'd consider a people name?" & then Hornet would probably be like, "If you don't like it you can just change it. Heck, I did" (but in more refined language)
Hornet has a whole sore spot about feeling like she has to prove to ppl she's different from GMS / "not like those other higher beings". (see the whole gut-wrenching Mask Maker interaction chain) - Lace is probably going expect everyone to mistreat her just like her mother did/ for any interest in her to come with an agenda - the ways in which Hornet kinda sees herself or her siblings in Lace could become a source of drama as much as sympathy. "Ah, I see, I'm supposed to be a replacement for your dead siblings/ a trophy for your victory over mother/ you took me from her because she prevented you from having her own kids" - I don't think Lace would clock the "I want to prove you're redeemable to prove I'm redeemable" angle (why the object of her envy would also have a sense of internalized 'badness') but she'd try to frustrate any perceived agenda to have a sense of not being helpless
For this reason a positive conclusion/ ending would be one where Hornet ultimately shows that she's willing to also let Lace go once the time has come. (eg. maybe she finds a way to let Lace grow up physically & be less dependent on silk donations, but it means she'll also grow old eventually - & then maybe Lace thinks she'll never do it to keep her as an eternal trophy, but Hornet surprises her by being willing to do that & even take care of her in her old age if needed - or else let her go to have her own adventures once she's grown up. - conclusion for Hornet's arc where she's gradually gotten over the sense of distance she put between herself & everyone else after being sick of losing everyone to the zombie apocalypse. - but there are probably other ways you could do this/ spin this)
She's also prolly gonna do that thing where an attention-starved youth acts out/ tries to see how much crazy behavior she can get away with before she's inevitably ditched (which she probably believes she will be)/ testing whatever boundaries are set to get a sense that her guardian cares.
Lace already shown a tendency to try to get a sense of control by acting out (setting Hornet free so she's wreck some stuff) or acting self-destructive ("who cares if I die if it spites my mother"), & being at the mercy of a former enemy for survival is probably going to trigger this HARD at first -& we've also seen that tends to see sympathy as pity("platitudes, spider?") would need a while to grok that it's sincere/ would probably at first understand her situation as being humiliated by an enemy / having even her revenge attempt / final victory spoiled. She didn't ask to be saved.
Hornet would have to be careful that in trying to be a good rolemodel she doesn't end up accidentally reinforcing Lace's inferiority feelings, probably likely to try to act put-together rather than emotionally open (a moderate display of vulnerability might actually be what's needed to break the ice, to show she's "not perfect either")
There's also something to the idea of an exasperated Hornet coming to Midwife, the White Lady or Ghost (in a timeline where they're still they're still around & did the Grimmchild quest) for some pointers
(Honesty while the scenario where Hornet wants to save Lace precively because she couldn't do much for them is also compelling, Ghost & Lace interacting could be its own interesting scenarios post. Similar situation, very different reaction - they've also had a strong desire to prove themself after being deemed 'flawed', but ended up wanting to save/protect a broken world they were excluded from, rather than deciding to let it all burn out of spite & revenge. (but at one point they must've deliberately walked into the memory wipe desert...) Also very different approach to being Hornet's Long Lost Relative, to say the least. )
Eventually/ later on an interesting scenario might be Lace actually getting to be a knight for realsies in a setting where that would actually have an idealistic meaning. She'd already have to be well into her redemption arc to be trusted with such a position, but I think she'd deserve it.
After Lace has started to come out of desperation/ survival mode & come to have some morals, I can see her belatedly having to deal with a lot of guilt about all those random pilgrims she killed and her relationship with Phantom (if you're in he camp that Hornet offed the Greenpath vessel, you might get some interesting convos about the experience of realizing that you've done awful things in ignorance) - one could also picture something like this happening if she befriends someone like Sherma or Pavo (& realizes all the pilgrims she killed wouldn't have been so different)
Generally just seeing her make some friends would be interesting - during which Hornet is occasionally turned to to give some wise advice, but the interesting bit would really be in Lace getting to interact with someone who doesn't know her or her background yet & who might eventually see her on her own terms. (plus it would be the ultimate rejection of everything GMS stands for for Lace to grow to sincerely value ordinary nonmagical peeps... & find that she can be valued in return & be seen as just herself, not Her Majesty's Mini Me.) - if she ever gets a love interest at all, I think it'd actually be interesting if it was an ordinary, nonmagical person.
Although the prospect of her interacting with/ befriending other sentient constructs is no less intersting (there was this REALLY good fic a while back where she befriends a curious little robot) - I'm also big on the headcanon that it was her who dissassembled Second Sentinel - As Hornet observes in conversation with Twelfth Architect: "They were scattered about the Citadel, each seemingly laid with purpose. Someone wished the thing dismantled, but showed respect enough to see it stored safe" - I reckon the Monarch told Lace to get rid of them (as the sentinels could detect the Haunting / might've interfered with her return to power), but that Lace had a rare moment of mercy for her fellow robo knight so that she only dissassembled them but didn't destroy them - maybe she even copied their example a bit, one of her attacks is similar to theirs.
Ultimately as coming to look up to Hornet & have significant loyalty toward her, sort of following in her example - after she comes to realize that she isn't intrinsically worse & can aspire to similar heroism/ badassery. Though she'll probably always have a more "fancy"/"dramatic" deameanor/ her own different style of things, & come to terms with that too - & Hornet would be quite proud of her for how far she's come / eventually see her off to go on her own adventure.
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