My Random OC Haven

Just somebody's random RP sideblog

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 Hollow Knight Bugjinkas - Lake

So a while back, I saw @radioactivesupersonic drawing gijinkas of the characters from Hollow Knight and thought it was neat, but it didn’t quite kick me in the brain back then. Recently, saw another post by that person talking about HK, and then this happened. Mine ended up somewhere between “anthro” and actual proper gijinka, I think.

(The bug version on the right side of the combined sheet is one of the early iterations of this character; everything else is new.)

I’ve posted about Lake before, but have a summary again. He’s a Vessel that fell during the climb out of the Abyss and crashed down on the ledge that opens to the Lifeblood dream room. He was rescued by another OC of mine, a bug named Orphi, who used Lifeblood to repair his cracked mask.

He was let out of the Abyss through hidden tunnels and eventually found his way to the Blue Lake, above the City of Tears. In his gijinka iteration, he uses a piece of coral from the lake, and lifeblood vines to bind his hair. His clothing and nail are things scavenged from empty buildings in the City of Tears. That Nail of his (in the newer art) was either scavenged from an old warrior’s corpse, or a display piece stolen from an empty home. It is a Pure Nail, although someone that knows their stuff will have to tell him that.

I have some lore ideas with regards to why the Vessels’ masks have black eyes, while the Shades have white aside from character design, but that’s a whole long post on its own, so I’ll hold off for now.

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What's the difference between the Dreams AU and the Ashes AU?

On a meta level? They’re being written with two different people, so the timelines prior to the events of the game are a bit different - and a chunk of the headcanons involved in the worldbuilding are as well.

In terms of specific differences, I would say the primary one is this:In the Ashes AU, the God of Nightmares meets the Pale King.In the Dreams AU, the Nightmare King meets the Pale Wyrm.

In Ashes, they meet after the Pale Wyrm becomes the Pale King, but before the God of Nightmares is struck down by the Radiance. It is during the rise of Hallownest, and they end up driving back the Void together on more than one occasion.In Dreams, they meet after the Nightmare’s fall (and subsequent adoption of a lesser form to survive) but before the Pale Wyrm makes its transformation. The Nightmare King is a bright spot in the “vision” of a blind creature, so there are Shenanigans of a big ol noodle blundering around while following its new ???friend????. (Also, take a moment to imagine the Pale Wyrm accidentally wearing an entire Grimm Troupe tent on its head because it tried to follow NG inside.)

In Ashes, most - if not all - ‘Higher Beings’ truly are gods or at least demigods, with the Power and Aspects that come with such things. Their passive presence has effects on the world.In Dreams, many of those considered Gods are simply powerful, but ultimately mortal, beings. Those which govern parts of the natural world, such as the Radiance and the God of Nightmares (and Unn) are true gods, but ‘ordinary’ mortal bugs can and do rise to power close to that.

There are a great many more differences between the two, of course, thanks to the awesomeness that is working with other people with unique ideas and perspectives, but I’d say that the above are the major points that shape how the differnt continuities function.

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[Celosian]: Of course. They existed even before my birth. Kingdoms fell in their wake - quite unintentionally, but beneficial for me regardless.

New Timeline Unlocked: Ashes AU

[A new AU has been unlocked! Left image is Ashes AU; right image is Dreams AU! If you want to know about a specific timeline, please tag the ask with either Dreams or Ashes.]

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Sentry: If that’s not a husk or a vengefly I’m going to feel real dumb… Come on out!

[liminal-dreaming]

[randomochaven]

  While the thump was a surprise at first, the Sentry recovered quickly. Thee was no shame in being startled or on edge in the city, not when the plague was once more on the rise. A chill ran down their back at the unmistakable scrape of a nail on cobble. Not a vengefly then, something or someone who was armed. They readied their nail for the potential battle that they may have found themselves in. Sentry was not one to act first however, no, there was protocol to how they worked. Long forgotten by many, but they would sooner hang their nail than break the code of their entire caste. “This is a Sentry of Hallownest!” They called out in an authoritative voice, “We’re telling you leave to the boat with your nail sheathed and your hands out where we can see them or you will be held in noncompliance with those that protect the city of our king!” It had been so long since they’d spoken those words, they wondered if they even remembered them correctly. Their order was clear enough. If it was a husk the words would mean nothing and they’d have a fight on their hands. If it was a thinking bug though… Then maybe Sentry could figure out why they were here.

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Celosian, the Scarlet King, God of Nightmares and Rebirth

A little mixed-bag concept comprised of headcanons and hypotheticals - a design for the Nightmare God before his fall, inspired by the Fury of the Fallen charm and monument and a bit by the Radiance’s silhouette (since by my headcanons they’re related in Purpose regardless of whether or not they’re actually siblings).

The name is a side effect of coming up with a way to differentiate generations of Grimm Masters. As such, “Grimm” is a title as much as a name, and each of the Grimm Masters has their own name from the period where they were merely a Grimmchild and only bore the possibility of becoming the next Grimm.

You can ask this one questions too if you like.

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Pale: My beloved isn't here for while she was willing to sacrifice our clutch, doing so took a great toll upon her. We had wanted progeny the two of us you see and to then go and have them changed into vessels... Suffice to say it will take a great while to heal from this. I can't say I haven't been selfish, raising the resulting vessel instead of sending them away to be brought up by retainers or simply sealing the source of the plague within them immediately. I just cannot seem to be able to do either. My lady warned me of the danger of growing attached and I know when the time comes it will be all the harder to do what must be done. Unfortunately, so many have perished in the face of this plague, even I can't be selfish forever. Please though, grant me this one  allowance until it has grown... It will raise our chances of success if they were stronger.

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Is your Pale King open to questions like Sentry?

Oh gosh that’s a toughie! Tentatively I’ll say yes, but, he’s in a few of my verses and so it’s kind of a hard choice which of those would be ‘the one’. If you’re a fan of the Dreams AU, I’m totes willing to answer those. If you’d like an expanded verse PK, it’d probably be set before he disappeared from the kingdom. If you do send an ask and want a specific PK then labeling it [Dreams] or [Expanded] would help me out a lot, otherwise I’ll end up picking the best fit.Thanks for your interest! :D

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Days like this happened. When he felt wrong in his own body. As if he had the wrong number of limbs and not enough eyes. It seemed on these days his child, the pure vessel, stuck closer to his side. It was impossible for the vessel to feel something was off with their parent. No, it had to be him projecting on the child in some way; he had a nasty habit of that. His beloved had warned him about doing such things. To get attached to the vessel, their child, was foolish. 

She would not come near to so much as look at that which they created together. He was not upset by this, for that was something they discussed before the vessel had even emerged. Her heart could not take the burden of attachment. Not even his own heart could, admittedly. Raising the vessel was an act of self-flagellation. How could he not grow attached to even an empty being? Even now he was deeply fond of the silent presence beside him. Too soon, he would take it to the temple and infuse them with the source of the plague, trapping the two for eternity in that shell of void and magic. His chest ached at the thought but that was the price he had to pay. The sacrifice should not fall upon the shoulders of his people... “I love you and I miss you, beloved.” he whispered to one of the roots of his lady. Even absent in person, her tendrils would carry the message and exist as a silent comfort. He looked from her roots back to the vessel, silence was really all that he had now wasn’t it? That was okay, he still found strength in their presence. It would not ease his thoughts but that was a burden a king must bear. Their child tucked under his wings the the pale king walked in quiet company, his gaze always on the roots when they passed them by.

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[randomochaven]

Sentry: If that’s not a husk or a vengefly I’m going to feel real dumb... Come on out!

[randomochaven]

Sentry: It’s my duty to protect the people of these ruins.

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Sentry: I think so. Things with the plague they shuffle about, murmur to themselves, carry out ingrained tasks, or they mindlessly attack with no real in between. Running away and hiding? I’ve never seen that before out of one of them... I’ve been doing my best to find them, but the city is big and there’s a lot of places one could hide.

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Sentry: The third report I will admit will make me sound paranoid... At the bottom of the former servant’s access shaft I am certain there is something wandering about. I can just barely see it from the top and I would go down there to investigate but... well, it’s a treacherous climb down with my wing as it is.

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When The Flame Burned High - The First Grimm

Design concepting about what the first Grimm might have looked like. Very rough doodling, obviously. The flame burned high in this one, before he learned the necessity of caution and frugality with that particular limited resource. He is, as the last true remnant of the Nightmare God, what becomes Nightmare King Grimm at the end of his cycle.

This design runs off of the Fury of the Fallen theory - thus the extra set of eyes.

Bonus doodle under the cut.

Keep reading

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Sentry: Always an honor to meet one of our fine city’s citizens! Be sure to come down to the barracks if ever you’re in need of our services. Glory to our king and kingdom to you.

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Sentry: I do, actually, but it’ll sound silly. I like to make the climb up to the city spires to clear my head. It helps to sometimes remind myself that I’m small and things out there are greater than me. Yet, even so, the kingdom needs me to help keep it safe. It’s humbling...

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Patrol time in the City of Tears was a time for the Sentry to mostly get lost in their own thoughts. The place had fallen long ago. The buildings were all silent giants, watching stoically as Sentry made their way down the cobbled streets. The water’s run off poured strategically about, falling from gutters and flowing into the depths below, into the waterways. It could lure anybody into a false sense of security. Would have if not for things stirring in the kingdom, flickers of orange and people long gone wandering the street in a dazed, dream-like state. No longer was a random splash of water something safe. No, it held the potential of an encounter. Intruder, shuffling husk, or invader? All were things the Sentry needed to react to. So when a puddle behind them made a tell-tale splash of a foot falling into it, the Sentry was on alert.