I know the HK fandom likes to imagine the Mantis Lords as cool and no bs type bugs but after your post redrawing real mantis pictures with them, I can't stop thinking about them acting like real mantis do. Like the Pale King comes over to discuss the Mantis tribe becoming part of his rule and the Mantis Lords all just stand up, raise their arms and slowly move from side to side to intimidate him.
alt caption: “I changed my mind.”
✨ every bug has their quirks ✨ and dominance must be asserted over the shorter fork because that is Their Territory and They’ll be Damned if They Don’t
edit: alright but now that I’m more sane, what’s to say they don’t do a lil’ ol’ mantis trait here and there? lost in thought and (with the brush of wind, subconsciously teeters side to side even if subtly) or having to catch themselves and stop before going [W] snrrk
I’ve been holding onto these but uhhoohogh it’s time for some awkward headcanons again!
Today’s session brought to you by: tentative thoughts centering the Mantis Child.
(In which for me, she was born pre-traitor arc.)
With mutual respect and consent came her^TM, but it was an ultimately loveless cause. Nothing more than a simple bond between two strong(?) mantids. Well. That said, he’s not a bastard and had taken due care of both partner and child when the time came (where the sisters had also doted and loved her).
I will add that while he did betray his tribe at some point for various reasons while still keeping enough of his mind, she had the choice to either stay or go. Feeling it wrong to do otherwise, she had reluctantly left with him and the defectors on her own volition. In part to see it through, and in knowing and being warned that the associations would be... gray, so to speak, if she did stay.
So she couldn’t really be considered part of them anymore after choosing beasts over the village.
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(...and the phrasing is the Traitors’ Child, rather than Traitor’s.)
Thereby, I enjoy implying that the mantises are fairly cool-knit with each other internally — at least up to an extent, or perhaps in some idea that any offspring of a Lord would be considered part of the tribe/everyone’s.
In turn. Though she did not take the infection like the outcasts had (they respected her will, at least — it was more than enough that she came with them anyhow), they treated her just like how they did when they were not traitors: as if she were their own.
And it’s quite the fun thought, really, to imagine her tiredly and quietly watching her kin slowly accept more of this sweetly foul thing and be more aggressive than they normally would be. Though they held familiarity and a degree of kindness in the initial phase of their exile, she still felt an uncomfortable uncertainty she couldn’t place. Where interactions grew a bit more sternly, hinted with resentment at the existing reminder that they all chose to take the infection even when the Daughter held on her own (albeit not without struggle).
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It’s equally fun to imagine that as soon as she died, they started their downhill collapse into the unhinge.
Rather than have her die at her own father’s hands by some whacky rage/misunderstanding, I like to think that at some point they kind of... well, being influenced by the Radiance, I’d like to think that their disdain for anything regarding Hallownest intensified, resulting in them defiling and ransacking the gardens of the Queen since Man She’s Right There (and if not that, then just a hint of a whisper directing them to said area that so happened to be her domain) and their thoughts had grown more swayed.
So she didn’t have to accompany any battle, really, and she especially had some conflict when her own lover admitted her allegiance to Hallownest and here she was trying to keep things under wraps. But she still remembered how fondly she was treated, and so came the feeling of obligation to go.
One thing led to another, and she fell by Dryya’s nail, quickly noticed by the Traitor Lord after she was thrown to the side like she were any other mantid that had clashed with the fiercely loyal protector. And she does remember the brief tell in passing from the other knight, “Che’ found fondest affection for a mantis, different.” Remembered after hearing the roar that halted their fight, where the Lord swung back one of his own kin when they did not seem well enough to heed the order out of both insanity and rage.
The traitor tribe had a screaming headache that they were to kill and continue onwards, but their Lord held on enough to deny them of that. Had managed to get across to the despicable knight following lies that he would — will — bury their beloved Daughter before returning to conclude. It was in no way advantageous to say this and actually follow through in a brief retreat, but he did brush off the hint of appreciation that her corpse wasn’t outright dismembered (somehow).
So right after they could complete said burial in a place they suspected to be most frequented by her (and perhaps another) alongside the surface precaution of thorns, well...ya know. They lost their reminder, their reason; at that point, it was easier to mentally influence the traitor tribe with all the nonsense that came along with the infection. Hallucinations, loudening suggestions, muddled thoughts, the works.
They are led to believe at this point there was no going back and that their tribe would certainly not take them back, so they gave in entirely and lost rationality where not even the Lord himself could remember where the grave they made was at some point (aside from a memory that it’s within these very gardens).
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(Miscellaneous | Mantis Lords)
I’d like to also think that the sisters had kept some sort of tabs on the traitor tribe, though they did not directly see to them. A group of scouts here, a hunt to check there; they at least had a vague understanding of where the mantid and beasts had taken territory to.
Concerning the grave, I would like to assume that they do know, but as for how they know... I’d want to say either by word or by an unfortunately-timed and poor impression of meeting Ze’mer, stuck in mourning. It isn’t as if all of the Lords could go and see it, so it’d be a rather one-by-one basis just to acknowledge the fact, if at all.
Also I double-like to think that they could demolish the fourth throne entirely if they so wanted to, but they kept it to serve as a reminder of failure/what could come to their tribe (and in an unspoken yet vain hope). Fun memories/regrets for the whole kin! :D
or something. um
okay listen I already said my interpretations might be a bit too indulgent on the family-loving side, but I hope that makes sense enough? haha ooohg...
I just want a bit of happiness here and there before it turns outright Bad. I figure the dude’s got good intent and lots of thought behind his decision(?) in being infected rather than the straight up “you know what’s sexy? strength. alright. i think i’m going to go batshit now.” and while I love, I would also spontaneously combust at the thought of him killing his daughter (at least for my interpretations), especially if it’s over just somethin’ small like “you love a NOT-A-MANTIS?!” due to that one outsider-honor dream dialogue from a mantis warrior makin’ me wonder otherwise.
(for that my thoughts is more Ze’mer: the Hallowed-of-nest Knight? -> Radiance as Infectious Influence: “Oh. That bug sucks. You hate Hallownest? That bug’s going to totally leave your daughter to rot.”)
I can explain about this stuff more but maybe... maybe I leave that for another post before I babble on hsdflkhj
more interactions that are unlikely to happen but are burned into my heart regardless
caretakers being lord knows who; surely she’s gotten a number of bugs through the ringer and regardless they have to be questionable if she managed to sneak out into their village multiple times by now
and the lords probably have grown to tolerate/have a degree of patience towards young bugs (or at the very least solely their own) because, well, they’re lords. there is a slight fun in letting someone grow and return as a better fight. that aside: they probably share a small and unspoken agreement that is Only for Hornet and Hornet Alone considering that a youth’s dream dialogue is like “gotta let children (stab) feel (stab) fear (stabstab)” where all agreed to leave her be for the most part. this being because of their actual-formal truce with the shortass king and because of her mother being the beast-that-bothers-them.
bonus. maybe hornet has a height inferiority complex (see: older sibling) /hj therefore she gets to playground around the place (but not really but also if she does happen to fall then “That is a lesson learned. Also certainly not our fault if she cannot fly or utilize anythi--”)... alternatively [hornet squinting as she looks down at a bug-tinier-by-perspective and squishes them with her hand.]
I... it’s. probably very much outside the realm of realistic (dialogue especially not made to be in character) but. but like.
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for one I think it’d be great if hornet got three moms alongside monomom and some mantises /half joking (but also oh dear lord how many moms has she gotten at this point)
I’m a lil’ fuzzy on the details and I intend to look back properly to develop sometime, but as far as current things go, I entertain a “both are neutral to each other (at least in terms of contact), but also do not step into our said territory ever thank you.”
in which the lords are going to automatically go “yeah, challenge us and die or die outright.” towards any beast(?) daring enough to want to wiggle outside of Deepnest, but would absolutely entertain a duel from any said beast so long as they fit the yeah-that’s-a-sentient-(noninfected)-bug-criteria.
obviously Herrah managed out more than fine in that regard. she’s also quite sick of awkward formalities and would go Mad if she had to keep up that kind of thing even here when she crossed them every time. the lords themselves might not be the most comfortable about it, but, well, they’ll respect it then and -
“hey. it’s me -- again. hello.”
“please just pass us and go already.”
I won’t even go into my uncertain portrayal of Hornet (aside from not being able to exactly see her allowed in places without supervision -- but what stops her from being a troublemaker and getting into places she’s not supposed to be in anyways right... yeah......)
yet the thought of her getting to bully a restless and angry youth unprompted sounds incredibly funny to me. just an ol’ mantid minding their own business one second and the next is being whacked relentlessly with the blunt side of a needle
maybe they get to both talk shit about hallownest. maybe. (...probably not? But listen I--)
the Mantis Lords are club bouncers, Monomon gets to DJ, and Hornet’s in a letterman jacket because my friend asked. also suits. suits. i really like suits. that’s why they’re in s
okay were it not for being almost one AM and this being a cry for sleep, the belt barriers would have been retractable spikes with a fancy tiny buzzsaw somewhere
reminder to hydrate and take care of yourselves when you can !! o:<
oh, to be able to see each other even if in passing again.
happy birthday to me, as a Treat I will do the same thing I’ve done and just. yearn. lmao. do pardon me if by chance I get spammy on my main blog; I’m sure I’ll be able to contain myself out of self-embarrassment but also no promises ya know
went through several different drafts of these two hugging and while my dynamics might be whack, I will absolutely Not apologize,,,, f. for today.
speaking of dynamics I’m going to share this here so I don’t make a separate random post for these
traitor | age hierarchy??? (written by me, an only child)
the traitor as the lastborn lord who has a bunch of inferiority issues and wants to be as good if not better than his sisters so he isn’t a stain, very nice... alternatively he’s just doing it all out of spite. “call me short again. do it. I might just go fucking wild”
the traitor as the firstborn lord who feels it’s necessary to be the ideal/strong enough to burden a bunch of the responsibility trope’s always fun, potential mentor/reliance room and disaster
yada yada insert forgotten middle/twin sibling joke here
the traitor as the thirdborn lord because both things start with T and if you include the interpretation that he’s trans then once again this is a triangle theory of T-T-T where in this essay I will not be going ov--
“FiIIiiiiNNNnnee. I guess you ARE my little mantis (pogchamp).”
so anyways here’s my favorite smear frame because holy fucking shit look at her go wrrrebbggbbgbb
