#hk ghost

[centrosomnist]

A ghosting of rain

[azekihako]

[ashcoveredtraveler]

Still thinking about the Radiance Kidnaps Ghost and Raises Them As Her Own AU(which I am gonna tag as kidnapped ghost au as I think I'll publicly muse about it) cause I like many aspects of it(good parent pk & wl with no redemption required, no infection, royal au)

Two of the ways I thought about how Ghost returns to Hallownest. One by just traveling around, and one by the Grimm troupe. I think both of these could be combined.

The Grimm Troupe would have connections to the moth tribe, going to every settlement once a year. The settlement that Ghost is in is the largest one, and the one that the Radiance is in. Around their one-year hatching day, Grimm visits and recognizes Ghost, as he had visited Hallownest a few months before, and the King begs him to find the child and shows him the sketches taken of them. Grimm didn't think his sister would be the one to steal the child. He thought about a way to steal them back and return them to their parents, but not without the King declaring war and killing a massive number of moths, or without the Radiance killing many citizens. The moths didn't know about the kidnapping, and no bug deserves the Radiances wrath. He thought the Pale Courts' pain was worth many lives.

Grimm planned how to bring Ghost back home with every visit. He saw how much they grew, what 'battle wounds' and scars they acquired, how much they were loved by those around them. It hurt to see the Radiance love the child she took away from their family. It hurt to see Ghost happy, not knowing that their parents will always look for them, wanting their child back home. Grimm knows they are somewhat curious about who they came from. It hurt to realize he was getting attached too. He always kept a distance from the moths, not wanting too close a relationship, but children were his weakness. Especially mischievous children.

Without seeming like he was giving Ghost free favors, he allowed Ghost to benefit him in some way. Ghost barley used the favors, finding no use for anything the higher being could do. Until one visit, when they were a couple of months from maturity, they privately asked if Grimm knew where they came from and knew who their parents were. Grimm answered honestly and said yes. The next question wasn't who their parents are, but what direction they could be in. Grimm showed them the direction, and near the end of Grimm's visit, Ghost was preparing to leave with a few friends in that direction. Grimm suspected they were to tell Ghost the name of the Kingdom, the Radiance might know what they asked and forbade them to go on the trip.

Once Ghost left, Grimm slowly followed them. He knew they were going to need someone stable. Their parents and siblings would be overwhelmed, their friends are devastated, and Ghost would be heartbroken.

[void-and-light]

I like that no matter what, Ghost, Hornet, and Hollow are all gonna be together and be a happy remaining group of siblings

[boopie1002]

Doodles

[kendrixtermina]

Something I find interesting is that in the central thematic contrast/tension between wilderness & civilization / idealism vs survival, both the protagonists inhabit something of an in-between place, inhabiting a duality between "Hunter" and "Knight".

They kinda come at it from different sides/ slightly more at home at one of the identities but ultimately exist at the intersection of both.

Ghost is primarily a knight but is also describes as hunter; Hornet is primarily a hunter but also used to be a knight in her younger years. (she acts the tough jaded survivor but couldn't ever completely shake off her idealistic impulses)

We don't know as much about what Ghost thinks, see some merit in listening to/learning from both the Hunter & someone like Ogrim or Mato who'd have big ideals.

Also, in both cases this came to be somewhat independently of their shared father - he's team civilization all the way, to the point of acting as its archetypic representative in the 1st game. (& is probably where the 'civilization' influence comes from, such as Hornet's mad science affinity & Ghost's noble gallantry - they're actally the one who gets compared to him in terms of personality; Hornet's tough/fierce/"vicious" side is something that's explicitly attributed to the maternal line. He basically curled up in a hole died of sadness when all seemed lost; She stubbornly kept hacking at the zombies for centuries with no hope in sight; it probably comes down to her default survival response being "fight" rather than "freeze"), but the connection to 'wilderness' came to be as an entirely individual or environmental thing for both.

Ghost, despite being of royal lineage, was effectively abandoned in the woods as a baby & had to fend for themself/ survive on their own; It's worth noting that the Hunter (perhaps the most archetypic representative of "team survival") is also a sort of father figure to the protagonist & can also give them a mark signifying membership to his clan. So they could theoretically wind up with both the King's brand and the Hunter's mark.

Hornet meanwhile grew up among a tribe of hunters & warriors in Deepnest (her trademark outfit is explicitly hunting gear traditional of Deepnest - similar color/dye as the wall decorations in the flashback etc) - though she has no actual blood ties to the place; Herrah is explicitly a refugee from another high tech society (& a rather dystopian one at that) & came to be queen by marrying the previous ruler.

Sort of also reflected in the influence they have on each other; The Knight influences Hornet to be more hopeful/less jaded ("strange then that such darkness brings me hope"/ "could it do that impossible thing?"), whereas Hornet influences the Knight to face & seek out the "ugly truth" which they'd probably once deliberately walked into the mindwipe desert to forget.

[vivianblue]

Some hollow knight doodles

[fanartsofliliput]

Little thoughts about Hollow's cloak. I think they should get to have wings also when they finally get out of the egg...