One thing I’ve noticed abt the Loki series (after finishing season 1; please no s2 spoilers) is that it isn’t something completely grand and new. It’s completely unapologetic abt sometimes doing cheesy 2010s stuff like “romance” or “redemption arcs.” I’ve hardly been shocked while watching, but im having a wonderful time. I think the show actually might’ve been more successful had it come out today—with more people talking about how much tv and movies have gone downhill and how much they miss the old wholesome stuff.
That being said, there is one moment that shocked me. Like jaw-dropping totally caught me off guard. During the last episode of the season, while Loki and Sylvie are fighting. The writing, the cinematography, the acting—all freaking PEAK. But what gets me the most is when Sylvie accuses Loki of just wanting another throne. And he says, “I don’t want a throne.” And I’m thinking, ah. Another old romance trope, huh? “I don’t want X, I want you.” Classic. Even though it’s always been slightly off, because it is ultimately self-centered, it gets the job done, right? Shows that there’s been at least some character growth.
But Loki, my freaking goodness, turns the whole thing on its head.
“I just want you to be okay.”
Suddenly it’s different. Suddenly it’s not self-centered. Suddenly it’s not about himself at all. It’s one of the gentlest, healthiest, most sincere and most beautiful I love yous I’ve ever heard in the world of media. Delivered by Loki Laufeyson, of all people.
random idea:What if there was a version of Stardew Valley where all the characters were from Hollow Knight?
Hello!! My apologies for taking so long to answer; I got really excited and wanted to make little drawings, but alas. It's finals week :')
Anyhow, I love modern AUs/human AUs, so I figure it would be something like my Big Sister Hornet AU, which takes place in the modern universe. Obvs you'd have to account for them being in the valley as well, so here's a couple of fun ideas I came up with:
A lot of the Stardew Valley characters are only there to be themselves and be interesting characters; the game wouldn't technically fall apart without them. So you kinda just need to give each little guy some sort of interesting role, and congratulations! They could be in stardew!
Monomon and Quirrel doin science-y stuff on the mountain, like Demetrius and Maru but BETTER because Monomon isn't overprotective or occasionally a jerk.
Quirrel ALSO being like Penny in that he tutors the little kids (the vessels?). Yes I know Monomon's title is the Teacher. She's passed it on to him.
Hornet having a similar role to (bear with me) Emily. Not because they're alike in personality at all, but she sews (like. Silk. Haha.), and works at the saloon to make a little more money.
Lace works with her; Hornet has the sewing skills, she has the fashion sense. They're kind of like Emily and Haley but also not XD
Ghost being very Abigail-like. Adventuring and running into monsters and being an enigma to everyone.
The White Lady (and some of the vessels) being gardeners. Pls they'd be so cute.
PK as the mayor. Whether he's better or worse than Lewis is up to interpretation.
Thanks for the ask anon, this was fun to think up :D
(A bit of a rant on identity and lore-accuracy in Hollow Knight)
Canonically, the vessels weren't meant to have genders. Various vessels are referred to as "it" by a few characters; they don't have any obvious feminine/masculine features; Hornet is literally called the "gendered child" because it sets her apart from her siblings.
You could say this is game design. That's probably right. A lot of videogame protagonists are given a more androgynous design so that any player can feel like they are the protagonist. But unlike many other games, there seems to be a definite lore reason for this.
The vessels were created to be--well, vessels. "No mind to think, to will to break, to voice to cry suffering," right? This obviously bleeds into other aspects of their identities: no personality, no emotions, no names, no genders. They are quite literally meant to have no identities, other than being vessels.
Since there is this definite lore-related reason, there are plenty of people talking about "the vessels' canon pronouns" and how people keep "misgendering" them. Quite often, calling a vessel "he" is automatically considered a sign of someone who doesn't know the lore. Most people use the canon "it" or the neutral "they" (although I've also seen people get upset that "they" isn't canon either).
However.
The vessels aren't just vessels.
This is also made obvious within the lore. The reason the previous vessels truly failed is because they weren't truly empty. And the Hollow Knight, who was finally chosen to be the Pure Vessel, wasn't actually pure, either. Some suggest that the Knight is actually pure, but frankly, you are given so many options to do things entirely unrelated to your quest--think sitting down with Quirrel at the Blue Lake--that I'm not convinced are the actions of a truly empty vessel, either.
The fandom loves exploring this!!! And I do too!!!! What personalities would they have, if they were allowed to show them? What names would they be given? Who would they be--who were they prevented from being?
But if they truly had emotions and personalities and souls, who's to say they couldn't have genders as well?
Canonically, they are gender-neutral, everything-neutral, because they must be. They were treated as if they were objects. They were not given identities.
And here's the thing--if it's okay for us (the fandom!!) to give them personalities, I think it's okay to give them genders as well?
I agree that some people who don't call the vessels "it" are probably unaware of the lore, but I think it's unfair to automatically assume that's the case. We give the vessels personalities, we give them names, we give them voices, but it's offensive to give them this one aspect of their identity? This goes doubly for AUs where they aren't vessels--nothing bad happens AUs, some modern AUs, etc.
I think it's okay to call Hollow "he." I've seen some people call Hollow "she" for the same reason, and everyone thought it was cool, but "he" is offensive for some reason...? I think either is fine, depending on your interpretation of the character?
I do, for the record, consider both Hollow and Ghost to be male. It's fine. When writing, what I call them depends on whose POV I'm writing from (a canon-compliant fic from PK's point of view would definitely refer to Hollow as "it"), and I think that adds more depth to the story and their characters! And I don't just automatically think they're all male either! If you look at my modern AU stuff, the Greenpath and Deepnest vessels are both female! And while I think it's a terrible idea to guess genders based off of vibes, I frankly have to make an exception for this game, because there is literally nothing else to go off of.
This isn't saying, "Oh, you must refer to Hollow as male, otherwise you're unaware of the lore and wrong!" No. But maybe stop telling other people they can't?
Also, FOR GOODNESS' SAKE, they're also fictional characters. At the end of the day, they're not real. You really don't need to be rude to someone over their pronouns.
All this to say--guys, chill, it's okay. It's okay to think of the vessels as either male or female. And let's PLEASE stop assuming that people who do are either unaware of the lore or being offensive.
(I may edit these posts occasionally as new ideas come lol)
Callin' it the Big Sister Hornet AU. 'Cause--well guess why XD
Hornet
Oldest sibling :0
23 yrs old
Recently moved into her own apartment
Rocky relationship w both parents
Loves her siblings completely and unconditionally
Hornet was raised by Herrah until she was six, when Herrah decided to have her move in with PK and WL (and Hollow and Kin, who were the only siblings born by then :D). She understands Herrah's decision but still struggles with it, and hardly has a relationship with her. She has an even more strained relationship w her dad, and hasn't quite forgiven him for what happened to Hollow. Ironically, she gets along better with WL than either of her actual biological parents. She works at a local cafe just so she can pay rent, and is very talented at sewing pretty much everything (her siblings want her to open up some sort of shop, but she refuses).
Hollow
Not the oldest, but major Oldest Sibling Vibes
20 yrs old
Lives at home w/ his parents; works at his mom's garden shop
a nervous traumatized WRECK
also the sweetest person you will ever meet :)
Hollow remembers when Hornet moved in with them, and will always treat her like the shy, nervous little girl she was for the first few years. At 17 he got his dad's permission to join the military, but was sent back less than a year later with severe injuries. He hasn't been the same since, though he still has the two inherent, irrepressible desires to make his dad proud and to keep his whole family safe. He's rather quiet and tends to avoid social interaction, but he loves plants :)
Formed an alliance with the Pale King a few years before his first term as governor. Long story short, the marriage was his idea; Hornet was hers. The annulment was both of theirs. She raised Hornet for six years after their separation, but upon meeting WL and the little ones (then, only Hollow and Kin), decided she wanted her daughter to grow up with a more complete family. She is still technically allied with PK, but they avoid seeing other as much as possible--not out of bitterness, as much as discomfort.
Lurien
Here from the Cityyy
Age 54
(looks a lot older)
PK's biggest fan
short. Not as short as PK tho.
The alliance with the City of Tears was an easy one. Lurien was more than eager to support the Pale King, and was the only of the three to reach out to him before being contacted himself. That's all for now tho; I don't have much abt Lurien yet hahaaaa (in my defense. Neither does Team Cherry.)
Monomon
The archives!!
Age 48
youngest; wasn't an original supporter from PK's initial term
The Scientist
easily distracted
As opposed to Deepnest and the City, the alliance with Monomon and her team of researchers was less about support and more about--well. Research. A deeply curious individual, Monomon was more than happy to dive into PK's research. She tends to be more upbeat than the other two allies. She also raised the child of a close friend of hers after both parents' passings, and he works as her apprentice.
First elected governor at the rather young age of 28, PK is back in office after twenty years away. He's rather busy, and struggles constantly to balance his work with every other aspect of his life. He's already messed up badly twice. There was an especially rocky period between him and his family after Hollow returned from the military, but most of them have forgiven him since then. Many relationships since then, however, have never been quite the same, and Hornet especially has never truly forgiven him. He hasn't quite either.
White Lady
very kind & supportive
Age 51
Runs a garden center
actually quite separated from the politics
terrible eyesight
Met the Pale King when he visited her garden center. She hasn't changed much since then--despite being married to the governor, she keeps herself fairly separated from politics, aside from supporting her husband. She still runs her garden shop and also has quite the garden flourishing in their backyard. There have been a few rocky moments between them--especially after what happened to Hollow--but she's managed to forgive him. She keeps his ideas and ambitions in check. She's also very involved in the education of her children--including Hornet, whom she treated as one of her own the moment she moved in.
the mom friend. And dad friend. And grandparent friend. And--
Monomon's apprentice
picked up a lot of her easily distracted-ness
Quirrel was raised by Monomon, and works as her apprentice. Much like his mentor, he is quite curious and quite easily distracted, as well as passionate about his work. He is also very thoughtful--by both definitions, known for being pensive as well as kindhearted. He hasn't met most of PK's kids, but he will lol. He also has a tendency to be forgetful.
Cloth
Hornet's friend!
Age 28
likes adventures, sometimes
works at the cafe w/ Hornet
very much a big sister figure to her
One of Hornet's coworkers (tbh, her favorite of them). Cloth is both one of the most cheerful and one of the most anxious people you will ever meet. In a good mood, her cheer is contagious. In a bad one, her worry is. Either way, Hornet appreciates her presence, especially since she doesn't have any older siblings.
