comic index | honeydream ao3 A Hollow Knight AU following the adventures of a Vessel who joins Queen Vespa and her Hive in standing against the Infection. In a Hallownest changed by a fourth Dreamer and a mysterious 'Vespa's Blessing' that allows immunity against the light, Honey learns that defending the Hive at any cost against any threat is a task far more difficult- for there is already a future stained bright by dreams...
(Note: This blog and AU are no longer being updated. Everything will be kept on this blog as an archive of Honey's journey and their story of choosing to be yourself. Thank you for reading! -Mod Peri)
'HoneyDream' is a Hollow Knight AU set in a world where the Hive and Queen Vespa take a stand against the Radiance. Following the adventure of a Vessel who lost their memories, the secrets of the Hive and the magical Vespa's Blessing preventing the spread of Infection are uncovered and the mystery of this Vessel's past begins to entangle with the uncertain future of two kingdoms held in a precarious relationship with dreams old and new.
In the end, what future will the Honey Knight choose? Are the dreams of Hallownest really to be no more?
The AU:
This is a canon-adjacent story that branches from the game by including a fourth Dreamer into Hallownest. Queen Vespa and her actions as the Hive's Dreamer are what deviate the story from what happens in the game, and following the fall of Hallownest she enacts a Blessing that shields the minds of bugs from the Infection after contact with honey. The Hive shelters bugs who fled the Infection after the Pale King vanished and with her power she protects them from the light, although Hallownest remains in stasis until the Radiance within is destroyed.
The Vessel's adventure intersects with the Hive and their story becomes one of difficult choices between dreams, memories and the future. To seek the ending Vespa chooses the Vessel must protect the Hive at all costs against any threat, and while they seek their lost memories they uncover futures stained bright by dreams and histories obscured by the dark. To uncover who they once were and the past that haunts them they must fight- although the enemy is not always who they believe it to be.
Comic and Fic:
This story was originally written as a comic that was concluded upon the first of two endings. The comic is over 1000 pages long and the easiest way to pick it up is from the start, or continuing via the comic index. The comic version is no longer being posted.
An updated version of the story is being made in a fully written format and will begin from the start with the intention of fully completing the story to its second, final ending. You can read the fic version on Ao3, although links to each chapter will be posted here alongside chapter cover art as I update.
Fic Updates:
From the comic to the fic version the majority of the story will remain the same. Some parts of the plot will be streamlined, cut entirely or expanded on depending how they fit into the overall story. Some events are also shuffled around or given a new purpose, and some sections are entirely new with the intent of balancing out the lore and story arc weights. Originally I had planned on including a written side-story for the comic which would expand on a secondary plot involving the backstories of several characters including a Vessel who only ever made secret cameos in the comic. This secondary plot has been introduced into the main plot and revised for the updated story. The overall lore of the AU remains mostly unchanged.
As a drawn media the comic faced several restrictions in needing to both script and draw everything I wanted to story to do and required a significant amount of time to draw so many pages. This was not something I could maintain and is the main reason for switching to a written format, although while making the change I want to do better. I aim to improve the story and lighten the load of presenting it in the updated version and I hope you enjoy what is to come :D
The End:
Thanks for the continued support for this comic and upcoming fic over the years. This story means a lot to me and it is important to me personally that I see it through to the end. This journey has been made so much better thanks to everyone who has been here for me, Honey and their friends along the way. Thanks for reading :D
Is there a reason for the music box in the last chapter? Who is the figurine without a head?
The music of a clockwork box the bug had played returned once more in their mind. The music box was nowhere to be seen but somehow the Bee Vessel knew exactly what it looked like- pale and bright with a spinning figurine modelled after a mother.
We'll find out more about the music box later in the story. It's not some big secret item with huge importance that's going to change the whole entire story but once we get to know the bug it belongs to I think it will be something special in it's own way.
As for who the figurine depicts... make a guess? ;)
Thanks for reading up until Ch8 and for the ask! I appreciate it :D
Act 1 finished last week with Chapter 8 and I explain on the fic over there what's happening next. Act 2 will continue the story but it is currently still in-progress and I'm not posting any of it until the writing and covers are all completed (which is how I did Act 1). Finishing this will take at least a few months and I'm taking July to participate in art fight so definitely not any time soon. I have a lot of ideas for Act 2 and I'm certainly looking forward to writing them. Thanks for reading <3
Summary: Ultimatum of two futures laid out, a subtle choice between the kingdoms of a Princess and a Queen. Hallownest carries with it many ghosts, but we hear of another unlike the rest. Are we the Bee Vessel? You do not remember me.
Summary: Ultimatum of two futures laid out, a subtle choice between the kingdoms of a Princess and a Queen. Hallownest carries with it many ghosts, but we hear of another unlike the rest. Are we the Bee Vessel? You do not remember me.
Summary: We hear a voice in blue and learn how to hide. Heavy things bear a burden and trust is not something worn lightly. To hold the weight of a kingdom another thing must be left behind, but who is the 'Honey Knight' and to what must we say goodbye?
Is the last paragraph of chapter 4 meant to be foreshadowing something??
'They did not look forward to telling her what had happened, and how they had done the exact opposite of her purpose for them. One of the lumaflies freed from the hanging baubles had drifted into the other pool of honey across the room, flickering helplessly as it failed to fly. Weighed down and drowned by its freedom, its tiny light was snuffed out.'
Yes.
'The Vessel' is compared to lumaflies a few times during the story, same as their lantern is compared to the Hive. Freeing one from the other is something they can't do yet and they've just seen what happens with 'freedom' in this chapter.
I did something similar in the comic during the chapter 2 finale (ch2pt40 Fracture of Hallownest) when Honey broke their lantern during the Hornet fight, right before leaving the Hive.
You can decide for yourself the meaning of lumafly lanterns to the story. There are multiple answers and I don't want to give the 'right' one, but this is certainly foreshadowing something :D
