#In the true ending the Radiance is killed. Resulting in no more infection.

[courtjesterrr]

*SLAMS FISTS ON TABLE*

HOLLOW KNIGHT HISTORY TIME

Hollow knight spoilers

For context, hollow knight is a metroidvania style game thats available on Nintendo switch, pc, and ps4. It is a game full of fun characters, challenging boss fights, and visual lore. Today. Im rambling about lore.

First things first

In the past, primarily before Hallownest, the now named kingdom, there was a higher being who most everyone worshipped, the Radiance. The main higher beings at this time was The Radiance, The Nightmare Heart, Unn, and Shade Lord (i believe). The Radiance is the higher being of light and dreams, being represented by the literal sun. The Nightmare Heart is the higher being of, wouldnt you guess it, Nightmares. Unn is the higher being of nature and growth. Shade Lord is the higher being of the Void. At this time, most bug were mindless, uncapable of higher thought. Until, the last Wyrm came along.

The Wyrm is folklore is a type of dragon. There used to be a whole species, but some sort of rapid decline happened to where there was only one left. The Wyrm, being too overgrown to fit the kingdom, shed its skin and age to become smaller, more buglike. It was this very reason that the Wrym was able to convince the bugs of the kingdom to worship him instead of the Radiance, and to crown him as the Pale King, bless the bugs of the kingdom of higher thought, to have their "base instincts redeemed", and to rename the kingdom to Hallownest. (He also married the White Lady in the process).

The Radiance became furious with this decision, as most all her followers left her. So, she started a plague, spreading across the kingdom through dreams. It gave off a sickly sweet smell as it twisted the minds of those infected, causing them to revert back to primitive ways and destroy Hallownest from the inside out. The King had had enough, so, he came up with a plan to seal the Radiance, and by extension the plague. He experimented with the substance Void, trying to create a perfect, hollow vessel to contain her with. After many. Many failed attempts of creating a perfectly hollow vessel. He finally found one suitable.

"No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Born of God and Void. You shall seal the light that plagues their dreams. You are the Hollow Knight." -The Pale King

He trained that vessel with the help of the Five Great Knights (which only 1 survived in the end), the most elite and skilled warriors in the kingdom. With the training continuing, the small vessel grew to an adult. The Pure Vessel. Unfortunately, whilst it was a child, the Pale King unknowingly infected the vessel with the idea instilled. The Pale King showed the slightest amout of love to it, and it filled with expectations and a mission. (More in tags)

this has been in my drafts for a bit

hi . Free post where you can reblog/comment and talk about whatever you want. I am bored and I want to hear people

/not forcing

[msfcatlover]

Can you give the bullet points for that Hollow Knight Ludonarrative dissonance essay so us who played the game can fill in the gaps?

Sure thing!

First and foremost, I know many people are familiar with the term “ludonarrative dissonance,” which is when the mechanics of a game run counter to the themes and sometimes the plot of the story being told. On the opposite end of the spectrum, and far more rarely talked about, is “ludonarrative harmony,” which is when the mechanics of a game support the story being told or even tell a supportive story of their own!

I am very firm in my belief that in a quarter of a century playing video games, Hollow Knight has the best ludonarrative harmony of any game I’ve played.

Here’s my primary example: the condemnation of the Pale King’s actions, and how it ties into the original possible endings of the game.

The Pale King’s failure is the great final tragedy of Hallownest. He saw the end coming, knew he could not defeat the Radiance again, and did not want his people to suffer. He determined he needed a being of pure Void to contain the Radiance, but believed that any emotion would lead to a flawed prison. So, he created the Vessels by the hundreds, letting them struggle to the top of the Abyss, and cast each one of them back down into the depths for the “flaw” of being children with actual emotions. We don’t know how he determined this, but when he finally found one that seemed properly emotionless, “truly hollow,” he took that child and sealed the gate behind them, locking the player character (henceforth referred to as “Ghost” in this first draft ramble-essay,) and who-knows-how-many-other Vessels to fend for themselves in the depths.

You already know this. And you already know that child was not given a name (though I will be referring to them by the fandom nickname “Hollow” from here on out,) was purposefully neglected, taught only training and their purpose for existing in the hopes it would keep emotions  and desires from taking root. But Hollow did have desires; specifically, Hollow just wanted their dad to be proud of them. When Hollow sacrificed their mind to hold the Radiance and was imprisoned in the Black Egg, after the Dreamers gave their own minds to keep it sealed, the prison was faulty. An unspecified amount of time later, the Radiance’s influence was able to leak out in the form of the Infection, and the kingdom of Hallownest was destroyed.

(The Pale King often gets pilloried by the fandom for “letting” that happen by showing any level of caring for the child. This is the wrong conclusion.)

The game begins with us playing Ghost, having at some point escaped from the Abyss and (seemingly) having lost their memories in the wilds outside the kingdom. It is as Ghost that we track down the Dreamers and slay them, opening the Egg to face Hollow and put an end to the plague, though how exactly that happens and what the outcome is depends on your choices throughout the game.

As a fellow Vessel, you can take Hollow’s place. When Hollow is slain, Ghost absorbs the Radiance and the Egg reseals itself.

Using the power of the Dreamnail, you can enter Hollow’s mind and fight the Radiance directly, driving her back into hiding for the foreseeable future.

If you have the Voidheart charm equipped and choose to fight the Radiance, you become a “higher being” yourself and are able to slay her for good. The kingdom is free of the plague, and Hollow even survives and has another chance at life. (This one is, by the way, known as the “True Ending.”)

And here we finally reach my argument, and I can stop regurgitating old information. Because these endings and what you need to achieve them is what finally solidifies just how wrong the Pale King was. Wronger than he ever knew.

He must have thought the Vessels less than people, or he would not have been willing to kill so many. But he would not have rejected so many of them if the Vessels weren’t inherently feeling, thinking creatures like any other bug in the kingdom — none of them were “truly hollow.” Children, left to die in the dark by the hundreds. The greatest sin he ever committed.

We know he did, on some level, care about Hollow, but still chose to neglect them in hopes of stunting their emotional growth. That he believed the sacrifice of one Vessel and three of his most respected advisors (give or take Herrah, who’s whole deal with him is kinda... weird,) to eternal imprisonments was better than letting the whole kingdom fall to the Radiance’s vengeance. That the ends justify the means. It’s his last thought, still echoing in his corpse when we find him on his throne: “...No cost too great...”

But the ends don’t justify the means, and I don’t just mean because the plan failed. I mean because it was inherently flawed in its initial premise, the very assumption he built it on: that “being hollow” was the solution to the problem.

A truly hollow Vessel would not care one whit about the mission or anything else. If Ghost were hollow, there would not be a game; they would wander aimlessly, not speaking or interacting with anyone, until they finally died.

If you play Ghost as being hollow, or as close to it as you can, you’ll be ignoring all NPCs. You’ll not be buying any upgrades or equipment. You’ll not be wandering far from the central path. Why would you? A hollow Vessel should care only for their mission, find the shortest route to enter the Black Egg, slay Hollow, and be done with it. Not only does this make life much harder for you, it nets you the worst ending. The Pale King’s trap just resets, now with the Dreamers dead so none can ever try to fix the problem again, and it will fail eventually, because Ghost isn’t hollow. The very fact there is a plot to follow, a goal to achieve, means that Ghost has goals they are willing to suffer hardships to reach. Frustration, determination, and pride in success have to be assumed, complimented by the fact those are all the emotions the player will feel on this particular run.

If you want to face the Radiance, you have to upgrade the Dreamnail, and you’re not told that will be the end result when you first receive it. You have to be ambitious and stubborn, at the very least, to pursue that goal blind, or you have to really want to know what the Sage will give you as a reward. You have to experiment, going back to bosses you’ve already beaten to fight their dream versions and put them to rest, track down the hidden dream roots and clamber all over the map to solve their puzzles. For the second ending, Ghost has to have goals outside of their main mission, has to think through the concept of deaths enough to make the connection between the ghosts and the bosses, and repeatedly return to speak to the Sage for the upgrades. They have to be curious enough to even use the Dreamnail in the first place, and like it enough to want to improve it.

And how do you get the best ending? The true ending? Slay the Radiance, defeat it for good, save the kingdom of Hallownest?

You explore. You wander off the main path, root out secrets and shortcuts and answers. You need to talk to multiple NPCs, and not just speed through their dialogue to get your reward but actually think about it and remember who’s connected to whom. You meet the White Lady in the Queen’s Garden and travel down into the Abyss, both areas you never need to go to and which no one will even tell you about before you’ve been there. You throw yourself against the Path of Pain again, and again, and again, and again, with no promise of reward, just to see what’s on the other side.

To truly defeat the Radiance, you have to play Ghost as being curious, distractible, attentive, and caring. They cannot be isolated and they cannot be ignorant. And if you care enough to end up with the Voidheart, you probably talked to everyone, helped them complete their quests, tried different charm combinations and ran around the map just to see how people reacted. You probably wanted to know the secrets of Hallownest, and refused to let insurmountable odds turn you away.

In the true ending, Ghost actually has a pretty strong personality, told purely through mechanics.

Story and gameplay.

The Pale King was wrong. We’re told that, asked to look upon his actions and despair that anyone could be driven to such lengths... made worse by the fact his theory was flawed in its very foundations. Being hollow was never the answer; a hollow Vessel was always going to fail. The cost was too great, and all the awful things he did to try and stop the Radiance... it was all for nothing.

Harmony.

It’s just... it’s heartbreaking, and absolutely beautiful.

And every time I see people say Ghost can defeat the Radiance because “they’re the one who’s really hollow,” I want to rip my hair out, like how the fuck can people just IGNORE the SMOOTHEST INTEGRATION OF STORYTELLING AND GAMEPLAY I’ve ever seen in my LIFE, one of the HARDEST PARTS OF GAME DEVELOPMENT that someone probably spent months getting down to such a truly astounding finish, and somehow reach the conclusion the guy whose fuckups lead to the deaths of hundreds of children, intentional child abuse, and the downfall of his kingdom was RIGHT?!

[grimmradiance]

Close to Me: How the Hollow Knight's Fighting Style Reflects Their Trauma (and the Radiance's as well)

So I've been trying to actually beat the Radiance, which means I've been fighting the Hollow Knight. A lot, as a matter of fact, since I'm beans at this game sometimes. I've also been thinking about @lost-kinn's meta about how fighting styles are how Vessels, especially the Little Knight, communicate.

In trying to apply this to the Hollow Knight, I've been coming to some very interesting conclusions, especially taken in context of...Everything Else in the lore, and Everything Else implicated in this by the psychology of it.

There's a lot to cover here, and it tracks through a LOT of different places, including trauma psychology, the relationship between chronic stress and lifespan health, and shape symbolism. Two warnings first:

One: this essay is gonna get heavy. It includes fine-grained discussion of the Hollow Knight's trauma, including discussions of the real-life machanics of psychological abuse, as well as the Extremely Concerning Implications of them harming themself during their boss fight. please read with caution and when you're in a safe emotional place to do so.

Two: This post is not a place for justifying the Pale King. If you read this essay in its entirety and still want to do that, please make your own post; my relationship to the Hollow Knight themself is deeply rooted in my own experiences, so in the context of this discussion I can't promise I won't take it personally.

With that out of the way, let's talk trauma and fighting styles:

We know that the Hollow Knight is trained to be a paragon of fighting skill, through the Pure Vessel fight, and this gives us a fantastic way to compare what they were like before they were made Government Assigned Radiance Jail, and after. Or, in other words, we're given the perfect opportunity to see what the Radiance is doing (i.e. context effects), and what Hollow is (i.e. what we can conclude is reliably consistent as a part of them). Listed here, for reference:

Hollow's attacks:

Three slashes

A dash slash

A Radiant Shade Soul, which launches a volley of Infection blobs in arcs

A Radiant Desolate Dive, which produces pillars of entwined Void and Light at random intervals

The Infection bursting out of them in random arcs, covering a significant amount of the aerial space of the arena

The Radiance ragdolling their body around trying to hit the Knight

Contact damage from them stabbing themself and falling over atop you

The Pure Vessel's attacks:

Three slashes

A dash slash

A Pure Shade Soul, which launches a volley of nails in straight lines

A Pure Desolate Dive, which produces nails at specific intervals

A Pure Focus, which causes circular explosions across most of the aerial space in the arena

Lashing out with a Void Arm (word choice intentional)

I've highlighted attacks from each battle that are different, since those are our points of interest here. In addition, both the Pure Vessel and Hollow are exceedingly fond of teleport-spamming in a way that is usually reserved for a specific group of bosses.

Another very important distinction between these two fights: the Pure Vessel doesn't scream. Well, they certainly try to, but no sound comes out. No voice to cry suffering, after all. All of these points have a lot to go into, so let's address them one at a time.

All That Remains: Theoretical Background On The Significance Of Constants

Making comparisons across time is important specifically because humans (and human-like bugs) change. Most personality traits aren't set in stone--they exist as an interaction of someone's internal tendencies, their experiences, and their environment. Speaking of those last two points, not all experiences and environments are created equally. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs for short) are known to have lifelong implications for a child's health, both physically and mentally. These are events that are so stressful or stressful for so long that they exceed a child's ability to cope and become toxic stress (yes, that's the term in the literature, because it actively damages your organs). They compound, as well--the stress of one ACE makes it harder for a child to cope with another, especially if they overlap.

Some examples of ACEs? Being exposed to physical danger or the threat of physical danger, deprivation of normal social relationships with peers of a similar age, being forcibly seperated from family members, witnessing a loved one being hurt or killed, chronic illness in oneself or a family member, neglect of a child's emotional needs....

Poor fucking Holly. It's a miracle they didn't disintegrate under the pressure. The only other option is that they bent and adapted under that much stress--in other words, most of their personality has been forcibly reshaped by what they've gone through. Anyone who has up-close experience with parentification or complex child abuse already knows: this was by design. I'm not saying the intent was to traumatize the Pure Vessel past several points of no return, but the intent definitely was to reshape their personality for the purpose of being The Vessel. We only see them (the Pure Vessel) in battle after this process is mostly or entirely complete, but we do see them a few times beforehand. I'd like to draw attention to the Path of Pain cutscene right now.

I've seen people talking about the look the Vessel and the King share as a sign that TPK really does love his child. That might be true, but it's definitely not relevant when it comes to how abuse works. This is, in fact, exactly how the cycle of abuse uses affection as a tool. Long periods of abuse or neglect, smoothed over by small periods of affection that placate the survivor? That's textbook love bombing, the kind that forms stubborn trauma bonds and facilitates unhealthy dependency. Forgive me for not giving the Higher Being of knowledge and prescience the benefit of the doubt on that one. (/s)

Team Cherry knows about the importance of parallels and dissonance. There's a reason the music in the second phase of the Hollow Knight fight plays in the Path of Pain. There's a reason it cuts out the moment the battle with the Kingsmoulds is over, instead of at the room transition. There's a reason it doesn't cut out in the Black Egg. Actually, there's two potential reasons, which could also coexist: either little Hollow trusts the Pale King to keep them safe, even after the borderline torture that they were just subjected to, or big Hollow is so hypervigilant that they're in full functioning-through-trauma mode even while they're at death's door.

If you don't see how much the Pale King scarred his child at this point, I'm not sure we were playing the same game.

Walking the Straight Line: How the Pale King's Teachings Show In the Pure Vessel

The Pale King loves order and control. Everything about the White Palace and every decision we see him make implies this. Everything is spotless white walls and well-maintained gardens; the only signs of disorder are hidden away, either in his workshop or in The Pit™. This also reflects in the Pure Vessel's title--pure as in holy, but also pure as in without flaw. Considering the Nailsmith's emotional state after completing the Pure Nail, TPK's fate with his Perfect Controlled Kingdom, and the Godmaster ending as a whole, attaining perfection is not a good thing in any sense.

We know the Hollow Knight isn't perfect--that's the whole catalyst for the plot. But considering their upbringing and their fighting style as the Pure Vessel, their imperfections absolutely kill them emotionally. I'll spare the lecture on how perfectionism affects neurodivergent kids even more severely than neurotypical kids, if only to keep this post to a reasonable length (look up "twice-exceptional children" if you'd like to know the theory I'm glossing over in more depth). But, in essence, the deck is doubly stacked against them--they have a higher goal to reach, and far more obsctacles in their path, including their own emotional scars.

I've already discussed how Hollow isn't meant for this kind of stress in a physical sense in other posts. They're not prepared for it emotionally, either--the Pale King wants perfection, and they can't even stand up straight (every spoonie in the audience already knows how exhausting people's obsession with Standing Up Straight is). There's another page on their stack of emotional baggage, even BEFORE you consider that the Pure Vessel knows their perfection is what bought them a ticket out of the Abyss.

Bringing Teleportation To A Sword Fight: Where The Pure Vessel Reveals Their Fears

How else are they going to cope with that need for perfection, that need to prove themselves worthy of the reason their life was spared, by being flawless in any way they can? Being a mechanical, flawless fighter puts so much pressure on them, both literally (repetitive strain injuries fucking HURT) and figuratively--if you're predictable, the only sure way to win is to mop the floor with your opponents before they figure you out. Hell, that's the way most people play their first run of Hollow Knight, by throwing themselves at the bosses over and over until they figure out the patterns. That strategy is inherently going to fail against an opponent that's, say, an immortal higher being.

There's no way that the Vessel didn't figure this out, and yet none of their TPV specific attacks are positioned randomly--the nails are always evenly spaced, and the Focus explosions are always in a specific height region of the screen. That's clinging to survival strategies even when they become maladaptive in its purest form.

Another dip into psychological theory: let's talk about disorganized attachment. Attachment styles describe how someone's relationships to their main caregiver(s) influence their understanding on relationships in general. Disorganized attachment is a result of an upbringing of inherently unstable parent-child relationships, where there's no way of a child predicting whether an adult is going to be delighted to see them, ambivalent, upset, or otherwise. If my parent woke up some days saying "all right my child, time for the Infinite Buzzsaws Obstacle Course," I'd be the same way. In adulthood this manifests as an inability to form a stable sense of self-concept as well as concepts of others. Mission accomplished, TPK, there's no will to break if you broke it yourself.

This is where the fighting styles as communication comes in--Hollow needs to keep Ghost at a distance to fight, but also wants to be closer to their sibling (the only being who has a chance of understanding what they've been through), BUT also has a trauma-rooted fear of attaching to people, as their experiences with attachment are inherently unpredictable and dangerous. Hence, both the teleportation that doesn't seem to match their fighting style any more reliably than "aim at the thing attacking you" and the second attack unique to the Pure Vessel--they're quite literally lashing out in pain to push people away. There's a reason that attack is so reminiscent of the Thorns of Agony.

Of note is that Holly does seem to teleport like the bugs of the Soul Sanctum do (favoring the edges of a screen, rather than going wherever like Dream Warriors do), which makes sense--they're the most obvious answer to the question "how did they learn how to teleport, anyways?" However, Sanctum bugs have abilities designed to capitalize on this, like homing spells and slashes from above. I can only assume this means that someone saw Holly's proficiency with the nail and assumed it translated to other forms of combat, and didn't feel the need to give them at least a bit of a primer on how to make the best use of it. There's another tally for the Hollow Knight as an autism metaphor.

Trauma Bonds: How the Radiance Speaks Through Hollow

Now, we're back to the Black Egg, and two people stuck in the same sinking ship. The thing that makes this hurt so badly is that Holly and the Radiance are at complete cross purposes here, and yet they both want the same thing:

They both want out, no matter the cost. For the Radiance, this means forsaking the pacifistic nature of the moths and nuking Ghost personally.

For Hollow, this means forsaking the way they were raised and everything that was bludgeoned into their personality: the only way out is to fail, give up control, and trust that Ghost will do what needs to be done.

Imagine how much pain they're in to actually go for it. Going against a literal lifetime of conditioning is something that takes the average person years to even consider, let alone go through with. It's a form of learned helplessness--if you try to break free and fall, again and again, it actively discourages further attempts. Breaking through learned helplessness is an interesting process, because it generally involves re-establishing a sense of control by recalling previous events where the person was able to change their situation.

Which, as far as we know of, are nothing but traumatic memories for Hollow. It's very unlikely that they'd break through it on their own, but we know they have by the time we see the second phase of their fight. This is them at their most desperate: the same music as the Path of Pain, the way they let, or can't stop, the Radiance throw their body around, the way they actively try to let the Radiance out by stabbing themself.

You'd think that giving up and learned helplessness are inherently compatible, but when giving up both goes against your core personality, and involves your active participation, they're in direct opposition. So either Holly was able to process all their trauma by themself (which I doubt, judging by how much effort the player has to go through to even see Ghost's and Hollow's traumatic memories), or someone gave them a nudge or three in that direction.

Considering that there's been someone living in Holly's head who has a vested interest in them Not Doing Their Duty, I think we know who. And the thing is, I think we watch Hollow have this breakthrough during their battle. Imagine for the first time in decades, at least, you can move. You're in pain from being in the same position, probably hallucinating from sensory deprivation, with an infection sucking at what strength your body has left. And there's this little creature who looks ready to fight you, who seems to have let you go for that exact purpose.

And you look down, and both you and the Radiance recognize them from a place rooted deeper than consciousness, in the murky depths of trauma. You see the other Vessel who just as easily could have been you, and who looks so much stronger for not being you, for being an imperfect, willful creature. And the Radiance sees history threatening to repeat itself, another one of the Wyrm's cursed children seeking to lock her away once more.

What else do you do when you're triggered? You scream, and you go on instinct, and you retreat into your head. Those first blows, with the epic music? That's the Vessel the Pale King forged, the fighting machine that will endure unimaginable stress because it knows no other way. What snaps you back out of dissociation? Usually, either the passage of the triggering stimulus, or an even more relevant stimulus (severe pain from getting beaten up by a nail, for example).

The tragedy is this: we know this isn't a triumph. I think most of us went into that fight the first time, knowing we'd be putting the Hollow Knight out of their misery. The music turns tragic, Hollow screams, and then we see the Radiance and Hollow themself break through: the Radiance trying to fight Ghost directly with the resources she has, and Hollow trying to help her along.

For what it's worth, Hollow even had the right idea, when it came to letting themself rest while helping Ghost stop the madness their father started--they were just digging for the Radiance in the wrong place. The dynamic between the Radiance and the Hollow Knight is something I could write on for pages and pages, but this has gone on for long enough. Tune in next time, where I'll presumably talk about this same topic but in reverse with regards to the Radiance.

[goodbyetoawolrd]

Something you should know about my Hollow Knight AU

First Of All: The Lords

- The Lords or Higher Gods are the creature that created Hallownest, there is a lord i'm sure anyone who reached the Embrace The Void ending know, yup! Is the Shade Lord but not only shade, there's 6 more lords, the Light Lord Lord Of Light, the Pale Lord Lord Of Pale, Shadow Lord Lord Of Dark, Life Lord Lord Of Lifeblood, Pure Lord Lord Of Purity, and the Infection Lord, a Lord but got Infected.

- Every Lords have there own "Seal Key", Seal Key is a key to keep the Lords's shape and soul, if a Lord don't have Shape, they will appear as a spirit and will slowly fade away like they never exist, if they don't have a soul, they are just a shell and can't do anything but waiting, wait until they dead, Seal Key are really important.

- I think this is the most important information because you will interact with the Lords SOON :) in the comic i'm working on so yeah.

Second: The Pale King is dead

- Welp, the Pale King is dead and no one know why, but i know, uhhh... let just say... Xero did his job well. Real WELL. People still confirm him as a traitor even when everyone agree with what he do, admit it, You agree with him.

Third: Above The Empire

- Because the king is dead, the still alive bugs decide to greet a new king, and they decide to find some help in the outside world, FARADOT.

- FARADOT is a mysterious paradise know as "The Etetnal Empire FARADOT", most people talk about FARADOT like a myth, because many people try to explore and find some proof about FARADOT but the result is always zero.

- Above FARADOT is another empire know as "The Great Blue Empire Waterfalution", why Blue Empire and not Red Empire or White Empire, because everywhere on Waterfalution filled with Blue Spider Lilies, a very rare type of Spider Lilies, the present ruler of Waterfalution is Cry Melody or Kuneri know as "The Wander Angle", the kindest God in FARADOT, that's also why the alive bugs decide to get some help from them with a deal, because Cry Melody, the queen of Waterfalution only care about how to keep her Empire in peach and hate messing with the others, so even if the deal failed, she will avoid and ignore it anyways.

Fourth: Hallownest New Age

- So... in this AU, when the Pale King died, Hornet and the Vessel are still not born, the main reason is before the Pale King dead, The Radiance was destroyed by the TRUE Shade Lord as a punishment for against the rule of Lords, so the Pale King don't need to create any Hollow Vessel to sealed her.

- Thought that the Pale King and White Lady could have actual children but a pieces of the Radiance's power still remain and it start to plagues the kingdom and like i said earlier, Xero killed the king.

- I'll post the infomation about the new king after this.

There's still alot of things but i'll let y'all figure it out by yourself, My AU will be tagged as #HK Haunted AU, don't ask why.

[polly-chan]

The story of Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania style videogame developed and published by Team Cherry. It introduces a very interesting lore, telling the story of a Knight without a past on a quest to save the abandoned insect kingdom of Hallownest.

In this meta I want to analyze the lore of the entire game, which is very interesting and addictive. Obviously this article is full of spoilers for those who have not yet played the game. Also this analysis is based a lot on what I found written in the Hollow Knight wiki, even if I had some personal reflection.

In the Kingdom of Hallownest there are many different important primordial higher beings, god-like bugs who have lived since the beginning of time, and others who are more recent but who are nevertheless divinized by the inhabitants of the Kingdom.  However, for a better analysis we must first introduce a summary of the Hallownest’s history in game.

The Hollow Knight (the one who gives the title to the videogame) is a Vessel chosen by the Pale King to seal away the Radiance and save Hallownest from the Infection. As wiki says, they were the child of the King and the Queen of Hallownest, birthed in the Abyss to be infused with the power of the Void. Because of that we consider them genderless and their birth condition was also supposed to leave them without a mind, will and voice. Thanks to this particular condition, void creatures are the only ones that can contain the Radiance, since the Radiance feed themselves with the light of dreams also distorting them as if they were physical entities.  However purity of the Hollow Knight was misjudged because they created an emotional bond with the Pale King who raised them.

“Regardless of their impurity, the Hollow Knight was trained and raised, eventually becoming  a fully grown Vessel. The Radiance was sealed within them, and they were chained within the Temple of the Black Egg where they were expected to contain the Infection for eternity. However, because of the aforementioned impurities, the Radiance could still exert influence. It ultimately resulted in the resurgence of the Infection and the Kingdom falling into ruin. Over time, the Hollow Knight disappeared from the fallen Kingdom’s memory. Only the Memorial in the middle of the City of Tears testifies of their sacrifice to save Hallownest. After some time, the Radiance’s power broke out of the Hollow Knight, cracking their shell and fully infecting them. This event was the catalyst that brought the Knight back to Hallownest. The Knight can free and fight the Hollow Knight after killing the three Dreamers who sealed the Black Egg’s entrance” .

The fate of the Hollow Knight is linked to the end of the game chosen by players, because there are different finals:

-          by killing the Hollow Knight the Knight takes their place in sealing the Radiance;

-          by entering their mind with the help of Hornet the Knight can chase away the Radiance;

-          by defeating Absolute Radiance at the peak of the Pantheon of Hallownest the Infection vanishes forever  and the Hollow Knight can then be seen walking out of the Black Egg’s temple, freed from the Infection.

Now let’s move on ti analyze the main divinities in the game’s lore.

The Radiance:

“The light. Forgotten. The plague, the infection, the madness that haunts the corpses of Hallownest… the light that screams out from the eyes if this dead Kingdom. What is the source? I suppose mere mortals like myself will never understand”.

The Radiance is a secret final boss and the Absolute Radiance is her final form. She’s one of the higher being god-like bugs above mentioned, opposed to the Void, her ancient enemy. She gave birth to the Moth tribe and because of that they revered her. Unlike the individualist society of Hallownest the Radiance offered unity to bugs at the cost of a mind incapable of thought.

“After the Pale King arrived in Hollownest and expanded the minds of his new subjects, the Moth Tribe turned their backs in the Radiance and worshipped him instead. In doing so, the Radiance was almost entirely forgotten, Yet traces of her memory remained, such as a statue on Hollownest’s Crown. Her memory started spreading throughout the Kingdom, by then in its golden age. Soon, all of Hallownest began to dream of her, appearing to them as a blazing light. These dreams could break the minds of bugs and eventually enslave their wills to hers. But the King and his subjects resisted her memory, which started to manifest as the Infection. The Pale King attempted to stop the Infection by sealing the Radiance within a Vessl. These creatures, infused with the Void to be without a mind and a will, were to be able to withstand the Radiance’s influence. The Hollow Knight was chosen, raised and grown for that purpose. The Radiance was sealed within them, and the Vessel chained within the Temple of the Black Egg. However, the Pale King failed to realise the Vessel’s impurities of mind. Because of this, the Radiance was still able to invade the dreams of bugs. She ultimately wiped out the Kingdom of its inhabitants, whose King had vanished, but left the rest of the land untouched.

Time passed, Hallownest turned into a myth while the Radiance remained sealed. Her influence finally started to break out of the Hollow Knight. She regnited the full power of the Infection, threatening again the land of Hallownest and prompting the Knight to return to Hallownest”.

I found the use of light as a villain very interesting. In fictions light usually wins over darkness as god wins over evil, but in the Kingdom of Hallownest she’s the real enemy, since, in real life, the bugs follow the light blindly. However I’d like to introduce a theory now.

We can consider the Kingdom of Hallownest as built on three levels:

-          the higher level is the outside world on the surface and from which the light comes through: this maybe recalls heaven, but as we said for the bugs is more comparable to hell. The vision of something which comes from a otherwordly dimension can drive everyone crazy;

-          the middle level is the realm, with its inhabitants;

-          the lower level is the Abyss: in fictions the Abyss usually recalls hell but that’s not totally true for Hollow Knight because of different reasons:

i)                    we can find the corpse of the Vessel used and thrown away by the Pale King, but it’s also the place that gave birth to our heroe, so it cannot be considered totally negative;

ii)                   the game tells us that the Kingdom of Hallownest is a tribute to all what bugs have been in life and this fills with a different meaning this place;

iii)                 we can find the Void into the Abyss and thanks to them we can defeat the Radiance forever.

So, in other words, in Hollow Knight’s lore the meaning of heaven and hell is reversed.

If we consider this theory true, we can finally appreciate why Radiance chooses to punish Moth tribe: another recurring theme in the narrative is the God who punishes men who turn their backs. Moth tribe chose the Pale King because he promised wellness, an earthly value, forever. This is clearly a sin and the tribe deserves to be punished.

The Void:

The Void is the substance of The Abyss, most of them is found in a sea at the bottom of the Abyss, but multiple beings exist who consist of Void themselves. The Void is “the power opposed”: it has the ability to oppose the light based Radiance and Pale King, who are both describes as light. When the Knight acquires the Void Heart and learns about their past the Void is unified under their will.

Since the Void completely leaks any kind of emotion and the hope It is capable of containing the Radiance, who feeds herself with dreams as if they were physical entities. Its nature of nothingness allows it to be filled with something  and that’s why having been raised by the King made the Hollow Knight feel love and become imperfect.  

The Pale King and his Queen:

“The old king of Hallownest… he must have been desperate to save his crumbling little world. The sacrifices he imposed on other… all for nothing”.

The Pale King is considered to be a higher being who used to be the monarch of Hallownest, mate of the White Lady and ruler of the White Palace. We find him dead on his throne in the White Palace. I am sure he died of despair for not being able to find the bathroom in that absurd place he called home and whoever has played that level will agree with me. I mean, the architect should be sued.

As wiki says, he’s an ancient Wyrm who wandered through mountains and across the wasteland until finally stopping by Kingdom’s Edge. Once there, the Wyrm shed the skin and transformed himself into the Pale King. He reduced his form in order to match the bugs of Hallownest.

Contrary to what is commonly said, I don’t’ think he is a higher being for real. I think he was a mortal bug like all the others, but remaining mostly closed in his Palace he was deified by his subjects. As a matter of fact, while the Radiance has never stopped giving her people the light she promised, the Pale King has not kept his promises and if he really was a divinity he would not have died. He symbolizes the earthly power and the aura of divine that hovers around monarchical figures, who do not mix themselves with their subjects, they often make promises that they cannot keep remaining enclosed in sumptuous palaces.

Moreover, the children whom the Pale King and the Queen gave birth to are just vessels, which are mortal remains and not divine spirit: it’s the difference between the mortal body of Jesus Christ (given to him by his mortal mother) and his immortal spirit (given to him by the divine father). In the same way, the Knight possesses the mortal remains of their parents but infused with the spirit of emptiness that characterized their divine nature.

Anyway, the Pale King gives to his people free will, while the Radiance claims intellectual slavery.

The Knight:

“An enigmatic wanderer who descends into Hallownest carrying only a broken nail to fend off foes” – official manual.

The Knight is the protagonist of the videogame. A discarded Vessel, child of the Pale King and the White Lady, born in the Abyss with Void inside their shell. Like the rest of their Vessel siblings is genderless. They embody emptiness: they are not created by anyone except by emptiness itself. They are a messianic figure who bring peace to the Kingdom.

Nightmare King Grimm:

“The expanse of dream in past was split,

One realm now must stay apart,

Darkest reaches, beatin red,

Terror of sleep. The Nightmare’s Heart”.

Nightmare King Grimm is the Dream form of Tropue Master Grimm: “Through dream I travel, at lantern’s call to consume the flames of a kingdom’s fall”. As wiki says, The Grimm Tropue is a mysterious travelling circus from the Nightmare realm to wherever the Nightmare Lantern has been lit by acolytes. They gather Nightmare Flames from ruined lands to fuel the sinister being enslaving the Troupe, the Nightmare’s Heart. The Nightmare is the dimension where the Nightmare’s Heart rests. The Nightmare’s Heart is the proper host of the Nightmare, as the Radiance is the host of the Dream. The Nightmare’s Heart is a higher being responsible for the Ritual of the Grimm Troupe, Grimmchild and Troupe Master Grimm are its spawn.

[ruthlesslistener]

Oh, something else I have to add here as well- another main gripe that I have about the idea that the Pale King is a colonizer (or is supposed to represent the 'white man') is that it ignores the fact that he is the only known outside god, and that the kingdom he rules over (the beetles, pretty overwhelmingly) is comprised of a tribe that is native to Hallownest. Colonism is, by definition, focused around land occupation by filling it with settlers to drive out/kill the native peoples and exploit the land for economic benefit to a foreign benefactor. And that's not what happened!! Instead, he's a foreign power that became the ruler of already-occupied lands, influencing them as a result. Saying he's a colonizer implies that the main occupants were foreign citizans that maliciously took over the land for his benefit- and we KNOW that the beetle tribe is native to Hallownest, because there are a multitide of fossilized carapaces among the kingdom, with a particular density in Kingdom's Edge and the Abyss. So it puts a really really bad taste in my mouth to hear the colonizer take because it implies compliance from the denizens of Hallownest, when the whole POINT is that all of the tragedy that came about was due to the hubris of their god. They aren't compliant in his crimes, and that's what makes the Infection so horrifying. They were innocent.

(Plus I just overall hate the fact that everyone assumes colonization is the worst means of occupation and a mark of True Evil when its really just one of many evils AND is a very real pain many people are still recovering from that shouldn't be thrown around on the internet to make the antagonist of a fantasy show seem even worse, but that's a whole other gripe of mine.)

And like...trying to claim that the beetle tribe were settlers isn't only innacurate, it also ignores the fact that they were likely subjugated to the Radiance's whims before the Pale King came. I'm not saying that PK trundling over was a good thing, but when the whole point of the story is about abuse of power and reclaiming autonomy from figures that have near-total control over your life, its jarring to imply that those abused by that very power are somehow deserving of it when the whole point of the story is that the Radiance's wrath was undeserved. The Infection targeted anyone she saw as a traitor, and grabbed onto unaffiliated kingdoms to obtain more power and gain more leverage (cough mosskin cough). The beetles weren't any more deserving of their fate than the moths. Intertribal war aside, they were NEVER on the level of the gods and do not deserve the full brunt of their punishment, ESPECIALLY since the Pale King ended up abandoning them in the end like the coward he is.

The Pale King is still a conquerer and a warmonger with blood on his hands. But so is the Radiance. And all the people who were conquered by the Pale King deserve the same amount of sympathy

Begging people to realize that equating the very real struggle of indigenous tribes attempting to take back the land that was stolen to them to the canonically genocidal primary antagonist of a game about anthro bugs is not a 'woke' take, its got horribly racist connotations especially paired with the heavy Christian/crusader imagery said moth posesses. Claiming that the Pale King is a colonizer and that the Radiance is trying to take back her lands doesn't just ignore the fact that the game specifically makes both the Pale King and the Radiance out to be equally bad (which is TERRIBLE in the case of an oppressed/oppressor power dynamics), it also places the rightful anger and pain of conquered people in a very grim light. Especially since she infected all but ONE of the native tribes to use as she wished, including those who had personal gripes with the expansion and harassment of the Pale King and the White Lady- aka, the Mosskin. She isn't just enacting revenge on the gods that tried to kill her, she's also targeting and killing innocents. Which, granted, she already was doing by infecting the tribes under the Pale King's rule (who are native people too btw!!! There are fossilized beetles everywhere!!! They are NOT colonists!!!), but the point still stands: she is not just trying to take back what was taken from her, she's destroying everyone in her path in a petty rage and is stealing the free will of the OTHER tribes that are native to the area. Because that's another thing that often gets overlooked: the Moth Tribe wasn't the only one native to Hallownest, nor were they the first. Why then, should they be treated as if they were the only victims of the two gods? Especially since we have no canonical evidence suggesting how their numbers dwindled, meaning that either the Pale King OR the Radiance killed them. We have canonical evidence of Radi being a spiteful bastard who heavily infects any she thinks 'betrayed' her (with Deepnest), and though I personally believe that the Pale King heavily coerced the Moth Tribe to switch sides to him, the fact that the Seer laments her tribe's mistakes has some ill connotations. They aren't the first who came to Hallownest, and they aren't the first to suffer because of the Radiance. This is not a tale about the goddess of a conquered tribe clawing her way back to freedom in a rightous path of vengence. This is a slaughter. This is genocide.

And that's another thing: the Radiance is the PRIMARY ANTAGONIST of Hollow Knight. The only option is to kill her. She is not at all depicted sympathetically by the game- and for very good reason. How the FUCK is equating her anger and bloodshed to the pain of conquered peoples supposed to be a good thing??

Also, there are not-so-subtle hints in-game that the Radiance herself was responsible for the near-complete destruction of the Void civilization, which makes this comparison even worse. The platform you dreamnail to get the abyss shriek are carved like the snail shaman stones and have dreamnail dialogue saying 'our voices will cry out again', which has grim connotations when paired with the knowledge that the void spells are all gained from snail shamans that have undergone great pain. Shamans who are capable of manipulating and understanding void magic, implying that they were the tribe that made up the bulk of the original void civilization, whose small numbers paired with the Radiance's dreamnail dialogue paint a VERY grim picture of what she did to the civilization that came before her. She HERSELF is a genocidal conquerer, and the Knight killing her in either Dream No More or Godhome is INDICATIVE of them ending the abuse that both the Pale King AND the Radiance inflicted on their siblings. Claiming that the Radiance was fighting back against a conquering force ignores the fact that she herself was canonically a conquering force herself that wrought untold pain upon people who did not deserve it- just like the Pale King.

And to top it off: as great as TC are, they're white men. White Christian men. They most certainly did not try to write a narrative about colonism, but if they did...yikes.

TDLR: The take that the Pale King is a colonizer and that the Radiance was the goddess of a native tribe that got eradicated by him isn't just innaccurate, it is also horribly, horribly racist.

[erza-mj]

Episode Prompto

i though it will be useful for all the writers in the ffxv community to have a written record of all the stuff that appear in Episode Prompto in chronological order ;) 

You’re Welcome

Prompto production code: Unit 05953234

Research log 722-VII-6th

Research log: Year 722, Day 189. I received a proposal regarding a way to improve the infantry’s performances by leaps and bounds: Outfit all the troupers with magitek cores. Preliminary tests suggest sublimating daemons for fuel will result in an unstable infantry unit for the field. If the calculations he provided are correct, though, this could solve all our problems. The Deadless Project marks the advent of a new age. No longer will our soldier fall on the field of battle. The Empire shall rise, and soon, all the world shall bask in our glory!

Research log 722-X-21st

Research log: Year 722, Day 294. I acted on the proposal mentioned in my log of Day 189. My attempt to infuse the troopers magitek cores with daemonic energy proved successful. Only in the most basic sense, however. While the soldiers are indeed deathless, they are far from fit for fighting. Thus I’ve decided to take a different approach: rather than relying on daemons to power the magitek infantry, why not use human instead? Frankly, I had never considered employing my fellow man in any magitek-related experiments. But countless men and women succumb to the plasmodia each day. Rather than let them die victims of an ignominious disease, why not help them ascend to nobler heights? I’ve lost many a comrade on the field of battle, and I’ve no intention of allowing any more of their deaths to go in vain.

Research log 722-XII-5th

Research log: Year 722, Day 339. Another Day, another mental breakdown. All my test so far have resulted in the former soldiers suffering ego deaths. Today, however, I developed a new hypothesis: I will continue to sublimate daemonified humans to harvest the miasma, but if a sense is the source of these snags, why not inject infants with the plasmodia instead? We’ve little time. If we are to combat the Lucian threat, we must explore new options. I too, will set aside my personal misgivings and do what I must for the empire.

Research Log: 723-III-11th

Research log: Year 723, Day 70. I pondered how I might found the necessary number of infants, and then it downed on me: why not make them myself? If I clone them from my own genes, I can eliminate the pesky process of breeding them. Mass production remains a pipe dream for now, but I’m confident a can create a massive infantry once the process picks up. If everything goes according to plan, the empire will boast a million-man army in no time at all.

M.E. 723-XI-26th

A New Hope

Construction finished today on the first magitek production facility. Rising military star and leading authority on magitek Verstael Besithia has been selected to oversee the plant’s operation. Reports say Besithia will relinquish his field duties in order to serve at the compound full-time.

Research log: 724-X-24th

Research log: Year 724, Day 297. Mass production of the magitek infantry was a success. We’ve overwhelmed the lucians with our numbers and surrounded insomnia. But to rest on our laurels now would be unthinkable. On Occasion, harvesting the plasmodic miasma produces some “side effects.” The daemons born of this process have been disposed of on sight-until now. How foolish I was to let these sublime creatures go to waste! What they lack in adaptability, they make up for in sheer power. I realize now that I ought to channel my efforts into exploring the true potential of these daemons for the sake of the empire. Perhaps this has been my true calling all along.

Research Log: 736-V-3rd

Research log: Year 736, Day 123. It seems my laboratory is not nearly as secure as I once believed. Some thief – likely a Lucian- made off with one of my experiments. Absconding with a single infant will do nothing to enlighten them of the grandeur of my research. That said, I will see to it such incident never arises again. I’ve posted magitek troopers around the facility and instructed them to keep a vigilant watch. It is their home, after all.

Research Log: 745-XI-21st

Research log: Year 745, Day 325. Today marks a momentous triumph for our great nation. The Glacian herself graced us with her presence in Ghorovas Rift, and, through the combined efforts of the magitek infantry and my precious daemons, we killed her. The resulting causalities were great, but these sacrifices afforded us something far more valuable than a few units. With the data I collected, I intend to begin developing a new magitek weapon codenamed “Godslayer.” Soon, all the Astrals shall bow before me and the might of my magitek. Soon, they shall know my wrath.

M.E. 745-XI-22nd

ATTN: Research Chief Verstael Besithia

It has come to my attention thet the Glacian’s recent assault was quelled by your magitek infantry. As commendation for your service to our great nation, I have approved your petition to increase funding for your research. Your Work is the centrifugal force that will propel the empire beyond our borders to greatness on the world stage. I eagerly await further reports of your progress.

Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt

 M.E. 746-VI-3rd

Prototype Numbering Instructions

In order ro better monitoring the large number of new magitek models enetering production, the Imperials Defense Council motions to reform the coding system as follows

- Troopers: 5-digit model number + 8-digit production code

- Infants: 4-digit production year + 8-digit production code

 754-VIII-25th

I’ve been assigned to Chief Besithia’s lab! Not many people can say they’ve worked under the supervision of a living legend. I mean, this is the guy who saved the empire from eternal winter. He’s practically our savior.

 754-XI-17th

My boss pulled me aside today to issue me a “special task.” Said it’s “highly confidential” and that I’m the only one qualified for the job. But how? I barely even know my way around the compound. Well, whatever the “task” is, I’ll deal with it in the morning.

 754-XI-18th

I found out what my “special task” is today- and frankly I wish I hadn’t. if only I could unsee the things I saw today… I really ought eat something before I go to bed, but that shit totally killed my appetite.

 755-II-16th

I had the honor of seeing His Imperial Majesty in person today. To think His Radiance would travel all that way through the ice and the snow just to observe our progress… if the Emperor is putting all his faith in magitek, then so should i.

 755-VII-24th

Just my luck. One of the plasmodium samples strted leaking, and your truly was the blessed with the “privilege” of cleaning it up. And then my boss had the nerve to yell at me-as if the whole thing were my fault. If he wasn’t to criticize the real culprit, he ought to look in a mirror.

755-VII-25th

 So thanks to yesterday's fiasco, my boss made me throw all the remaining plasmodium samples into the incinerator. What a waste of resources! My boss told the chief we used them in a series of experiments, but the thought of lying about what happened doesn't sit well with me at all. The whole thing is eating me up inside.

M.E. 755-VII-25th

Termination Report

ATTN: Research Chief Verstael Besithia. The Following specimen have been eradicated: 0755-06000326 0755-06000327 0755-06000328

0755-06000329 0755-06000330 0755-06000331

0755-06000332 0755-06000333 0755-06000334

0755-06000335 0755-06000336 0755-06000337

0755-06000338 0755-06000339 0755-06000340

0755-06000341 0755-06000342 0755-06000343

0755-06000344 0755-06000345 0755-06000346

0755-06000347 0755-06000348

All 23 samples listed have been incinerated to avoid potential daemonification of personnel.

755-VII-29th

 So I ended up telling chief Besithia the truth about the other day. Here I was, ready for him to tear me a new one - and he ended up praising my loyalty instead! Everyone made it sound like the chief was some kind of hardass, but he seems to be a really reasonable guy if you actually take the time to sit down and talk with him.  

M.E. 755-IX-18th

Proposal for Operation:Countersign

As deputy High Commander, I hereby propose a large-scale assault on the Lucian capital of Insomnia. Preparation are to begin next month. Our future is far too precious to entrust to our enmy. We must retrieve the Crystal and the Ring of legend, only then shall our worl know true peace.

Deputy High Commander Ravus Nox Fleuret

  755-XI-2nd

 Another one of the plasmodium samples started leaking today. How does this keep happening!? Clearly someone isn't doing their job. The worst part is that some of the researchers seem to have been infected. I need to get out of here ASAP.

755-XII-3rd 

There's a rumour going around the lab that those "leaks" from before weren't accidents at all. My buddy says he thinks the chief is actually trying to expose us all to the virus. I don't want to believe it, but...

756-I-14th

The whole compound is crawling with daemons these days... I shiver every time I turn the corner. What the hell am I doing here? When can I go home? 

756-II-12th

We are all... Together, we... Insomnia. As the ultimate... we... Thank you... Farewell...

Research log: 756-IV-8th

Research log: Year 756, Day 98. Finally my daemon-infused magitek armor is complete. I have christened my creation “Diamond Weapon”. It has exhibited an extremely unstable psyche, immediately unleashing unmitigated horrors upon activation. It’s destructive capabilities, however, are indeed beyond compare. Not even the “impenetrable” Insomnia could withstand its onslaught. Why, the Crown City would fall in a mere matter of minutes. The Stone of Legend will soon be mine. To think that, in less than a month’s time, the Crystal will be mine to play with as I please!

 M.E. 756-IV-8th

Diamond Weapon Report

ATTN: His Imperial Majesty Iedolas Aldercapt – It is with great pride I inform Your Radiance that development has finished on the new deamon armor. Codename: Diamond Weapon. I encourage Your Radiance to visit the First Production Facility at Your Radiance’s earliest convenience. I am most confident the final product will prove to Your Radiance’s Liking.

Verstael Besithia

Chief of Magitek Research

 M.E. 756-V-21st

Report on Unit SAS-0822

After several years of experimentation, we have finally succeeded in fusing mammal and magitek. Although we are still conducting various tests on Codename: Barbarus, the unit should be functional enough to fend off would-be intruders until development finishes on Unit XDA-1002: Immortalis.

 Research Log: 756-VII-9th

Research Log: Year 756, Day 190. At last, my life’s work is complete. Not only I have found a way to preserve the ego, I’ve also managed to sustain that consciousness through the sublimation process and transfer it to my magitek troopers. The prototype has proven slightly less powerful than the Diamond Weapon, but this presents no real problem. After all, one’s consciousness can be transmuted again and again and again. All that remain is to fully surrender myself to my research and become my own final test subject. I will conclude my mortal life by offering a word of thanks. Chancellor Ardyn Izunia, your assistance has provided invaluable. You have my eternal gratitude. It is through your aid that I completed my work and begun my ascension to an existence beyond divinity.

 thanks @ace-of-babes-98 for the ones that i missed