#radihollow

[silverybeast]

but in the absence of love maybe a poisoned absolution will do

[aewrie]

peijaiset radihollow au

so, tradition was that in the celebration that came from a successful bear hunt, the bear was not just food, but also a guest of honour. the celebration is called peijaiset, and the base idea is that you respect the bear and it will be placated. you find similar ideas in a number of cultures.

what's most relevant here is how peijaiset would not be just a feast, but also the bear's funeral, and a wedding.

a maiden would be selected to be symbolically given as a bride to the bear, sometimes even taken along for the hunt. this was part of the whole placating the soul of the animal, but also connected to the belief that humans and bears were kin in some ways, or were made kin through these marriages. so, the bear would become part of the family, and with the hunting community and the bear being kin, they ought to be safer in the forests.

the bear gets to 'partake' in a feast, gets a bride, and is stripped of its power as the body is consumed and the power is transferred. and if everything goes right, the soul is satisfied and eventually returns as another bear.

oh, and the thing with hunting bears? you wake them up before you kill them, because if you don't, you risk the dreaming soul of the bear coming to take revenge for the death of its corporeal self.

so. needs a bit of tweaking but the basic idea is that hollow is both the hunter and the bride here.

the biggest au aspect is that instead of sealing and forgetting radiance, the goal would be to 'wake her up', in a way, to make sure she will not take revenge through dream. entice her to make herself vulnerable where it matters. be polite to distract her from the reality of the situation, which is that this a celebration to save hallownest from her as much as it a celebration for her. lead the bear, awake and dangerous, among the mortals as a guest of honour to hopefully prevent its wrath.

hollow would not be presented as an enemy, or a cage, but as a gift for her and sign of respect - even if not an honest one.

of course radiance would be suspicious of anything having to do with void, and distrustful of the pale king, but it also appears a situation where she is handed a claim to the kingdom through marriage on top of what she previously had. and that is enticing. and she does like the attention; she is already thinking of how she can come out on top in case of foul play before she seriously considers accepting the offer.

the two would be wed off with a huge celebration, the plan being that until hollow can be sure radiance will not be loose in the dream, they play the part of a polite, respectful bride, and only then they are to kill her. they are to consume her, and to strip her of her power in doing so, like with the bear. only the idea is she doesn't come back, because in this case, there's no use for a new bear potentially wreaking havoc.

and with all that hopefully she'd go down quietly.

(but we all know she's not exactly cooperative, is she. she can appreciate the fancy gift and the benefits that come with it though.)

[astorichan]

soooo like bug romance right?

I have literally never thought of bug game in romantic terms, especially not between the higher beings

It’s always been a lot of…familial bonds, and how they’re messed with/exploited

But

you seem to have bug romance on the brain

and I wanna know

I wanna know how that recontextualizes this game

please

I’m so sorry for bothering you so much your rambles are just so cool

bug romance hehehehe

i kind of went in with the same view: came for the sibling dynamics between Hollow & Ghost (mainly) + Hollow & PK family dynamics. Then I happened upon a single line in another fic that ripped my heart out and sent me into a recontextualisation night-long spiral. (misread the tags on it, oop) The line was "And it felt terribly alone without her." Hollow @ Radi.

So yeah, that was the first ship I got into. It resonated with me very hard due to some history, so I was able to really... care about it and the dynamics at play. (my aro ass needs to get very invested to ship characters lol)

BUT enough intro, let me actually ramble:

RadiHollow is the first of my two ships. It's based on several factors, first of them being that those two spent an indefinite (I personally headcanon 300-400 years) amount of time completely isolated from the world. Alone with only each other for company. We know that Radi is horrible at loneliness, her history/the entire thing with Higher Beings requiring worship to live alludes to it a lot: the whole reason the infection broke out was that she'd been forgotten by the moths. Left behind. Left alone. The next factors are my own view of their characters. Radi as I write her is an extremely self-centered person, incapable of ever admitting any fault, incapable of ever being wrong, incapable of ever not being in control. She's manipulative and very emotionally abusive in an... insidious, "you just can't appreciate my love", way. So not "hehe torture fun". Hollow is someone who never viewed themself as a real person. Their feelings, wants, thoughts are not important. They have not experienced kindness for who they were. They also tend to blame themself for anything bad that happens. Couple those two in complete isolation (which, isolation is one of the first steps an abuser will take to gain control over their victim), with Radi showing Hollow genuine kindness despite their failure, despite them being her enemy, despite everything. She has an "I will fix you" mentality; she sees them as a poor, downtrodden person who only needs to be loved enough to fall on her side. To see that she was right all along. They hate each other, of course. They want to watch each other burn. They want to burn together. Radi wants to enter the new dawn together with them. They want to go down in flames together with her. They hate her, but the kindness makes it hard to only hate her. She hates them, but their empathy and responsiveness, their presence and pushback make it hard to only hate them.

Grollow is the second one, and it has direct relation to all the stuff I've said up there. I headcanon Grimm and Radi as siblings (""? as much as beings of pure magic can be siblings. their relationship is definitely familial), which means that Grimm is very intimately familiar with all of Radi's antics: the gaslighting, the manipulation, the blame-everyone-around, the disregard for his feelings, the blindness to what her love does to him. He's someone that understands Hollow, post-Radi. He's someone that knows what they've gone through. He's someone who's had similar experiences and had time to heal from them. He's someone who hates watching them suffer at her hands. And he's someone who sees them for the absolute mess that they are, knows most of what Radi could've done to them mentally and is willing to stay by their side. And somewhere along the way, they fall for each other. Somewhere along the way, Hollow grows comfortable with showing themself, with being themself. They stop clinging to their history with Radi, they grow past their (frankly, awful) learned responses. They realise just how much he's done for them, and they want to be the best version of themself, to be his support - if he will let them. He draws out the best in them. They draw out the best in him. They're mirrors of each other. They're pillars of support for one another. They're both willing to do anything for each other. Even if that anything is growing past spiteful pride and unwillingness to admit to fault. Even if that anything is opening up your heart to a potential knife, dropping a mask of playfulness and detachment, showing the vulnerable skin underneath.

My two ships. Proudly waving them around. There's more stuff to Grollow, namely PVxGrimm pairing (so, pre-Temple). Moon expands on that a bit (I think it's in the already posted chapter, even) and Dreams has it because of shared interests, shared character traits and, again, Grimm's unwillingness to coddle them or evade them for any reason. Means a lot to them.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN SORRY don't you sorry me /lh I'm so glad for the opportunities to talk about my stuff. I love sharing my thoughts, headcanons, anything connected to the creative process honestly. It's a special kind of heartwarming. So no sorry, thank you for asking!

[schniggles]

#oh not to be deranged in the tags but it just occurred to me like...has pale king or white lady ever touched hollow like in any way a parent #would...bc if so ohhh boy that rlly makes radiance's touching hollow knights face in ur animatics like ....their own father n mother never #never did that for them...but their worst enemy would? one of the few (if any) instances of physical contact for them was a mockery? #or something like that (via sporadicstarstruckplanet)

hmm

[featherlouise]

FUCK I FELL ASLEEP

ANYWAYS DAY 1

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[candor-creator]

Tried sending this message earlier but my phone crashed it might not have sent? anyway don't know if it's the kind of music you like but real boy by Lola Blanc is kinda RadiHollow and I had to share it with someone. Never look away by Vienna Teng is another fitting one and a favorite of mine. Also I love your writing. Your characterizations are just perfect ❤️

ty!!! don't worry it sent i just have the music suggestions kept safe in my inbox so that i have the titles on hand for when i give them a listen

[problematickinconfessions1]

i am the radiance and i loved the hollow knight. there was nothing wrong with our relationship.

i never hated them, not once. i suppose it makes sense to think that i would - i hated two things, wyrm and void, and they were both - but i never blamed them for the actions their father took. the only person i resented so was the pale wyrm himself. everyone else involved was just dragged into it, whether they were happy with the plan or not, and the vessels had the least choice of all. i never wished on them what i wished on the pale one.

once we were actually sealed together, i was ecstatic (more so than i would like to admit) at the opportunity to be able to talk to and interact with a real living bug normally, and i refused to let my biases ruin it. not to mention we were intended to be stuck in that temple together forever, and if i have to spend eternity alone with one other person, i might as well try to bond with them, right?

i never tormented or tortured them, i never even considered it. it took some time to get them to speak to me, but eventually they did, and we started growing closer. at the time, we weren't thinking of anything romantic (and with the power i held over them, i wouldn't have even considered it), we were just making the best of an...unfortunate situation, to say the least of it. only after my death and subsequent resurrection as a mortal moth put us on more equal footing did we start to reflect on our relationship as one that could be something different.

i usually keep this to myself and my kin friends since "radihollow is unhealthy and toxic and abusive!" and i'm not going to sit here and get shit from people for something i can't control, but i'm not going to be ashamed about it either. the circumstances of canon were not the circumstances of my canon. i know what we were like better than anyone else does. i love them with my whole heart and i always will.

.

[shentheauthor]

Idk what I was on w this but can I get back on it

Sorry guys I’m thinking about the toxic hollow knight (who I call Vess) and radiance relationship now and I’m about to make it everyone’s problem.

(Disclaimer: this can be seen as romantic or platonic or a secret 3rd thing)

Just. Vess missing the Radiance, despite everything. They were created to contain her, and without her, they feel empty in a way they never have before. It isn’t even the empty they were supposed to be. It just feels awful and disgusting, like they’ve been scooped out and left to rot alone.

Vess missing her, loving her even, because she’s all they’ve known for centuries.

She knows them better than any other, and in turn, they know her. They know her rage because they were on the receiving end of it. They know her sorrow because they held her through it unwillingly.

The Radiance hates them in a way that wraps back around to being love. When she centers her existence around hating them because that’s all she can do anymore. Ancient enemy, Wyrm-spawn, Vessel. They’re everything she is opposed to, and yet they are her only companion.

Love and hatred that rots Vess from the inside out. Suffocating determination and obsession that stomps the Radiance into an ember desperately searching for kindling to set ablaze. And yet, if one is freed without the other, they will feel empty, because something was there that just isn’t anymore.

The world is better off with the Radiance gone, but Vess misses her regardless.

Anyway yeah I’m not normal about hollow knight.

[naamah-beherit]

[ wip at 1,5 so far • M • the Radiance/the Hollow Knight • unhealthy relationships • modern with magic ]

At the behest of their father, the Hollow Knight becomes the Radiance's assistant. Of all the things they've done for him, this might be what finally makes them snap.

She turned her golden eyes to them, pinning them in place as if her gaze were a sword run through them. “Don’t be a stranger.” With that, she sauntered off. They watched her go: her form, majestic and commanding; her ruff, fluffy and pristine, glowing with its own light in the dim lanterns of the banquet hall; her presence, fading away in the distance with the grace of a setting sun. Like the sun, the gravity of her pulled on them with force impossible to ignore.

[astorichan]

A Gentle Touch

[astorichan]

2 & 12 for radihollow :3c

You get four for the price of two! (Because of two aus. I will not hesitate to go overboard.)

2. Who wakes up early/Who sleeps in late?

Dreams: Hollow's definitely the one waking up early. They're very used to such a schedule and they're most productive in the early morning hours, then they kind of taper off and begin to feel sleepier. Radi, in their eyes, sleeps in late. (That would be till 9.30-10.) She hates it when they do stuff early and wake her up/have her half-awake to follow what is it that they're doing.

Shatter: the reverse, in fact. Hollow likes to actually sleep in: they're a nocturnal creature, going to sleep at dawn, which is when she wakes up. She laments them doing that so much - because how come, they're losing precious hours of together time every day! Aaaand both of them refuse to back down on their positions even by a single hour.

12. Do they have a difficult time when separated from each other, or are they fairly independent?

For both aus: Yes. Dreams' Hollow and both Radis are more obvious about it, unwilling to let each other go out of sight even for a short while, much less days or weeks on end, resorting to manipulative tactics and whatever will work to keep the other close. Shatter Hollow acts independent and very, very proud, ignoring her crying and screaming for them to get back and continuing to distance themself only out of pure stubbornness/spite. Though secretly, they miss her just as much as she misses them and want to hold on to her just as tightly.

[astorichan]

MUSIC TALK

No Salvation - SWARM - the theme song of Shatter and one of the best RadiHollow songs I have :3c

Edge of the Blade - Epica - thank you Lea for reminding me this group exists, tis a Shatterverse Grollow song, one of the best I have for them

Bringing It Down - STARSET - the STARSET brainrot is so real. the scream parts of it are so shatter!Hollow. i dont have anything else to say

Defile - End of the Dream - the way I screamed when I heard "and shatter all our dreams" cannot be described

Supernova - Soul Extract - SCREAMED EVEN MORE ABOUT THIS ONE, grollow ass song

Thank you for the tag! don't have 10 people, sadly, rip, but - no pressure tags: @voidsiblings @slimeshade @stardust-and-vines @bubba-draws

✨️when u get this u have to put 5 songs u actually listen to, publish. Then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool)🎶✨️

1. “World of Your Own” Wonka 2023

2. “Drama” by Aespa

3. “Permission to Dance” by BTS

4. “Feather” by Sabrina Carpenter

5. “Super Shy” by NewJeans

What about you? @beautifulfigment

No pressure tags:

@wallwriterstuff @gh0stsp1d34r @thebearer @little-miss-dilf-lover @bunniesbearsandhobbitadventures @sunflowersteves @mrsmaeharrington

[featherlouise]

Sometimes you just have to enjoy the little things

And sometimes that just so happens to be watching the pretty thing whose mind you’re inside of squirm

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[featherlouise]

RadiHollow AUs are actually one of my favourites because they're either really gutwrenching and well written exploration of a toxic relationship or they're just incredibly fucking funny

Especially if Radi, Hollow and PK survive into the post game and he has to witness The Horrors

PK: ...WHAT THE

FUCK

IT'S SO FUNNY HONESTLY

[featherlouise]

UHM 15 AND 16 FOR PK AND HOLLOW? 😳 (my babygirls)

OOOH OKOK

15. What's your fave ship for this character??

Hollow

Ughhhhh, honestly I'm a multishipper at heart ahdbdjfj. Obv I adore Eóghan and Hollow together, they mean SO much to me honestly, but I don't think I actually have a favourite canon wise???

Radihollow is always fun!! I'm a sucker for enemies for lovers, they're both stupid bastards dynamics. I also ADORE "destined enemies" and "defying fate" kinda tropes, so honestly any iteration of this ship has me by the THROAT.

Ohh I guess I do have a favourite ship for Hollow ahebdnffjnf

PK

WYRMROOT WYRMROOT I LOVE A MAN OBSESSED WITH HIS WIFE. THEY'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS ANF THRY STILL FUCIINH ADORE EACH OTHER FUCK YEA THAT'S THE STUFF

They’re also SO fun to explore bc of how TRAGIC their story is, if you’ve been here a while you KNOW how much I love tragedy. Learning about the downfall of their relationship is like watching a train wreck and it’s impossible to look away.

16. What's your least fave ship??

Hollow

Hmmm, if I were to disregard the obvious gross ones, probably quirrelhollow?? (Is that their ship name)

I don’t really have any particular reasons, it’s just kinda boring to me ig??? I can’t really see them as anything more than friends honestly. That’s honestly just down to personal taste tho, I know I’ve seen some super cute art of them, it’s just not my cuppa tea lmao.

PK

Uhhhhmmmmmmmmm. Ig anything with Radi or Herrah??? I’ve seen it crop up a few times and ooooh boy those two HATE that man what are u talking about abbdjdjd

Oooo Palewatcher is a pretty uninteresting ship for me n all actually, it doesn’t give me the ick or make me mad or anything, but a lot of fics I’ve seen with Lurien as the main romantic interest COMPLETELY disregard WL and my girl deserves more than that!!!