To Bind Our Echoes That We May Be Whole

The apocalypse has come and gone, and against all odds, Pharloom remains standing. The time has come for Hornet to return to Hallownest, accompanied by friends and allies: Shakra hopes to explore the mythical land beyond the wastes, and properly lay to rest a member of her own tribe; Lace fears unraveling without the aid of a Weaver, while contending with the immensity of a future free of her mother’s threads; and the Green Prince lives only only to spite the Citadel, passively seeking a more honorable end than might be found in the rubble of his homeland. Meanwhile, Hornet returns from Pharloom with magic and knowledge that might aid in the slow recovery of Hallownest and Deepnest–and perhaps offer the chance to call home the sibling she once thought lost to her forever.

Chapter 9: Trust Treads the Line Between Wisdom and Folly

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We're just gonna... detour away from whatever conversation the Green Prince is having with the Mantis Lord. Don't worry, it's a secret tool that'll help us later. Instead, we get a conversation between Hornet and Vise about the distance between gods and mortals.

My beta readers were MVPs this chapter (and every chapter). I just wholesale cribbed how @sandflakedraws portrays playing a harp in their webcomic, The Touch of Sunlight. And if you're wondering what's going on with Hollow's cloak in the flashback sequences, snowleopardferret made a diagram over on Bluesky about proper vessel care and husbandry.

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Hollow Knight Fanart Masterpost

Transcript:

I really just have to summarize Thomas's entire life:

He was in a committed relationship with a male swan named Henry for 18-24 years before a female swan named Henrietta showed up and mated with Henry.

Thomas was initially jealous of the pair and attacked them, breaking 2 of the 5 eggs Henrietta had laid. However, once the remaining eggs hatched, Thomas warmed up to them and helped raise them.

Henry couldn't fly because of an injured wing, so Thomas taught the cygnets how to fly.

When they needed to reduce the goose population in the pond where Thomas and the swans lived, they dyed Thomas's feathers red so he wouldn't be separated from Henry.

Henry, Henrietta, and Thomas remained in their happy throuple for years and raised 68 cygnets before Henry died in 2009. After Henry's death, Henrietta found another swan and flew away, leaving Thomas alone.

Thomas finally met and mated with a female goose in 2011 and had his own babies. However, another goose named George stole them and raised them himself.

As Thomas grew elderly and blind, he was relocated to a wildlife center where he raised orphaned cygnets.

His caretaker at the center described him as "pretty high maintenance."

Thomas died in 2018 at the age of around 40. He had a funeral that included a small coffin and a procession that was led by a bagpiper. He was buried under the stone where Henry was buried, the two finally reunited in death.

AU! Everything is good and well

Meeting the mothers. Part 1

do you know how much shit you have to go through in act III just to save that stupid fucking piece of cloth. to beat even just act II you have to fucking sit through their homoerotic ass banter. its one of the first few actual things that happens in the game. Hollow knight “fans” DONT READ THE FCUKING DIALOGUE

this shit. is so gay.