!!!

does anyone wanna give me a hug like a really big hug like a really tight hug at least a minute a hug like a bit of a hug does anyone wanna hug me

i caved

A Vessel who managed to survive the initial fall into the Abyss, escaping into and wandering around Deepnest where they eventually reached the Queen's Gardens via a Stag tunnel, stealing from the corpses of traitor Mantises.

Born partially armless, though a pre-Gardens accident fractured their mask and shell, causing the void-weeping shown in their later form. On how they lived long enough to reach said form, I'm not sure if vessels actually need to eat--if they do at all it would probably be something like consuming soul or possibly void, rather than solid living material, and either way there's enough food in Hallownest if you're willing to kill for it.

July 8th: Mushie for @froggoexists

he sounds ok

Hive Awakening

so I wrote hive knight fanfiction

(Under the cut, it’s relatively short but I still like it enough to post, takes place post-Embrace the Void)

The Old Light... was fading.

My Queen.

She stood there at a kingdom’s heart, arms crossed in eternal rest. Stood, watching over her beloved Hive just as she had been since...

She had been there for far too long. Uncountable days, him staring up at her in wonder, him reporting whatever notable feat had been accomplished (of which there weren't many, the bees were tense and more restless than ever, though the stasis Hallownest has fallen into in recent times impacted even the ones who wished separation from it), holding one claw raised in a salute as if nothing had changed, him resting by her side and wondering when her dreamless sleep would end...

But the golden heresy seeping into the corners of his mind and vision had left him.

And his thoughts were only his own again, whispers of forgotten light gone now and forever, and he'd had to admit it. The Queen... Queen Vespa, the one he had waited to protect for so long, it was all for nothing, for she was dead. 

Some part of him knew. The same part that had already given up. But he wouldn't, not when he and his kin were dependent on her return. Not when there was a threat to their colony, a pale little wanderer bearing a silvered nail…

He hadn't heard from it in some time. It held no significance now.

With her unmoving form revealed a corpse, the Knight of the Hive couldn't bring himself to stay any longer. It'd be some form of torture, keeping the reminder of his failure fresh in his mind.

He needed to leave.

How could he? That would be the most selfish thing he'd ever done, leaving the Hive in disarray without their most skilled knight to figure out what in the Queen's name they were supposed to do now. He was her protector, though almost equally her second-hand. Every worker had their own part to play in keeping their Hive strong (though it was easy enough to hide from a citizen of Hallownest, it was obvious to those who shared his blood that his duty was not one of a drone), and the Hivelings were content with carrying out short tasks while the rank of a Soldier or Guardian called for their unwavering loyalty, defense for their weaker kin. The Hive Knight was Queen Vespa's closest thing to a diplomat. He wasn't occupied with anything other than the promise of cutting down any foe who'd dare to hurt their dear Queen, leaving him free to be granted the highest honor of the more important work, that which concerned Vespa herself.

The thought of him now being...possibly the most important living bee in the Hive by any standard at all was one that hurt almost physically, seemed to leave a pain in his thorax to wonder, considering what he had to lose.

The most important...

Queen Vespa could produce no more heirs, a fact that should go without saying as of her status. New adults were emerging slower than ever, and the number of eggs was gradually dwindling as more were raised to replace them.

A Queen, in her youth, is no different than a worker. A royal diet is all she needs.

If the Hive were to survive, a new queen must save them.

The Knight sat up. He offered one last, pained and prolonged goodbye to the Queen he'd been willing to lay down his life for.

It had been a while since he'd left her chamber. Longer than usual by...what must've been a few days, a few weeks even, he couldn't judge. The warmth and droning buzz of his sisters' wings comforted him, calmed his tumultuous mind. A Hiveling quickly accompanied him, brushing her soft setae against his own, smelling of honey and... and lacking something else.

The orange haze seemed to have lifted.

The radiant sickly-sweetness of Hallownest's blight no longer bombarded his senses upon his departure from the Heart of the Hive, leaving only traces of what once was.

He whispered a command to the Hiveling, who drew her antennae down in a brief nod, before taking off.

Perhaps the Hive would be alright without him.

Perhaps, he would wander. He would return to serve the new Queen, wouldn't he? The Knight's allegiance lasted longer than the reign of one ruler.

Perhaps Vespa was wrong, and the Hive would not be killed so quickly.

hey! in the midst of all this, spreading this information could potentially save LOTS of folks out there in protest! it costs Absolutely NOTHING to share. the original thread is on Twitter by strwbrrymew. the link to the thread is here, it contains more important information to note, including a video about how to do a proper eye flush should someone be teargassed.

ye

so apparently some people feel like it’s annoying when someone engages with a lot of stuff from the same person, like going through their ship tag and liking all the content there. 

hearing about this, i was immediately paranoid about reblogging literally anything from anyone i don’t talk to on a regular basis.

so to save others from the same paranoia, i’m gonna say that if you like every single post on my goddamn blog it is okay. i might be kind of concerned about your level of time management, going through 23,000 posts, but it wouldn’t bother me. 

It started off as a joke, I doodled it so I wouldn't forget, then I wanted to elaborate on their designs a bit so I spent like six hours doing that, and finally I decided some parts looked too blank so I spent another >6 hours with that: My characters Carmine and Kalanchoe as Runaway to the Stars aliens (species of @jayrockin !!)