Don't Mind Me While I Borrow This...

Reblog this Pokemon + cat meme for my friend.

Just because I cannot fully appreciate it, doesn't mean she can't.

What is with the Dreamers' Houses?!?! Part 3.7 Lurien's Spire - WHAT is WRONG with Lurien's Office?!?!

Welcome back! Do you remember the last part where I was talking about how Patriotic Lurien was with all the Hallownestian crests?

I was about to leave it off here, until I realized something strange. There are no King’s Idols in Lurien’s Spire. Mr.-Certified-Pale-King-Fanboy has no King’s Idol from which he would worship the Pale King. What kind of fan would not have an idol or picture of his king? Especially in his bedroom!

Again, I was going to leave it even after checking the Hollow Knight wiki. Tumblr/Ao3 artist Aspidike already wrote a whole comic on it after all, so why should I spend time on it?

Looking back on it, I really should have spent more time wondering why Lurien has no King’s Idols to worship the Pale King when HERRAH is shown to be more religious than him. The Spider Queen has a Shrine inside her den while Lurien doesn’t even have a single idol or a chapel!

I only began to look deeper at the lack of King’s Idols in Lurien’s Spire when I realized there is something else missing in the Watcher’s Spire. Take a look at the carpet in Lurien’s Office.

Why does Lurien have purple carpet that completely covers the floor? Even wrapping around the pillars leading up to his Office?  Why when everywhere else in his Spire has RED flooring and Hallownestian seals…

And that’s when it hit me. Not only are there no King’s Idols in Lurien’s Spire, but there is also nothing of the Pale King in Lurien’s Office a.k.a where he lays slumbering.

Look at Lurien’s Office again.

No painting of the Pale King, only that of the City. No massive window of the Hallownest Seal, only open windows.  There are Hallownest Seals on the banners…but no Monarach Wings.

Please, allow me to explain the importance of the lack of Monarch Wings. Take a look down below at the kinds of Hallownest Seals seen across Hallownest.

The above photo is a drawing as I suck at photoshop.

Design 1 or the Seal design is most reminiscent of the Pale King with his Monarch Wings, hence why it will be often referred to as the Monarch’s Seal in this essay.

Design 2 or the Crest design is the most often seen crest design across all of Hallownest. It is the center or base that Designs 1 & 3 form their own designs on. I often take it to mean Hallownest itself versus the Monarch’s Seal which brings to mind the Pale King.

Design 3 is the design, which to my knowledge, is only seen in the City of Tears, especially on the noble’s side of the City. Originally, I called it Plumage Design and pondered whether or not this was an allusion to the Pale King, but now I believe it is a homage to the White Lady. See the comparison down below.

Part of the reason why I am making such a big deal out of the different designs is due to the Medieval heritage the game Hollow Knight draws on. If kings, knights, and keeping your oaths to your lords is greatly important to the game, then having a coat of arms and its impact are not a stretch. We already saw this in Monomon’s portion of the essay when we realized that Monomon was the one in charge of the Teacher’s Archives. Due to the lack of Hallownestian crests (or anything of Hallownest) as well as symbols in the benches being Monomon’s mask, we concluded that the Teacher’s Archives was not part of Hallownest proper, but rather natural territory under Monomon’s direct charge.

Having three different Hallownestain crests is vital. While the standard Design 2 or the Crest design allows one to tell that the messenger is from Hallownest versus the Mosskin, Designs 1 and 3 allow us to tell if the message came from the Pale King or White Lady themselves. The common Hallownestian official might only bear the Crest Design while servants in the White Palace bear Designs 1 & 3. Though I bet the Queen’s gardeners only bore the Plumage Design.

With this in mind, let us turn back to Lurien’s Spire to see which crests he bears throughout.

These are all locations through-out the Watcher’s Spire containing different versions of Hallownestian crests. Now please compare these with that of Lurien’s personal Office and Final Resting Place.

Here is the ONLY Place I found the 1st design or Monarch Seal in Lurien’s Office… If you actually can count it since it’s OUTSIDE his office.

The two places where the Monarach Wings appear in Lurien’s Office are in two locations that are OUTSIDE his office. The first is on the Spire’s wall which is just typical City of Tears architecture while the second winged crest is on the elevator.  AKA, a standard design that is easily removed from the room.

What does this mean for Lurien, the fandom’s Pale King fanboy, with nothing of the Pale King inside his office? This is supposed to be Lurien’s personal space where there would be tons of Pale King merch and references. Yet, upon closer examination, not only are there no references to the Pale King, but Lurien went out of his way to hid any references to the White Lady as well! The purple carpet extends all the way down, hiding Design 3 or the White Lady’s crest!

Forget any blacklash from an shocked fandom, the lack of references to the Royal Couple in Lurien’s Office reeks of possible danger for the Watcher. Lurien is the 3rd most powerful bug in Hallownest, right underneath the Pale King and White Lady. Such massive influence needs to be massively watched and carefully checked to ensure that the Watcher doesn’t use that power against the Royal Couple. Yet the Watcher, in his own personal office, does not have any direct reference to either of them.

We do not know how the Royal Couple would feel that Lurien went out of his way to not show any direct alliegance in his private workspace and room. 

Now, I already know what you are thinking. Lurien’s canon dialogue in the Dream Realm. “For King Beloved…to sleep and serve…” It seems as if all of his dialogue is suggesting the exact opposite picture of Lurien’s Office, that he put the Pale King above everything…but the Pale King isn’t the only reason why he became a Dreamer. To quote Lurien’s last journel entry:

“Sleep beckons eternal and these words become my last. Though my gaze shall no longer fall upon this city, I will act forever in its protection. For King, for bug, for Hallownest, I head now to my rest.”

Lurien is a poet. 2)  His actions are for the forever protection of his City. 3) Lurien’s reasons for acting are not solely for the Pale King, but for bug and Hallownest. This is important as it shows Lurien separates Hallownest from the Pale King in his mind.

While Lurien DID say “For King Beloved”, there is nothing of Pale King inside Lurien’s personal Office. It seems like the care Lurien had for the Pale King was like the love Americans have for their flag, unwilling to let the flag touch the ground…but not going so far to have the flag inside their bedrooms…unless the love for the flag goes beyond patriotism to nationalism.

Finally, what does this lack of crests mean for Lurien’s character? I am afraid that I will have to dive into symbolism to explain as a certain Watcher doesn’t have much dialogue.

The lack of Monarch crest on the banners shows how Lurien always put Hallownest first, not the Pale King’s interests.  Lurien could have snuck in one of the bigger banners with the Monarch crests, but chose the smaller banner with Design 2 to hang instead. Symbolically, this shows how Lurien’s heart with the kingdom first.

The lack of the Plumage Crests was brought about by Lurien redoing the floors, turning the red floor to purple carpet. As seen before in previous essays, the color red is associated with the nobles and the majority of the Plumage Crests are seen on the noble’s side of the City. Meanwhile, the color purple is primarily seen in Lurien’s Spire AKA Lurien’s color. Just as purple takes from both red and blue to rise to higher wisdom, inspiration, and humility, so Lurien rises above the roots to see a bird’s eye view of the whole culture of Hallownest, not just the nobles who grow (pun intended) from the White Lady.

The open windows has its own symbolism as Team Cherry could have given Lurien’s Office those magnificent Monarch crest windows. Instead, they chose to not just have no seal, but almost no window. Practically, this means Lurien can easily reposition his telescope anywhere so he can see everywhere in the City. But what about symbolism? The answer is that Lurien can see everything CLEARLY and without basis. He sees what is truly there, not what the Pale King wants him to see or expects him to see. Lurien isn’t even plagued by his own personal weakness or anger that could cause the glass to fog up. He can SEE.

Yes, Monomon. You can stop listing all the things wrong with the City. Lurien already has your list and THEN some. 

Here we are at the end of this section and I cannot believe that CAREPT of all things would reveal how Lurien's loyalty is to Hallownest first, not the Pale King.

If you wish to read more of the Essay, click one of these links below.

Part 1.0: Herrah's Den : Here

Part 2.0: Monomon's Archives: Here

Part 3.0: Lurien's Spire: Here

Part 3.25: Lurien's Spire: Windows and Colors: Here

Part 3.5: Even More of Lurien's Spire. Here

Part 3.7: What is WRONG with Lurien's Spire? (You are here)

Part 3.8: Even, even More of Lurien's Spire: Secret Room: Click here

Part 3.9 Watcher Knight Boss Room! Here

Part 4.0 What We Know We Don't Know About the Dreamers' Houses: Click Here

Link to essay on Ao3: Here

If you have thoughts you wish to share, please feel free to comment or reblog! Especially with the above observation!

So That's how you beat me...

Training against Pure Vessel in Godhome and the buggo has figured out a way to consistently defeat me.

Sit on me.

As in Slam-Dunk on top of me. Or jump across the area so far that PV gets me after I dash away.

Just as bad as Hornet choosing to run or walk into me. Thanks PV.

The Mice at Work, Threading the Needle painted by Beatrix Potter (1866 - 1943)

What is included is authors noticing someone who has left kudos on a fanfic, but that doesn't comment until five chapters later. THANK YOU TO THAT PERSON FOR LETTING ME KNOW YOU ARE STILL READING!!!

AO3 Comments are SO SO SOOOOOOO important because you can only leave Kudos ONCE. You add to the hit count ONCE (every 24 hours).

So whenever someone updates their fic, the ONLY way an author knows who their regular readers are is if they comment on each chapter. And we WANT to know who's still reading.

Believe it or not, some of us think about the name that pops up constantly in the comments and go "omg I can't wait to see what they think of THIS SPECIFIC SCENE cuz I KNOW they'll say something about it!!!"

Check out this cool artist!

Pokemon Challenge 2024! Faunber family.

Find the rest of the Te'Roa set in my master post!

What Should I do? Post Everything or Separate?

For Future reference,

List of unique and imaginative types of government that can add depth to your fantasy world:

1. Gerontocracy

A government ruled by the elderly. Wisdom and experience are highly valued, and the oldest members of society hold the most power.

2. Stratocracy

A government led by military leaders. The state and the military are closely intertwined, and military service is often a prerequisite for leadership.

3. Timocracy

A government where only property owners or those with a certain level of wealth can participate in governance. The idea is that those with a stake in the land will govern it wisely.

4. Gynarchy

A society governed by women. Leadership roles are exclusively or predominantly held by females.

5. Noocracy

A government ruled by the wise or intellectuals. Decisions are made based on knowledge, wisdom, and rational thought.

6. Kleptocracy

A corrupt government where leaders exploit national resources and steal; rule by thieves. This often leads to widespread corruption and inequality.

7. Cyberocracy

A futuristic government where information technology and artificial intelligence play a central role in governance. Decisions are made based on data and algorithms.

8. Hologarchy

A decentralized government where power is distributed equally among all members of society. There is no central authority, and decisions are made collectively.

9. Ecocracy

A government that prioritizes ecological and environmental concerns above all else. Policies are designed to protect and sustain the natural world.

10. Psionocracy

A government ruled by individuals with psychic or mental powers. Leadership is determined by one's mental abilities and control over psychic forces.

11. Syndicracy

A government run by syndicates or groups of people with common interests, such as trade unions or professional associations. Power is distributed among various syndicates.

12. Cryptocracy

A secretive government where the true rulers are hidden from the public. The real power lies with a shadowy group that operates behind the scenes.

13. Technomancy

A blend of technology and magic, where the government is ruled by technomancers who use both technological and magical means to govern.

14. Animocracy

A government where animals or animal spirits play a central role in decision-making. This could involve druids or shamans who communicate with animal spirits.

15. Necrocracy

A government where the dead or undead hold power. This could involve necromancers who use their control over the dead to maintain order.

16. Elementocracy

A government where rulers are chosen based on their mastery of elemental forces (earth, water, fire, air). Each element might have its own representative or leader.

17. Dreamocracy

A society governed by those who can control or influence dreams. Decisions might be made in a dream realm, affecting the waking world.

18. Symbiocracy

A government where humans and another species (like elves, dwarves, or even sentient plants) share power equally. Cooperation and mutual benefit are key.

19. Chronocracy

A government where time manipulation is central. Leaders might be time travelers or have the ability to foresee future events and make decisions accordingly.

20. Shadow Council

A secretive group that rules from the shadows, with their identities unknown to the public. They might use spies and covert operations to maintain control.

21. Guildocracy

A government run by various guilds, each representing different trades or professions. Power is distributed among the guild leaders.

22. Arcane Senate

A council of powerful mages who govern based on their magical prowess and knowledge. Each member might represent a different school of magic.

23. Beastocracy

A society where intelligent beasts or mythical creatures hold power. This could include dragons, griffins, or other fantastical beings.

24. Celestocracy

A government ruled by celestial beings or those who claim divine right from the stars. Astrology and celestial events might influence decisions.

25. Labyrinthine Council

A government where the ruling council resides in a vast, ever-changing labyrinth. Only those who can navigate the maze can reach the leaders.

26. Mirrorocracy

A society where decisions are made by reflections or alternate versions of the leaders from parallel dimensions. This could involve magical mirrors or portals.

27. Puppetocracy

A government where the rulers are figureheads controlled by unseen puppet masters. The true power lies with those pulling the strings.

28. Songocracy

A society where music and song are central to governance. Leaders might be chosen based on their musical abilities, and laws are sung rather than written.

29. Crystal Dominion

A government where rulers derive their power from magical crystals. These crystals might grant various abilities or influence the land.

30. Ethereocracy

A government where spirits or ethereal beings hold sway. This could involve ghosts, ancestral spirits, or other supernatural entities.

31. Mercantocracy

A government ruled by merchants and traders. Economic policies are designed to maximize trade and commerce, with leaders often being the wealthiest traders.

32. Coinclave

A council of bankers and financiers who control the economy. Decisions are made to ensure financial stability and growth, with a focus on banking and investments.

33. Tradeguild Dominion

A realm where powerful trade guilds hold sway. Each guild represents a different industry, and they work together to regulate trade and industry standards.

34. Barterocracy

A society where barter and trade are the primary means of exchange. Leaders are chosen based on their ability to negotiate and manage resources effectively.

35. Resource Syndicate

A government where control is based on the management of natural resources. Leaders are experts in mining, agriculture, and resource distribution.

36. Artisan Assembly

A government led by master craftsmen and artisans. Economic policies focus on the production and trade of high-quality goods and craftsmanship.

37. Agrarian Council

A society governed by those who control agricultural production. Policies are centered around farming, food distribution, and sustainable agriculture.

38. Guilded Senate

A ruling body composed of representatives from various economic guilds. Each guild has a say in the governance based on their economic contributions.

39. Commodocracy

A government where power is based on the control of key commodities, such as gold, spices, or magical resources. Leaders are those who control these valuable goods.

40. Marketocracy

A society where the free market dictates governance. Leaders are chosen based on their success in the marketplace, and economic freedom is highly valued.

41. Tradewind Dominion

A government where trade routes and shipping lanes are the lifeblood of the economy. Leaders are often powerful ship captains or trade route managers.

42. Coincouncil

A council of wealthy individuals who use their resources to influence governance. Economic policies are designed to benefit the wealthy elite.

43. Craftocracy

A government where skilled artisans and craftsmen hold power. The economy is driven by the production and trade of artisanal goods.

44. Miner’s Syndicate

A society governed by those who control mining operations. Economic policies focus on the extraction and trade of minerals and precious metals.

45. Spice Dominion

A government where control of rare and valuable spices dictates power. Leaders are those who manage spice production and trade.

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The fact that there could be WAYYY more wild Snviys than we think because they can camouflage in the Pokemon World is an amazing fact.

Okay, this could actually make sense. Also explains how the White Lady could know everything going on in Hallownest.

Alright, here me out...

What if the White Lady is a fungus?

(also have this old artwork I never posted)