Does Anyone Else Do This Because This Happens To Me With All Of My Favorite Games For Some Reason

The Pale King and The Radiance have so many parallels oh my God-

You don't get it the more I think about it the more these two are literally the same goddamn character in different circumstances and I'm about to list the reasons I know this.

1. Light

Ok let's get the obvious out of the way. Both the Pale King and The Radiance are described as "a light" by the seer, which already implies a connection. (Terms like The Old Light for Radiance and Beacon for Pale King allude to this as well) This could be a physical thing, but it also alludes to the type of power these two hold: both of them are capable of affecting bugs' consciousness.

The Pale King gave them sentience and The Radiance made the Infection. It's unknown whether the Moth Tribe had sentience before the Pale King but considering they were able to harness Essence for themselves it seems likely. Either way the Radiance probably gave them some kind of consciousness before the Pale King showed up.

2. "No Cost Too Great"

Ok so PK may have been the one to say the famous line but it 100% applies to The Radiance as well. Her one motivation is to be remembered, presumably out of self-preservation. To accomplish this she entered bugs' dreams and placed them under a hivemind. Not something we'd call ethical, but hey, neither is killing thousands of your own children to find one with no mind and seal it in a temple.

If we interpret Pale King's intentions as wanting to preserve his kingdom as opposed to keeping more bugs from being infected then he also falls into a similar mentality.

Hollow Knight's biggest theme in general is "all things must come to an end eventually", and The Radiance and the Pale King both cause suffering trying to counter that. One wanting to preserve her memory, the other his kingdom.

3. Overanalyzing their designs

The fuckin horn thingies

Both of these headpieces look like crowns for obvious reasons, but The Radiance's "crown" is a lot smaller, alluding to her status as a fallen deity. (This doesn't mean anything in-universe since thanks to the statue in Crystal Peaks we know she always looked like this, but it's an interesting design choice)

If you wanna look deeper the colors between their eyes and face are inverted

PK gives bugs a mind. Radiance takes it away. They have the same goal and the same power but do the exact opposite. So while PK has a lighter face and darker eyes Radi has a darker face and lighter eyes. This is something they share with the bugs whose minds they've altered; conscious bugs have dark eyes while infected bugs have orange pupils.

I know these details were probably not that deep upon conception but on the off chance they were I wanted to bring them up because they cool.

Anyway in conclusion we have

Similar mind powers

Similar symbolism

Similar desires

Similar "ends justify the means" mentality

We don't get much in the way of actual characterization since we only get like 4 lines out of each of them but their motives and actions seem too similar to not notice.

My personal hc about the Sanctums - both this and Stone one, is that they used to be hospitals. I also think snails' mounds were also some kind of clinics but not nearly as large. With Soul Sanctum, I think it was also some kind of medical university, mostly regarding the uses of the soul (hence the name), which requires to it to be not only a healing item but also a weapon to help fighting off harmful microorganisms.

The Soul Master. Well, firstly, I hc him to be a brother to Sprint Master and Dash Master. During his youth he's been called Jump Master. I also hc No-Eyes to be their sister, called Float Master. Don't think those were their actual names, though. I hc that they were all children of the Stone Sanctum leader, who tended to those coming through the Pilgrim Way - a pretty dangerous place for most Hallownest bugs. No-Eyes inherited it because she was the eldest and most skilled - mentally and physically.

The future Soul Master went to the capital, hoping to achieve even greater things at a Soul Sanctum. Which he did. He quickly became the star student, capturing the attention of the current leader, who later made him his right hand. Since that leader didn't have any heirs - non of their children ever showed interest in medicine, it wasn't too hard for SM to take the place of a leader after their retirement.

I personally hc SM to be not too bad of a person before the Infection. I imagine him to be very ambitious, slightly pomptious and arrogant, but also sincerelly caring towards the patients, of both - higher and lower birth. I hc him, Monomon and Lurien to be in a pretty good relationship with one another.

When the infection had stricken he was in a panic. He even begged the King to help him with researches by supplying the Sanctum with more soul, since the King is a pale being. However the Wyrm forsaw the massacre SM will commit without seeing the reasons and asumed this to happen as a result of him oblidging. Not only he denied the SM's request but strictly forbade him to attempt any research regarding the cure and just perform palliative care to all of the infected. That cause SM to start resenting the King. He asumed the only reason of his refusal was the arrogance and jealousy towards the mortal. This resentment only grew worse when his sister has met her tragic demise because of the infection (points at No-Eyes' backstory). The Lurien, as usual, fully supported the King, which really soured the relationship between him and SM. Also I hc that after the whole vessel plan was fullfilled, despite being in peace about the Infection (not for long as we know) SM felt a little insulted that the King didn't even thought to offer him to becomes a Dreamer, but making a Beast of Deepnest to be one (classical bug racism).

I imagine SM becoming the selfish, hubristic, mad scientist we see him as, during the second wave of the infection. The same wave that caused the King to hide and the Kingdom to fall. No longer does he care about the well-being of his patients, especially those of a lower birth. He only uses them as tools to prolong his and his coleagues' existence. And no longer does he care about the infection. He only considers it as another tool, while we know it was entirely other way around.

Soul Sanctum. What are y'all's thoughts, impressions, and/or headcanons about the place and the bugs within?

hello nosk hollow knight community, i give you these I love them so much that i wanted to make stupid jokes about them

Death and I

Day 3. Path

My headcanon! Back in old days, most adventurous Hallownest inhabitants used to hunt albino Alubas for Pale King's palace. Anyway, path = pilgrim's way

Have this phone drawing I finished in the car

do you think hornet would have survivors guilt. yeah she's not a vessel but shes still a child of the pale king and one of the few of millions--possibly billions to have knowingly survived. combine that with the guilt that comes with having to kill(?) the ones who ARE alive because she knows what they'd do. now top that with her feeling the need to take up the role of sentinel to protect her father's legacy, mother's sacrifice, and siblings tomb. uuuough

*: tranquility :*

Hello tumblr. Def not me ruining my sleep schedule just to finish this🥹 I just love them too much y’know sjsjjsj

Also alt ver under cut! (It’s kinda ugly..brrr)

HOLLOW KNIGHT SPLASHARTS

(old drawings - reposts) 2021/2022