Two kindly bugs

Lie resting in grottos of their own

Their blessings, an aid

They ease passage

To the hiding place

Of Great Beings

And their boons

My dreams told me to make this very specific piece for a friend, and who am I to defy the whims of the Radiance?

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Unn is best

Unpopular Take on Radiance

Spoiler warning for Hollow knight game.

I don’t think she’s the god of dreams. She’s the god of the old light and the moths. Nowhere in the game that I can find(and I have a lot of hours) is she called the god of dreams. Even in Godhome she is only called the “forgotten god of light.” If she anything, she is the god of the sun. When you start the fight with her, she is literally the sun in the sky.

I think the dream realm works kind of like the physical realm. Each god has a territory they lay claim to. The size depends on how many followers they have, which also effects their power level. For a physical god though, the dream realm wouldn’t be as important to them compared to a god whose entire being is within the dream realm.

In the game it is said that Radiance is ‘a higher being of light similar to essence,’ but she isn’t the only higher being of light, and all gods in the game have essence. The Pale King and White Lady both have white essence. His can be seen in the White Palace dream, his dream. Her’s can be seen in god home. Much like Unn’s whose green essence is floating all around her area in the pantheon. The nightmare heart has red essence. Even what’s left of the lifeblood god in the abyss has blue essence. I think essence is a trait of all higher beings of light, life, and memories.

Mini theory: I also believe that Pure Vessel has a form of essence. In their arena in Godhome, the particles floating in the air, some of its soul, some void, then there are the circles. The empty circles, almost like the dreamcatchers of essence, but with the inside gone. As if it was hollowed out… mini theory over.

But every dream you enter is hers! Yes, because she’s invading the dreams of all bugs. The reason the Hollow Knight plan was created in the first place. The plan that failed, allowing her to continue invading dreams. In fact, it’s stated in the slobbering husks journal entry, that ‘the harder you struggles against it, the more it consumed you.’ The bugs tried to repress her dream, so the dream manifested as the infection. She was set on invading every dream she could, one that she succeeded at by the time the game starts. Thus every dream you enter, is hers. She’s not the god of dreams, she just won the invasion and claimed all the territory. Plus, the tool you use to get into all dreams, is a tool created by the moths while they were still following her. It makes sense that the dream nail was made with her power, so everything it touches, has a little of her influence, her essence.

What of the moths influence over the dream realm? For whatever reason, Radiance lacks a physical from, so if she wanted to interact with her moths they would have to be able to enter her dream. Maybe that’s even why the dream nail was created. The moth tribe seems to have a lot of control over the dream realm, maybe because their possessive god preferred to keep them close. In fact, I believe that she may have tried her best to keep them in her dream almost completely. The moth tribes architecture suggests minimal interactions with the real world. And how they all seemingly abandoned her at once, suggests to me that they all realized at once that she wasn’t that great. Maybe she forcibly held them in the dream realm. If they were there most of the time, they would have a lot of influence and knowledge of the realm.

Like how the dream realm split long ago into nightmares. But it doesn’t say the split happened from Radiance’s dream, but the dream realm in general. Suggesting that higher beings come in two forms, benevolent dreams and malevolent nightmares. A culture that mostly resides in the dream realm, would be aware of the nightmare realm, a realm that might pose a serious threat to them. I don’t think the nightmare heart is Radiance sibling. I’m not even convinced that it has anything to do with her at all. It feeds off of the dying flames of a fallen civilization, that’s why its there. I’m not even convinced that the nightmare heart is THE god of nightmares, but A god of nightmares. But that’s a theory for another post.

If she was the god of dreams, then how could she have been forgotten? If she was the god of dreams, every bug in Hallownest would have entered her realm every time they sleep. It would have been impossible to forget her for this reason alone. But it is never mentioned that the bugs of Hallownest knew of her until after she started invading their dreams. She was only known to the moths until they abandoned her. If she was the god of dreams, that would throw SO many wrenches into the mosskin lore. The mosskin were created by Unn’s dream. But if Radiance is the god of dreams, how would that work? Do they classify as her people too? Did Unn take out a loan on the dream realm to make her people? If she was the god of dreams, why would she allow the Pale King to create a dream? A dream that he would have made while her infection was running rampant.

But what of the void being her ancient enemy? I think it’s her ancient enemy because she’s been in the area the longest. Or maybe because it consumed her real sibling and she thinks it’s trying to get her too? Which is a fair belief, but I think it’s because the void doesn’t like any higher being of light, or light in general. It somehow convinced the lighthouse keeper to turn off the light. Then took that chance to wrap its tendrils into the kingsmold armor in the palace grounds. Invaded the Pale Kings dreams, yet left all the people within and even the dream itself alone. Instead went straight for the throne room, melted all his void guards, and killed him. Filling the room that should be the brightest, and left void particles floating after it was done with him. The void even strikes out at vessels, because even though they are mostly void, they are still the offspring of two beings of light.

Mini hypothesis: What if all the giant bug bodies were other gods that came to the area? What if they all fell to the void? Hypothesis over.

TLDR: no where in the game is Radiance called the god of dreams. She just took over all the dreams because the Hollow Knight plan that was to stop her from doing this, failed. Her being the god of dreams doesn’t fit with other parts of the game lore including Unn’s mosskin, the Pale King’s white palace dream, and the essence of the other gods. She is just the spite filled old light and the creator of moths. Or in another mini theory, possible the godly embodiment of the sun itself, which might explain why the world of Hallownest lacks a sun.

Felt very silly today

Feel free to save these or whatever

↓ Explanation for the Quirrel one

Thinking about the moss knight gazing out across the lake of Unn

Sleeping Goddess of the Moss.

Day 3 of hollow knight art month: GREENPATH

i should like to be like the sun, i think, said the caterpillar.

and the slug burbled

oh, yes, it's warm and helps the plants grow! that sounds wonderful.

yes, said the caterpillar. and when i morph, i'll have wings, too, so i may float in the sky to see everything.

i'm glad; that sounds utterly radiant, dear friend. but will i see you often still, sun-wings? gliding by the verdant wilderness?

of course. i'll never leave you behind.

Live Unn Reaction

2 3

Higher Beings (part 2)

part 1

some moss knight sketches, done in ballpoint pen

(and oh my goodness excuse the quality, tumblr seems to have absolutely destroyed it this time—tap on it if you wish :)))

more hollow knight gijinka's hooray(? ඞා

Connecting to Unn

[collab with @fly-sky-high-bug-games - they did the lineart, and i colored]

oh look they're communicating (I had fun with the little scribbles on Pale king and Radiance HDHAH)