A spell has made the Hollow Knight's emotions much too intense to hide or ignore anymore. What's a vessel to do? Why, make sure their failure doesn't screw over their people of course.
Ask Impure Vessel is a prose-based character askblog where people can communicate with Vessel, the one Pale King pulled from the Abyss. Unfortunately, a magical accident has left them unable to hide that they are far from the purely unfeeling being the king hoped for-and far too late to raise another vessel for it. The king removes some-but not all of the knight's bindings, dubbing them the Hallowed Knight and giving them free movement around the kingdom as all begin the race to find a new solution to the infection.
You can find the blog here
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The archive in (mostly) chronological order here.
There is also a Discord server where the creator sometime roleplays as Vessel in non-canon situations.
Ask Impure Vessel contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: While the Pale King is shown to be a major source of abuse, the story early on is careful to show that he wasn't the only one and that the White Lady wasn't innocent either of mistreating the Vessel. She shows active disdain for Vessel.
- Adaptation Expansion: The bugs that worship the darkness include elders among the mantis tribe-and the nursemaid to the Traitor Lord's child.
- The brother Mantis Lord had legitimate reasons for hating the ruler of Hallownest-as does the Radiance, if his argument with his daughter is anything to go by.
- And I Must Scream: When Vessel passes out after the battle with the mantis lords, they are treated to the agony they'd experience as the Hollow Knight.
- Audience Surrogate: "``Quirrel is friend-shaped!``" Quirrel has been used as a voice of reason in a few season, being the Straight Man and man of science in a world of gods and curses.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Vessel had to hold back some of their spells for Quirrel's safety in a fight.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Quirrel and Vessel.
- Badass Bookworm: Quirrel. To the point that the Mantis Tribe respects him. Moreso after he and Vessel defeat all four mantis lords in ritual combat.
- Barrier Maiden: A non-binary version, if aborted before the barrier could be implemented.
- Be All My Sins Remembered: The Pale King fully knows what he has done and deeply regrets them. He mentions that he is aware that Hornet will hate him someday and that it is "better this way." He expects Vessel to hate him someday as well, for what he has done to them.
- BFS: Vessel's greatnail, which they hold in a Reverse Grip to compensate for their ridiculous height.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Quirrel and Vessel, Pale King and Vessel.
- Black-and-Grey Morality: Both the Pale King and the Radiance have their reasons for fighting and committed horrifying atrocities to get what they thought they wanted or were owed. Meanwhile, Quirrel and Vessel are genuinely decent people with a drive to help people.
- Break the Haughty: The Pale King is humbled by both the discovery that Vessel is not pure and Grimm having to break Vessel out of the hellish torture they were locked into. Grimm forces Wyrm's hand into a deal and warns him the wrong choices will damn two people. He doesn't say which choices.
- Broken Ace: On the outside, everything for Vessel looks fine. On the inside, they're a ball of anxiety and guilt that they couldn't live up to a frankly impossible standard-they are, however deciding to carry on while trained to a hair as a knight and powerful combat magic user.
- Chaste Hero: Vessel is a (probably) sexless being who cannot meaningfully consent for obvious reasons to a romantic relationship, though the creator notes that someday that might change. Just not any time soon.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Vessel is quite used to some odd sights and behaviors from people around them that unnerve others or that others might find offensive, partly due to their training to become a Barrier Maiden.
- Dark Fic: Oh yeah.
- Death Seeker: The Pale King. He doesn't take care of himself and works himself to the bone, only holding on to life for the sake of his child.
- Deal with the Devil: The Troupe Master offers one to the Pale King, which the Pale King takes, knowing it'll damn him. He's counting on it.
- Vessel accepting becoming the Void Given Focus and the power of the Lord of Shades probably counts as this.
- Dirty Coward: The Pale King.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The Troupe Master is disgusted by the Pale King's actions; he states that he dislikes those who harm children.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: The Nightmare King and Troupe Master Grimm are fully aware of the askers and interfered on the knight's behalf (and the story's) a number of times, even speaking to the audience directly.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: The reason why the Hollow Knight couldn't hide well... that they weren't even remotely hollow anymore.
- Hyperspace Mallet: The Pale King has a weapon he can summon-and does when the Vessel gets distracted and stops following orders.
- Love Hurts: Despite having very conflicting feelings about their father and acknowledging that their father is cruel, that he has harmed and allowed harm to come to them, Vessel still loves their father.
- Mad Scientist: Monomon the Teacher has shades of this. She seems more socially awkward than malevolent, but she is very odd and eccentric.
- Martial Pacifist: Vessel does not actually like to fight, but does so out of necessity.
- Meaningful Name: The main named worshipper of the darkness is named Layla... which means darkness.
- Mind Rape: And how.
- More than Mind Control: The Pale King's control over the Vessel is a combination of abusive conditioning, magic and emotional attachments.
- Player Nudge: When someone tried to aim Vessel at Lost Kin, the Nightmare King Grimm interfered, covering up the location given and writing a response directly to the asker. "You think you're so clever"
- Pet the Dog: Quirrel pats the heads of the rescued vessel children who approach him.
- Reverse Grip: How Vessel holds their greatnail.
- Royally Screwed Up: The king, queen and their child all have severe issues.
- Servile Snarker: Despite not being comfortable with expressing their opinion, Vessel has expressed a catty or sarcastic opinion a number of times about their parents. They particularly expressed disappointment with the White Lady.
- The Smart Guy: Quirrel, who the Pale King acknowledges "as a scientist."
- Socially Awkward Hero: Vessel is a mute ball of anxiety who can barely write, only kind of read and is a traumatized teenager. They might be a trained knight, but they are also still very unsocialized due to their abusive upbringing.
- So Proud of You: The Pale King tells Vessel this after Grimm rescues them from being infected.
- Spared by the Adaptation: The Traitor Lord's Child, Layla seems to have survived for now, with foreshadowing that she will be reunited with her lover, Ze'mer rather than the sad end of canon.
- Tiger by the Tail: The Pale King believes that he has gone too far to ever be forgiven for what he has done for his kingdom, so it's no use asking for any sort of redemption or forgiveness. If he had stopped, he believed that everyone would die. At least with a seal, the Radiance wouldn't enslave everyone.
- Training from Hell: Vessel describes their father a few ways, including a most cruel taskmaster.
- Troubled Abuser: The Pale King clearly regrets his actions and he seems traumatized by what happened in the Abyss and pained by what he has done to Vessel, but he has a hard time letting go of his child. He might legitimately love his child, but he still didn't release Vessel from his control or ownership completely.
