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Bellhart was like a tyrant to me in two ways: it announced itself with corpses on display, and it has occupied my thoughts ever since.
Even now, I'm tempted to start over just to replay the Bellhart-Widow section. Nothing hits harder than the Weaver who orchestrated it, whom I also liken to a tyrant because I want her to dominate me.
What made Widow so unforgettable, to me, was her uniquely predatory nature. She wasn’t lecherous but was certainly starved, desperate, and gleeful about being so. I started drawing her constantly. But Hornet doodles kept popping up on the sides. And then in their fights. And then a little closer.
It would be easy—and reasonable—to dismiss them as a ship. Hornet and Widow spend maybe three minutes together. It seems like there’s just not enough material to build from.
And yet.
During her battle, Widow has Needolin dialogue including the phrase: “Eternity... Alone...”. Alone is a good word for it. Widow lives in a deserted bell shrine littered with corpses—one of which she uses as a seat to play the harp upon, quirky image. Where the other Weavers have long since abandoned Pharloom, Widow remains behind, socially associated only with ghosts.
Yet her position among the first Weavers grants her something Hornet lacks: knowledge. Because of her obsession with Grand Mother Silk, Widow is deeply connected to the ancient history of Pharloom, the bell shrines, the haunting. She understands a past that predates Hornet's birth.
At the same time, Widow is almost entirely detached from the present, having locked herself away spending untold years devoted to a single purpose.
Hornet is the opposite.
Although Hornet is biologically tied to the Weavers, most of her life was spent in Hallownest during a period when the Weaver civilization had already collapsed. But, unlike Widow, Hornet actively traverses Pharloom, moving through the world rather than hiding from it.
What I’m interested in is the crossroads of their knowledge—what they share and lack, and how they can share what the other lacks. Basically it’s a teacher kink thing.
Widow can teach Hornet about their origins. Hornet can teach Widow about continuing from those origins. Effectively, Widow represents the past and Hornet represents the present.
And their connection points towards the future.
When Hornet binds Widow's Weaver abilities, their futures become intertwined. Widow's knowledge doesn’t have to remain sealed in a forgotten shrine because Hornet decides to carry part of it forwards with her.
* * *
In Haunted Bellhart, Widow suspends bugs above the town, forcing them into a trance-like, immobile state.
The Bell Hermit describes this in striking terms: “All that hunger, and fear, and pride, filling your fragile heart. You too are bound to end ensnared!”
Hunger, fear, and pride are all markers of identity. This recalls a recurring theme throughout the series: selfhood makes you susceptible to control.
Widow understands this well. Instead of fleeing Pharloom with her fellow Weavers, she stayed—but perhaps at the cost of a stable selfhood which could be contaminated.
Widow's entire existence orbits Grand Mother Silk. Her identity isn’t formed internally. Therefore, Widow understands selfhood in terms of relational roles.
Hornet offers a new role.
Of course, Widow's attachment to Hornet doesn’t magically resolve her dependency—honestly, it risks becoming the same thing, not that I mind. But it also has potential for more.
Again, Hornet possesses something Widow lacks: independence. Raised without stable guidance and forced to navigate impossible responsibilities from a young age, Hornet has learned how to exist outside of roles provided for her.
Widow hasn’t.
If anyone could teach Widow how to construct a stable identity, it’s Hornet.
* * *
Before the fight, Widow consistently refers to Grand Mother Silk in the second person. Hornet, meanwhile, is spoken about in the third person: “She is here! Precious child … She has found her way home... at last. How fine her shell, and Silk, and claw…”
Widow's established pattern is to address Grand Mother Silk directly, meaning the “her” in these lines refers to Hornet.
Additionally, Widow’s Needolin dialogue reads: “Hear her heart! Hear her voice!”
Aw.
Widow’s language carries an unmistakably affectionate quality. None of these phrases prove romantic attraction, of course, but they do suggest admiration and emotional investment.
More importantly, these lines point towards the same pattern: Widow and Hornet’s fascination with each other exposes a need—a need to learn, to progress, to connect.
Like any good tyrant, Bellhart seized hold of my weakness (a lust for yuri) and refused to let go. The game doesn’t present them as lovers. It barely presents them as enemies.
But if I learned anything from Bellhart, it’s that some things don’t need much time to leave a mark. Sometimes all it takes is a glimpse of two lonely people suspended above an abyss, reaching towards one another.
Hornet and Widow may be briefly aligned, but they are forever resonant.