#Grubfather

[linterteatime]

I love drawing funky dresses for bugs...well these aren't bugs bugs but rather human bugs but not really human but y'know y'know

#hollow knight #gijinka #humanization #willoh #grubfather #mask maker #hot spring bugs #fanart #my art #I wonder if silksong will come out before I finish all these bugs or after #I'm slow as hell rn making these so I'm guessing silksong will catch up to me eventually #but who knows tbh

[mebis-art-dump]

Grubberfly's elegy

#hollow knight #krita #digital art #fanart #mebi's art #sketch #rkgk #hollow knight fanart #grub hk #Grubfather #grubberfly's elegy #grubberfly #parenthood in hollow knight really is either weaponizing your children or having them burst out of your guts #both if u are lucky

[tonythr]

Sometimes you are so sad you turn into a game construct, and that's ok

Part of the reason I love Hollow Knight is that you never know when a certain phenomenon is a part of the game's actual lore or simply a gameplay convenience, but most of the time it's up to you to decide anyway. Like, yeah, I know that looking too much into what should be just a game mechanic and/or a simple animation effect makes you more of a clown than a lore master, but, honestly, at this point the entire fandom wears rainbow wigs and squeaky red noses in order to forget about the pain of no Silksong, so no one has the right to stop me from having fun with some observations I made and how they might be intentional lore pieces. So yeah, what I'm trying to say is that this theory might be a bit of a stretch, but I think it's neat, so I'm gonna post it anyway.

Now, here's the question: what do you think these two have in common?

Both are very sad because they lost someone who was close to them.

2. Both give the Knight a Mask Shard when they die.

My theory here is that these two things are connected.

Now, Mask Shards are weird, lore-wise. The locations where they are found don't always... make much sense. Like ok, aside from the two that I mentioned above, we have ones that are found on top of ancient black statues — this implies that those shards are connected to (and probably were made by) the Ancient Civilisation.

We also have some shards that we get from various NPCs (Sly, Bretta, Seer) — those also make sense, since there's nothing wrong with those weird bugs possessing some ancient artifacts. But then we have Mask Shards that just kinda... float there.

No ancient pedestals. No reason to suggest someone actually owned them. No reason for them to be there aside from the game wanting to reward the player for something.

This is also true for some of the Vessel Fragments.

Although the fountain one is exceptional. The fragment is actually a part of the Pale King's statue, but it detaches once the needed amount of geo is reached. It looks like this statue actually 'gives' it to the Knight once it puts enough geo in the fountain. It could be something that has to do with PK's magic, or with the whole 'sacrifice' theme that's going on with him. Anyway, it's not hard to come up with an explanation for how that one works. What is more interesting is how these shards and fragments are created.

Because apparently this mf can just materialize them out of thin air.

Now, I KNOW this is probably just a nice animation to emphasize how cool of an award a mask shard is, but it also wouldn't be much of a stretch to say that what happens here is Grubfather actually manipulating Soul to create this shard for the Knight. I mean, Grubs do possess some sort of 'holy strength' that was never properly explained to us (that's why I'm hoping to see some grubs in Silksong), and one of the two charms created from their power is something that straight-up gives the Knight extra Soul. If we don't count the Shaman charms, which were used only to extract and use Soul more efficiently, the only other charm that does that is Kingsoul, the embodiment of the union between two Pale Beings. So yeah, the Grubs are totally OP, and Grubfather probably does create a Mask Shard out of Soul here.

Which only proves the fact that both Mask Shards and Vessel Fragments are made out of Soul. I mean, come on, the Knight literally consumes them just like it consumes each of the spells and the Soul of its enemies, AND it takes Soul to restore broken masks. I think it's safe to assume that those ancient masks that the Knight is using to strengthen its shell are made out of Soul, or at least some material that is heavily tied to Soul in some way.

Another fact is that those masks and vessels have big connections to the Ancient Civilisation. Aside from the obvious things like the fragment/shard statues that I mentioned earlier having clear similarities to the Soul totems, there's this whole thing with the engravings on those masks and vessels having a bunch of connections with magical secrets of the Ancient Civilisation...

What I'm getting at here is that the bugs of the Ancient Civilisation probably knew the secrets of manipulating Soul and used those secrets to create masks (for protection) and Soul Vessels (for containing Soul), as well as Soul Totems. It means there is a way a Mask can be created out of Soul, aside from what we see the Knight do when it heals (which is an interesting process, btw - when a mask breaks, the Knight can restore it using Soul, but it can't create new masks to have infinite HP, so the masks it collects must have unique properties that prevent them from being completely destroyed and instead allow them to be recovered after breaking). And maybe that process was already shown to us.

Ok, now I'm actually talking about my theory again. See, the reason I think there's more to these two moments than just a simple reward being given to us by the game is because there's some overlapping philosophical (symbolical?) motifs that connect Brooding Mawlek and Grey Mourner AND possibly give us a glimpse into the secrets of Soul discovered by the Ancient Civilisation. I'm talking about what Soul itself might represent as a sorta metaphysical concept (I don't know how to say that properly... Just bear with me pls).

In the world of Hollow Knight, there are many philosophical concepts that give depth to the nature of various in-world phenomenons. For example, the Void is heavily tied to regrets, perhaps dark memories that keep us from moving forward. That's why it makes sense that, ultimately, Pale King faced his demise at the hands of the Void - he sacrificed thousands of his own children in order to save Hallownest and failed anyway, so there is no way he could avoid (pun intended) being overwhelmed by his regrets about this whole thing.

The Soul is the power that contrasts the Void.

It's implied by Jiji that, when the Knight leaves behind its Shade, it starts to drain *hope* from it.

This line was probably left there to explain this game mechanic:

When the Knight dies, it can no longer fill its Soul meter to the full, until it finds and defeats its Shade. This implies that Soul represents *hope* in contrast to the Void representing regrets.

If we accept this assumption, we can see that it makes sense how:

The White Palace is shown as a beautiful, calm, hopeful place despite it being filled with thorns and sawblades (that might or might not be a metaphor for the PK's pain of trying to hide his mistakes and regrets).

The shamans' dying thoughts are often their last hopes of being free, being heard etc.

The Soul is literally what gives the bugs' bodies the energy to move.

I feel soulless when I wake up at 7 a.m.

All things considered, it's easy to see how Soul is something that might represent such things as hope, motivation, faith - all those feelings that make a person feel whole.

And when the fate forces someone into situations where those things are lost, their inner self breaks. When something separates us from our loved ones for a whole eternity, leaving us as lonely, empty shells of our former selves, our soul hardens.

We already know that masks in this game directly correspond to the person's self, their ability to define themselves as who they are. A mask is literally the core of the person's mind.

And when a person breaks, when their hope becomes eternal sadness, when the essence that animates their body becomes a solid rock, their mind shatters, leaving only a single shard of what should have been a whole mask.

Perhaps, something like that also happened to the bugs of the Ancient Civilisation? Or maybe they found a way to control that sadness, just like they found a way to manipulate the power of regrets? They look like a bunch of cool goth bugs, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was their thing.

TL;DR: ancient masks that the Knight uses are made out of Soul, and Soul is a power that represents hope. When a person experiences a feeling of strong loneliness and hopelessness, their mind literally breaks, and their Soul literally hardens, resulting in the creation of Mask Shards. The bugs of the Ancient Civilisation might have known this.

Kinda edgy.

I like it.

#hollow knight #hollow knight theory #hollow knight lore #silksong #grey mourner #brooding mawlek #grubfather #mysterious ze'mer #hollow knight ancient civilization #hollow knight masks lore

[haruwan-embassy]

Hollow Knight - Grubfather Devouring his Son(s)

Parody of Fancisco Goya's "Saturn Devouring His Son" painting. I'm surprised no one had done the joke already.

#small artist #artists on tumblr #artist on tumblr #digital illustration #video games #illustration #drawing #artwork #digital art #hollow knight #fanart #grubfather #tasty

[thequeenoffishburrito]

The grubs are emmerging from the grubfather!!!

#hollow knight #my art #myart #hollow knight grub #grubfather

[phuiscribbles]

°˖✧Hollow Knight Sticker SET✧˖°

Store is officially back open with new merchs (for a limited period of time)! Starting with this new sticker SET featuring your favorite bug friends from a very happy game - Hollow Knight! Now available for PREORDER! ★ Be sure to check out my Store for discount! P.S. Storytime - I never forget the day while playing this game for the first time in my room alone. The moment I first stepped into The City of Tears (it was raining outside too), the indescribable feeling of wonder and comfort instantly poured all over me. Its beautiful worlds and storytelling are truly mesmerizing.

#hollow knight #grimm troupe #grimm child #quirrel #hornet #white lady #zote the mighty #pale king #lord mantis #paintmaster sheo #myla #iselda #cornifer #elderbug #grubfather #grub #marmu #cloth #midwife #bretta #marissa #sly #store stuff #fanart

[pocochiiiiii]

Lots of colored bugs Part 7

#hollow knight #my art #grimm child #unn #Grubfather #nymm #Fluke Hermit #eternal emilitia #Bardoon #Godseeker #The Hunter #lost kin #pale lurker #Charm Lover Salubra #iselda #Millibelle #Cornifer #Mister Mushroom

[kdval]

HOLLOW KNIGHT

› Friendly faces [2/?]

#hollow knight #hk #team cherry #the last stag #millibelle #the hunter #grubfather #grubs #moss prophet #gif

[raquel-b]

Ok after reading the Grub lore it was less horrifying, but still, it shocked me when grubdad ate his kids after i rescued them all.

#hollow knight #the knight #grub #grubfather #i was told to go visit them afterwards in reddit #worst advice i ever listened to lmao #:') #the 5th stage of grief is offscreen #spoilers #hollow knight spoilers

[ceffarts]

Day 31- Grubs!

#ceff arts #hollow knight #grubfather #grubhome

[motheline]

Bugs of Hallownest #6 <The Grubs>

"Happy...happy...happy!!!" - Grubfather

#grubs #grubfather #hollow knight #hk art #hk npcs #bugs of hallownest #bags art

[ratatosk777]

I HAVE A TERRIFYING THEORY ABOUT GRUBS in Hollow Knight

Maybe someone has said it before, but anyway... just watch this Be careful, the video may contain TERRIFYING moments sorry

I'm sorry

What if Grubfather was somehow parasitized by a parasitic wasp, but SOMEHOW he lost the larvaes, and the reason he wanted to get them all back is that wasp virus which was mentioned in the video. And that's also the reason he ate them. This is sad, but I'm pretty sure Grubfather will be eaten next. Eaten by those little cute grubs,

because it is

the NEXT STAGE OF THEIR LIFE CYCLE

#i always thought the whole grub story is weird. a caterpillar cannot be a father. caterpillar is a kid. there are no adult caterpillars #so yeah #this theory very randomly appeared in my mind #hollow knight #hollow knight spoilers #hollow knight theory #hollow knight grub #grub #grubfather #hk grub

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[hollow-knight-fights]

Hollow Knight NPC Fight Round 1, Wave 3

#hollow knight #hollow knight game #hollow knight poll #tumblr polls #tumblr poll #tumblr competition #round one #hollow knight npcs #hknpc #grubfather #gravekeeper #forgotten crossroads #dirtmouth

[vgmerch]

bug heads pin set series 1 by jon kay

> fangamer

#rpgmerch #indiemerch #hkmerch #hollow knight #hollow knight merch #game merch #gaming #video games #fangamer #pins #knight hk #ghost hk #shade hk #grubfather #grubfather hk #quirrel #quirrel hk

[funderberker-thefrog]

It's almost 3am and I can't sleep so I have decided to give y'all an update of my Hollow Knight playthrough (please don't spoil anything to me or anything I'll cry). I've advanced a lot since the last time I posted (I think I was barely on False Knight/Hornet back then) but I still feel like there's a lot more to go oof.

I've got the dream nail and I am close to the first 100 essence the guy told me to collect! yay!

Myla is infected:( She didn't attack me last time I checked up on her, but I'll just leave her be. I hope you're better soon my friend.

I love the Mantis Lords. As in, I had a hard time (even though I didn't try them right after getting the mantis claw bc I couldn't get through the platforming – which i got quite easily later), specially when they threw the blade thingy at me with the lower pattern, but i like the guys a lot. Their theme was neat and idk i think they're pretty cool guys and I love that they've accepted me. I wish I could dream nail them, like I guess I technically could've done that during the fight but I was busy, uh, trying to not get killed and stuff.

Easiest (took me the least tries) bosses so far: Gruzzmother (fun fact, I actually beat her before the false knight! i as super lost since i didn't have the compass and ended up there by chance), Dung defender (funny guy. also, why does dung need to be defended? maybe I'll never know), Broken Vessel and the Fluke thingy.

I have rescued a little over half of the grubs! I love the happy noise they make when they see me coming to the rescue and also when I go visit them! My precious little things. Also, I have lots of charms now, according to Salubra there's only 15 more to go and I'll have her blessing. Additionally, I've upgraded my nail twice already:)

The deepnest was wild lmao. As in, I love creepy stuff so I loved it but like it also made my skin crawl i guess, specially the noises the bugs do when they "come back" to life thanks to the parasite stuff (I have the Hunter's diary btw!!). Really an interesting place and I saved Zote down there, too:D Oh and I met the Midwife?, except I never actually talked to her bc I reflex hit her and later had to google "hollow mask deepnest masked character from the walls".

As another fun fact, I found Nosk earlier today. Like, technically I just got to Kindom's Edge recently, but I went back bc I wanted to review certain areas and things I had marked on my map bc I found them funny (to see if I could investigate now that I have more abilities).

So, I find the breakable wall and I try to explore as much of the area. Eventually I reach the part in which I start seeing myself and I just kept going. It was definitely eerie (which I love) but as I was trying to find my way around, I was a bit afraid thinking something along the notes of "This other me scares me a little, I feel like at some point I will actually run into him and he's going to absolutely fucking wreck me". And I swear I had no idea if that was really where the whole thing was going (I've just played enough videogames to distrust shadow/clone selves) but yeah. that's exactly what happened😭 I didn't really try to beat him, though. I decided to just keep him in mind for later.

And, oh, I found the Godhome, too? But I just looked around a little (there where things marking the bosses I have defeated) and decided to go back bc I had a big big feeling I'm not supposed to be there yet.

At last, I finally rescued Bretta!! I had seen her from afar before but i didn't have the means to reach her yet. After some battling with the later section of the platforming, I finally got to meet her and I love her!!! And she's??? got a crush on me????? I'm. She's so cute. If I sit on the bench beside her at dirtmouth she blushes. blushes¡!!!!! And I read her thoughts and she's like oh my saviour besides me. And I go to her room and there's a plushie of me and and the written story. She's adorable I wanna hug her so bad:(

And I feel like that's all, perhaps? I woke up a dreamer at the distant village and the crossroad is infected now but that's it. anyways. I feel like i might be able to finally sleep after this:)

#hollow knight #greenpath #fungal wastes #city of tears #dung defender #mantis lords #hornet #Gruzzmother #salubra #bretta #deepnest #nosk #grubs #grubfather

[hk-charas]

Some doodles of character interactions I found

#hk ocs #hollow knight oc #hk oc #moth #fanvessel #scorpion #vessel oc #Bubbles #disciple hk #disciple #Amber Hal #The Clockmaker #blue seed #the knight #hk ghost #ghost hk #my art #my ocs #grubfather #unn hk #tiso #tiso hk