History Memes / HollowKnight

Despite the somewhat grim atmosphere, the game's got plenty of memes going strong in the fandom. ''VideoGame/HollowKnightSilksong'' has its own page [[Memes/HollowKnightSilksong here]].

* In relation to the above, [[https://youtu.be/gMn119BFeAs fans have made it clear they want the game on]] ''UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch''.

Despite the somewhat grim atmosphere, the game's got plenty of memes going strong in the fandom.

* The Pale King's buzzsaw obsession.[[labelnote:Explanation]]The White Palace is a PlatformHell, and the most common obstacle is spinning buzzsaws. They're so ubiquitous that people have joked that the Pale King wasn't trying to make it difficult to reach him in the palace, he just loved buzzsaws.[[/labelnote]]

* "No Cost Too Great"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The Pale King's iconic and [[SignatureScene memorable]] quote when struck by the Dream Nail. It is often used as a memetic catchprase for doing ridiculous things or sacrificing someone just to achieve one's goals. It is also used to refer to the absurd amounts of traps, buzzsaws and spikes that the Pale King has installed all throughout the [[PlatformHell White Palace]], with some jokingly speculating that the real reason Hallownest fell was because the Pale King spent so much money on buzzsaws and other death traps for the palace that [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he eventually bankrupted the entire kingdom]]. But to many, it is used to categorize or filter memes pertaining to the Pale King and other key figures or lore-important characters.[[/labelnote]]

* "Thou cringer!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The Godseeker's...odd way to demean the Knight as unworthy and inferior creature that could never be compared to the many gods (bosses) of Hallownest. Due to the redefinition of the word "cringe" in modern meme culture as "anything that makes one disgusted", the word "cringer" has been embraced by the ''Hollow Knight'' community to refer to any source of "cringe".[[/labelnote]]

* "No Cost Too Great"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The Pale King's iconic and [[SignatureScene memorable]] quote when struck by the Dream Nail. It is often used as a memetic catchprase for doing ridiculous things or sacrificing someone just to achieve one's goals. It is also used to refer to the absurd amounts of traps, buzzsaws and spikes that the Pale King has installed all throughout the [[PlatformHell White Palace]]. But to many, it is used to categorize or filter memes pertaining to the Pale King and other key figures or lore-important characters.[[/labelnote]]

* "Primal Aspids never miss"/"Primal Aspids have homing shots".[[labelnote:Explanation]]Adding these DemonicSpiders to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llhQ_5Aub94 already-difficult]] situations or somehow making them [[UpToEleven even more annoying]] became a mock goal for modders, while all players find solidarity in their ability to seemingly ''always'' hit the player. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF3ljgEutaE Superimposing images of Primal Aspids]] over videos of scenarios of people getting struck by unlikely projectiles became an extension of this meme.[[/labelnote]]

** Another famous line is Hornet's shout as she [[spoiler:restrains The Hollow Knight to allow you to Dream Nail it and fight [[TrueFinalBoss The Radiance]]]], which sounds suspiciously like "[[Memes/DarkSouls GIT GUD]]!"[[labelnote:Note]]WordOfGod is that it's supposed to be 'GEGTOO!', but they concede that since we don't know what that means, she ''could'' be saying "get good" [[SpeakingSimlish in bug]].[[/labelnote]] Considering the boss you're about to fight if you hear this cry, [[NintendoHard you will need to]]. This often pops out whenever a player complains on the difficulty of a boss fight or a platforming sequence.

* "ʍɐɥs"[[labelnote:Explanation]][[https://i.redd.it/g695naniwgy31.jpg The upside-down Hornet]] [[GoodBadBugs glitch]](If you end a Hornet boss fight when she's in the air, she'll return to the ground upside-down and leave by burrowing through the ground) has been a source of meme phrases due to how hilarious it can be when triggered. And it's a recurring glitch that several instances of it are now recorded online. To save the reader from headaches, "Shaw!" is one of Hornet's most memorable [[{{Kiai}} battle shouts]]. "ʍɐɥs" is the result of rotating "shaw" by 180 degrees (or using the appropriate Unicode characters). Oftentimes, fans use other pre-existing meme phrases regarding upside-down content to further joke at this glitch.[[/labelnote]]
** "Meanwhile in Australia"[[labelnote:Explanation]]A long-running joke referring to how everything in Australia is upside-down. Well, it kinda makes sense if you remember that ''Hollow Knight'' is made by Australian guys.[[/labelnote]]

* The [[SpeakingSimlish voiced lines]] have been subject to this ''a lot'', being used for all sorts of weird hi-jinks, comments and parodies:

** Hornet's [[{{Kiai}} battle taunts]] also count, given that she screams the words like "SHAW!", "ADINO!", "HEGALE!", and "GARAMA!" to the point that they are easily remembered. The last one gets more relevance for the sequel, since in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQxwbZsL14Y Nintendo Switch Announcement Trailer]], the first sound that is spoken to hype up ''VideoGame/HollowKnightSilksong'' is Hornet shouting "GARAMA!".

** Hornet truly is her father's daughter.[[labelnote:Explanation]]Silksong previews have shown that one of Hornets tools is a portable buzzsaw. Jokes about Hornet inheriting her dad's buzzsaw obsession soon followed.[[/labelnote]]

* "No Cost Too Great"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The Pale King's iconic and [[SignatureScene memorable]] quote when struck by the Dream Nail. It is often used as a memetic catchprase for doing ridiculous things or sacrificing someone just to achieve one's goals. It is also used to refer to the absurd amounts of traps, buzzsaws and spikes that the Pale King has installed all throughout the [[PlatformHell White Palace]]. But to many, it is used to categorize or filter memes pertaining to the Pale King and other key figures or lore-important characters.

* "ʍɐɥs"[[labelnote:Explanation]][[https://i.redd.it/g695naniwgy31.jpg The upside-down Hornet]] [[GoodBadBugs glitch]](If you end a Hornet boss fight when she's in the air, she'll return to the ground upside-down and leave by burrowing through the ground)[[/labelnote]] has been a source of meme phrases due to how hilarious it can be when triggered. And it's a recurring glitch that several instances of it are now recorded online. To save the reader from headaches, "Shaw!" is one of Hornet's most memorable [[{{Kiai}} battle shouts]]. "ʍɐɥs" is the result of rotating "shaw" by 180 degrees (or using the appropriate Unicode characters). Oftentimes, fans use other pre-existing meme phrases regarding upside-down content to further joke at this glitch:[[/labelnote]]

* "Hornet is Void"[[labelnote:Explanation]]One of the [[EpilepticTrees bizzare theories]] of the fandom regarding Hornet's identity since the Knight, Hollow Knight and the other failed Vessels were her siblings from the Pale King. But the difference is, Hornet was born from a truce that Herrah must give birth to a child of the Pale King, and ''not'' being born out of the Void like her siblings. It turned to a meme because of the wild evidences or proofs that holders of this theory present - such as the fact that Hornet has black eyes and is therefore black on the inside, similar to the black liquid Void. That is questionable in itself, since majority of the bugs also have black eyes by default. And most importantly, Hornet doesn't spill black liquid when hit, unlike the Void beings such as the Vessels, Kingsmoulds and the Collector. Nontheless, this meme phrase is so divisive that some fans do not count it as a DiscreditedMeme.[[/labelnote]]

* The Pale King being obsessed with Sawblades, given how many of them there are in his White Palace.

* "No Cost Too Great"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The Pale King's iconic and [[SignatureScene memorable]] quote when struck by the Dream Nail. It is often used as a memetic catchprase for doing ridiculous things or sacrificing someone just to achieve one's goals. It is also used to refer to the absurd amounts of traps, buzzsaws and spikes that the Pale King has installed all throughout the [[PlatformHell White Palace]]. But to many, it is used to categorize or filter memes pertaining to the Pale King and other key figures or lore-important characters.[[/labelnote]]

** Another famous line is Hornet's shout as she [[spoiler:restrains The Hollow Knight to allow you to Dream Nail it and fight [[TrueFinalBoss The Radiance]]]], which sounds suspiciously like "[[Memes/DarkSouls GIT GUD]]!"[[labelnote:Note]]WordOfGod is that it's supposed to be 'GEGTOO!', but they concede that since we don't know what that means, she ''could'' be saying "get good" in bug.[[/labelnote]] Considering the boss you're about to fight if you hear this cry, [[NintendoHard you will need to]]. This often pops out whenever a player complains on the difficulty of a boss fight or a platforming sequence.

* "ʍɐɥs"[[labelnote:Explanation]][[https://i.redd.it/g695naniwgy31.jpg The upside-down Hornet]] [[GoodBadBugs glitch]][[labelnote:Note]]If you end a Hornet boss fight when she's in the air, she'll return to the ground upside-down and leave by burrowing through the ground[[/labelnote]] has been a source of meme phrases due to how hilarious it can be when triggered. And it's a recurring glitch that several instances of it are now recorded online. To save the reader from headaches, "Shaw!" is one of Hornet's most memorable [[{{Kiai}} battle shouts]]. "ʍɐɥs" is the result of rotating "shaw" by 180 degrees (or using the appropriate Unicode characters). Oftentimes, fans use other pre-existing meme phrases regarding upside-down content to further joke at this glitch:[[/labelnote]]

* "ʍɐɥs"[[labelnote:Explanation]][[https://i.redd.it/g695naniwgy31.jpg The upside-down Hornet]] [[GoodBadBugs glitch]] has been a source of meme phrases due to how hilarious it can be when triggered. And it's a recurring glitch that several instances of it are now recorded online. To save the reader from headaches, "Shaw!" is one of Hornet's most memorable [[{{Kiai}} battle shouts]]. "ʍɐɥs" is the result of rotating "shaw" by 180 degrees (or using the appropriate Unicode characters). Oftentimes, fans use other pre-existing meme phrases regarding upside-down content to further joke at this glitch:[[/labelnote]]

** Another famous line is Hornet's shout as she [[spoiler:restrains The Hollow Knight to allow you to Dream Nail it and fight [[TrueFinalBoss The Radiance]]]], which sounds suspiciously like "[[Memes/DarkSouls GIT GUD]]!" Considering the boss you're about to fight if you hear this cry, [[NintendoHard you will need to]]. This often pops out whenever a player complains on the difficulty of a boss fight or a platforming sequence.

* "Thou cringer!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The Godseeker's...odd way to demean the Knight as unworthy
and inferior creature that could never be compared to the many gods (bosses) of Hallownest. Due to the redefinition of the word "cringe" in modern meme culture as "anything that makes one disgusted", the word "cringer" has been embraced by the ''Hollow Knight'' community to refer to any source of "cringe".[[/labelnote]]

* Zote is too powerful.[[labelnote:Explanation]][[MilesGloriosus Zote the Mighty]]'s pretended badass demeanor (often accompanied by [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard his ridiculously long]] BossSubtitles) is taken to first degree by many people, notably comments under Youtube videos showing a BossRush saying that "[any hard boss] is nothing compared to Zote".[[/labelnote]]

* Zote is too powerful.[[labelnote:Explanation]][[MilesGloriouses Zote the Mighty]]'s pretended badass demeanor (often accompanied by [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard his ridiculously long]] BossSubtitles) is taken to first degree by many people, notably comments under Youtube videos showing a BossRush saying that "[any hard boss] is nothing compared to Zote".[[/labelnote]]

* Zote is too powerful.[[labelnote:Explanation]][[MilesGlorious Zote the Mighty]]'s pretended badass demeanor (often accompanied by [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard his ridiculously long]] BossSubtitles) is taken to first degree by many people, notably comments under Youtube videos showing a BossRush saying that "[any hard boss] is nothing compared to Zote".[[/labelnote]]

* Try it on Markoth. [[labelnote:Explanation]]Markoth has the reputation to be [[BulletHell a particularly]] [[ThatOneBoss hard boss]] in the game, but even more in Godhome because of the Pantheon of Hallownest, Ascension and Radiant battlefield configuration where the floor became a BottomlessPit. Some comments under Radiant challenges consider him, ironically or not, to be the hardest boss the game has to offer.[[/labelnote]]

* "Pale Fork"[[labelnote:Explanation]]Making photo-edits or comparisons of the Pale King to a fork, simply because the king had a four-pronged crown[[/labelnote]]
** "Tree Lady"[[labelnote:Explanation]]Similarly, this is about making photo-edits or comparisons of the White Lady to any tree because she's a tree-like higher being called a Root[[/labelnote]]

** Quirrel's battle cry, "KA-SHAAA!", when he [[spoiler:helps you fight Uumuu]] is often misheard and comically spelled as "Croissant!". Yes, as in the bread!

* "Wayward Compass Too OP"[[labelnote:Explanation]]Some players just want to exaggerate the usefulness of a starting charm that only displays your current location on the map. It also spawns other joking suggestions such as using the Wayward Compass on the harder contents like the Path of Pain, the Colosseum, the Hall of Gods, Pantheons, Eternal Ordeal, Grimm's fights in his tent, and against Dream Bosses (All of these contents in fact, make the compass useless since they have no maps, or are limited to one area only). Although another serious justification for the compass' usefulness comes in the Delicate Flower Delivery quest, or statements claiming that it's just ''that'' useful for players who have no sense of direction.[[/labelnote]]

* The Nailmasters: often rendered as "YAAASOOOOOOO!!" or "GET SOOOME!"