#and sure he wasn't an asshole but more importantly he was (probably at least until the crash) increadibly naive and sheltered

[mephistopheleswasrobbed]

Spilled her drink where? It's full to the brim! If you squint your eyes very hard there's maybe a tiny bit more of the chocolate powder stuff on the new one but that's it. Please be serious.

[abombihoney]

@death-and-reblogs

THANKS. im just filled with thoughts. like, i went on a short research binge on feral children a year or so ago. and like. the research is sparse and infrequent due to morals and ethics so we don't know a lot. but from the few cases we've studied...

the ages 0-6 are SUPER IMPORTANT for healthly developement of a human being. these years are vital. trauma during these years is will last forever even if you don't remember them.

it determines a persons ability to understand language, social behavior, interpersonal relationships, etc.

a feral child reaching adulthood is nigh unheard of. theres only like a single (well known) case. and im not going to get into the nitty gritty of all that bc its fucked up and depressing.

NOW. how this applies to Hoaxe.

Hoaxe was "abandoned" as an infant/toddler. I'm leaning more towards infant based on his size. Based on the fact that he wasn't found until he was at least a teenager, (bc surely someone would have adopted him if theyd found him) we can say that he was isolated his entire childhood and for sure during the critical developmental years.

So- we can say fairly for sure that he did not know how to speak or write when he was introduced to the wasp nest. He had no ideas of social customs or behavior. He probably fought the medical staff before they managed to help him figure out they were there to help him.

Now, realistically, hoaxe at best would have only been able to manage short simple sentences and concepts. if he were human.

also: new au. hoaxe is just the wasps feral little wizard that they have to prevent from setting ppl on fire when hes upset.

since he's a bug, he probably should have turned into a lesser bug. according to the lore books, larvae that arent carefully cared for and are outside the influence of the mother crystal can pupate into lesser bugs.

but we can say that didnt bc crystals. and that he was able to recover as much language/memory/etc skills as he was in the actual game bc he had a fucking crystal dropped on his head. and crystals let u do whatever.

but back on topic on how his feral childhood influenced how he was treated in the hive and gave us the hoaxe we love/hate today:

Since hoaxe looks like a wasp, the medical staff probably presume he has major brain damage, and can no longer speak/understand them. yknow rather than a feral fly who just happens to look like a wasp. so they probably do what they can, get him functioning. set him up with a simple job. just try and reintegrate him yknow.

but, somehow he gets lost in the cracks. or maybe whatever nurse was supposed to take care of him got lazy or cruel. or whatever few friends he made got sent out to active duty (remember. wasps are a very war/fighting centered community) and he was left behind.

So he gets abused. He's an easy target. Acts "weird." Poor speaking ability. Barely knows how to read much less write. No/few friends looking out for him. Perfect for assholes who like to beat people who cant fight back and cant (or dont know how) to report them for it.

of course resentment spreads. of course hes angry. and of course his first idea is to run and get himself safe. thats whatt hes done his whole life. and then choosing violent revenge? where he makes himself strong. and he's learned that the strong control the weak. use them as they see fit. control them. if they didnt want that, well, they should have gotten stronger like he did.

and then he finds out about the everlasting sapling. of course he wants it! it's a way to make himself stronger and immortal and most importantly, safe. he's spent his whole life wanting to be safe. immortality is the ultimate safety net.

Hoaxe is a fun character because this dude singlehandedly killed fucking DEADLANDERS all his life and they really went "yea ur a good janitor". PLUS he also even had latent magic for the crown to bring out like???? they really did look at the most powerful warrior in the kingdom and go "yeah he should clean the floors actually"

did he have latent magic? i thought he got magic from getting his fucking skull crushed in by a crystal.

wait did he kill deadlanders??? hold on. okay no it doesnt seem like he actually killed any, just played the worlds most terrifying game of hide and seek all his life.

i do wonder why the fuck he got the shit beat out of him from other wasps? like i know bullying and abuse doesnt necessarily follow logic but what the fuck was going on there. WHY DID THEY BOTHER TO SAVE HIS LIFE JUST MAKE HIM A PUNCHING BAG

also tbf, cleaning is job that's easy for say, a slightly feral dude to pick up fairly easily. yknow considering he has no education and poor social skills. CAN HE READ wait he read a book i wonder if they taught him to read... somebody had to be nice to this dude for that to happen right? WAIT DID THEY ALSO TEACH HIM TO SPEAK