kereruatbugaria

[kereruatbugaria]

Thank you for drawing my AU Hoaxe!!! This art is so lovely..!

Your AU Hoaxe is so cool and I love him!

In a block due to life stuff currently, butade this as a bit of appreciation to like-minded people - three different AU Hoaxes

Lonely Flame by @kereruatbugaria

Deadlander by @spectralgecko

And Wasp Kin by me

[kereruatbugaria]

rough scenario of Lonely Flame AU

0 Desert - Kabbu and Neolith are running away from a swarm of arrow worms. Hoaxe rescues the two, who are cornered towards their nest, by guiding them in the other direction. Hoaxe's intention is to steal knowledge about the ruins he is after from Neo, who appears to be a scholar, but as the place they escaped to happened to be his destination, Hoaxe ignores the grateful pair and attempts to enter the ruins.

The ruins are dangerous, and you need to be an explorer to enter them... Kabbu hastily stops Hoaxe, but is shocked that he doesn't know the word "explorer." Hoaxe threatens them, saying that the treasure of this place is his and not to get in the way.

Hoaxe doesn't seem to know that this is tomb-robbing. And he helped them...We can't just send him out into a dangerous place by himself and leave him there.

Kabbu and Neolith beg Hoaxe, saying, "We won't touch your treasure, but let us accompany you on your investigation. We're sure we can help you," and are somehow allowed to move into the ruins.

Hoaxe easily sees through the traps and moves forward, but struggles with the riddles along the way (strangely enough, the riddles in this place are in Roach language but ask for slightly unusual answers such as about the ecology of other races, love, and friendship, all of which are areas Hoaxe is unfamiliar with) and devices that require strength. Neolith supports him with his wisdom and Kabbu with his strength, and they move forward.

At the deepest part, Hoaxe is injured when he is unable to avoid a rock that suddenly appears from the door. Belostoss appears...this creature's whole body covered in water. Because of that, Hoaxe's fire is ineffective.

Hoaxe is able to see through Belostoss's weakness and gives instructions to Kabbu to fight.

The three defeat belostoss, but when they reach the innermost room they find a large hole in the floor that leads to an underground water vein, and the treasure that was supposed to be there is gone.

Due to despair, wounds, and the accumulated fatigue, Hoaxe loses consciousness.

Kabbu and Neolith carry the unconscious Hoaxe to Isau's clinic. There, they are shocked to learn that Hoaxe was not only unconscious because of the wounds he received from Belostoss, but also because of previous injuries, fatigue, and poor nutrition.

Recalling that Hoaxe was able to read roach's language but did not understand the meaning of simple words like 'love' 'friendship', the two surmise that he must have been in poor conditions outside of Bugaria.

Neolith stops Hoaxe as he tries to go out in search of treasure immediately after waking up.

That water vein is connected to a river in the Ant Kingdom, and if you wants to search for it you should officially become an explorer, and you have the talent...

Neolith explains to Hoaxe about explorers, tells him that she will write him a letter of recommendation as an example of cooperation in ruins research, and asks him to stay in town with Kabbu to recuperate until he is ready.

(If I become an explorer, I will get treasure's information...about the crown that was supposed to be found in the ruins, as well as other treasures. Moreover, the ant queen who leads the explorers is looking for the Everlasting Sapling. Using her will be much easier than searching alone.

It's annoying having to team up with this green bug, but from what I can see this bug seems like a gullible character. Let's put this bug to good use...)

Hoaxe agrees to Neolith's proposal and spends the next two weeks recuperating with Kabbu on Defiant Root.

[kereruatbugaria]

Recent Deadlander Hoaxe arts by @spectralgecko (huge fan of the concept!) reminded me about my own Wasp Kin AU, where some wasps (Assumingly those were *lieutenant* Fuff, a few of his fellow officers, and later - *princess* Vanessa II) acknowledged that the boy survived the Dead Lands as kid - thus, has some potential in him. Take in his extensive knowledge of Dead Lands, of how to survive here, endurance and willpower, add some grueling training with three times more demands from superiors to "even match wasps", then add a few chances to shine - you'll get him, Queen Vanessa the Second's Royal Agent. Swift, stealthy, deadly, mostly silent and with a huge disdain to specifically Dead Lander Gammas who he slaughters every time there is a chance (and sometimes brutally).

And yes, ask me more, I'm willing to answer aboot him

[kereruatbugaria]

I have a lot of "妄想" (called headcanons in English) about Hoaxe, including his past life, past adventures (how he knew about the crown), and physical characteristics, but I'm not very good at English, so I'm having a hard time putting them into words...

[kereruatbugaria]

Headcanons for my boy Hoaxe :)

He's warm! He's a fire mage of course he's warm. He also generally smells like smoke

He's very intelligent linguistically and can pick up new languages and words no problem. Inspired by the fact that his backstory made it seem like he learned Bugnish very quickly and he was also able to tell where the Sapling was without a Roach translator

Extension of the above: he was able to pick up some words of the written Giant language in his youth. That's how he knew how to operate the stove. He found the owner's manual lol

One more language detail! Thick-headed flies like him are generally good at languages since they need to quickly and effectively blend in with bugs they parasitize.

Basically canon with his healing items of choice but he loves junk food!!! He's like this 'cause he grew up eating poison in the Giant's Lair and if his stomach's not hurting then he assumes something's wrong

Speaking of the Giant’s Lair! He's had many run-ins with the Omega, so much so that if the Omega saw him it would recognize him

He knows how to fight Dead Landers because Omega pitted him against so many. He can't take on a hoard but he can take on one or two

When he's angry, he sparks like a lighter, typically from his fingers but if he's speaking it'll come from his mouthparts. When he had the crown, his amplified power meant that his subjects had to keep him calm or he'd be accidentally conjuring fireballs instead of sparks.

He doesn't really know that communal eating is a thing. When he was in the Dead Lands he could only eat by himself in safety, when he was in the Wasp Kingdom the Wasps were so mean he had to sneak food and eat it in his room, and when he was king, he had to eat alone to hide his fly mouthparts anyway.

The trash outside Master Slice's kitchen was the best food he ever had. He was looking forward to forcing Master Slice to be the royal chef when he took over Bugaria

His broken wing means that one of his halteres is exposed. Wearing a cloak helps somewhat, but without the cloak, it can get super sensitive (sometimes to the point of pain) and anything more than a slight breeze can cause balance issues for him.

Hoaxe's species parasitizes other bugs as larvae. He couldn't do that in the Giant's Lair, so he has some health issues as a result. he's smaller, weaker, and less dexterous than others of his species and he retains some larval habits, like preferring dark, cramped spaces and eating like a black hole.

Both his altered development and the less-than-ideal environments he was raised in led him to be bad at empathizing and recognizing social cues. Not what made him evil, but it did impact his life.

He's got fly vision. He can see almost 360 degrees around himself, though not perfectly, so he'll move his head to focus on something or to indicate that he's listening to someone. But this made a fun challenge for the Wasps who wanted to catch him off guard. This is also how he could dodge Maki at the beginning of chapter 5.

[kereruatbugaria]

Some Deadlander Hoaxe doodles! The creachur.

Boi has a reputation with that sling-

[kereruatbugaria]

Dead lander Hoaxe AU

Post the first out of... idk. Two at least, probably more. I'm 99% sure this has been done before by somebody but I haven't really seen it over here, so I have no idea, lol. At any rate the details are probably different XD

Basic premise? What if Hoaxe just... never left the Dead Lands? What if he never got cornered by dead landers, or crushed by the crystal, and continued to grow up and eventually matured in the Dead Lands, and was in the process hardened into a skilled survivalist?

Does this have plot consequences? Yes. Many. I have tried to patch things up into a more or less interesting alternative, but also. Many holes. Does it actually work just by the canonical laws of the game? I... don't really know, but probably not? This post will mostly be about Hoaxe rather than the plot. Anywho:

The wet cat himself:

(Granted, in this AU he is significantly less of a wet cat, but shhhh.)

Some basics about Hoaxe:

The fire magic - he does still have his fire magic, he just got it differently. He didn't get squashed by a crystal, but he's been around them a whole lot and has by consequence picked up (much more stable) fire magic from it. He also practices using it a lot more, and becomes quite skilled with it. He mostly uses it for cooking, though - larger, flashy fires can draw a lot of... unwanted attention.

I think the devs mentioned somewhere that Bugnish needs to be taught, so Hoaxe never really learns it. He doesn't talk much, and on the rare occasions he needs to communicate, he does so in gestures and non-verbal vocalizations. He takes notes in a logographic format. He does pick up a few words from the Roaches, some in Bugnish, some in Roach language (when he eventually finds the Roach village).

He does take notes, as mentioned above - usually charcoal on either dead lander shell, rock, or any other available writing surface. Usually, it's notes about the dead landers themselves, other local flora and fauna, and mapping out the area. Hazards, good food sources, safe places, dangerous places, hot spots for different dead landers, all that.

As far as the Roaches are concerned, Hoaxe is this... local, very occasional drifter. He drops by sometimes with interesting finds or notes and trades with them and rests while he's there. Over time, he becomes a local guard of sorts, helping keep dead landers away from the village and even sorta assisting with guarding the sapling, insofar as it needs it.

The Roaches have noticed that despite the residual crystal magic around him, he doesn't seem to react to the sapling vault. Some of them have wondered if its magic has faded, or if Hoaxe just isn't bothered.

Hoaxe accrues a few different weapons for taking care of himself, most of them ranged. He has a sling - think shepherds sling - which he uses to send rocks flying at mach-screw-you-in-particular straight into dead landers' faces. A similar premise applies to his blowgun and darts, and assorted sharpened sticks paired with a notched branch - a makeshift atlatl.

Hoaxe has an iron stomach in so many respects. He has also figured out how to cook most things into a semi-edible format, including dead landers, but the Roaches wouldn't recommend partaking of his diet unless you're desperate.

Hoaxe does not know his name, nor does anyone else. The Roaches just call him the drifter or some other such moniker. Hoaxe doesn't really care enough to puzzle over the notion.

At some point, probably post-game, Hoaxe registers that there is in fact land outside of the dead lands, and he could just... leave. He hesitates, though - he knows the dead lands inside and out, this is familiar danger. Everywhere else is strange new territory. In the events of the post-game proxy, he goes back with Team Snakemouth and co. to explore a bit, before eventually returning to help the Roaches with what he may.

Hoaxe is a strange inversion of a persistence hunter - he's more like persistence prey with an uno reverse card. He knows how scarce food is, and he knows he can outpace the dead landers, so he'll kite them around until they exhaust themselves chasing him, then strike. That said, he prefers to strike at range from the shadows where he can - ambush tactics are much safer and have a significantly higher chance of a one-hit kill.

While this is a strange mix of redemption and hypothetical alternative, in character Hoaxe is still not... the nicest. While he's a cunning strategist and capable survivor, he's a little uh. rough. around the edges. Quick to anger and frustration, kinda selfish unless you give him a reason not to be, and generally leaning anti-social. He's very quid pro quo when it comes to cooperation - he needs a reason to help you. He'll be civil if you're civil, but won't be much past that unless you plan on repaying the effort. On the bright side, he's honest at least, and true to his words. Promises are important to him (he and Astotheles get along in this regard, much contrary to canon).

Hoaxe prefers to operate alone. It's what he's learned, and trying to collaborate with a team is a hassle in his view. Stay out of his way, he'll stay out of yours.

He's not exactly keen on sharing resources unless he doesn't need them himself. Again, quid pro quo - if you give him something valuable in return he's down to barter, but his definition of "valuable" is directly correlated to survival and practicality. Unlike the original Hoaxe, currency and treasure and trinkets have little value to him. He deals in food, weapons, shelter, tools, and other such practicalities. Information, even. He's a fair trader, once you figure out his system of value assignment.

I uh. have missed a lot of things, most certainly. If you have questions, curiosities, or comments, fire away! The ask box is open and I am happy to ramble.

[kereruatbugaria]

Since a lot of ppl liked the last sprite animation I did I made another!! A lot more experimental since I’ve never done a fight scene before but I was inspired by SMBZ to try it out

[kereruatbugaria]

Kabbu in a warm coat!

I originally thought to make it plain blue or something, but then I realized the comedic and cute potential of a ladybug colored coat.

Firstly, he can snuggle with the rest of the ladybugs.

Secondly, he is a bit like a Red Riding Hood now.

[kereruatbugaria]

[kereruatbugaria]

Happy Holidays!

…The Christmas present I got this year was the flu ＼(^o^)／

[kereruatbugaria]

Thank you for always giving us wonderful music

[kereruatbugaria]

this is more of an experimental thing but I wanted to try animating the sprites around a little because it’s quite fun!! I might do more in the future?

[kereruatbugaria]

Hoaxe doodles

[kereruatbugaria]

🌱✨BugFables 5th Anniversary✨🌱

[kereruatbugaria]

Keeping dropping stuff made before on the Tumblr.

Here be some-o-text

There is another AU revolving around Hoaxe. An obvious one, of course, but let a creature have some fun, eh?

You lot either have read "Hoaxe: Origins" or at least know Wasp King's story, and if you don't - here is a short story short, Mimic Fly boyo got abandoned by parents into charming and delightful place called "Dead Lands" and survived there a good chunk of his life, to later be found injured by wasps, then took to their Kingdom. Life ain't got better in the slightest - bullying, physical violence, dismissal and eating from dumsters - all that influenced already unstable mind. Dude ran off to Metal Island, spent savings on the Crown (which conveniently was an old artifact that controlled wasps' minds and amplified magic (he was a fire sorcerer)), got back, took over, and from there you know the story from the game. Or not, if you didn't finished the game yet. Wait, what are you doing here?

Now, this one creature be like "you seriously expect me to believe there were NO ONE to treat him normally?", because you know, people are different, yet in comics it seemed like all wasps are generally are same. One would expected at least some wasps to show pity. There wasn't. Not only pity - some of them must have been aware that lad has survived literally the deadliest place around as a kid - and that means something, aye?

Plus, hey, he sports some damn good determination, given what he has achieved in game.

Now, there comes the AU, where some high-rank armywasp noted the promising candidate, and trained the boy - first secretly, then out open. Pushing the training to the limits builds up a strong bug - not very sociable (young years alone + being looking down on), very cunning, stealthy, with knowledge of Dead Lands, dude becomes something akin to Royal Blade, but secret agent.

And this one have's a sketch and a few "fake screenshots" on that.

All made somewhere in spring of this year.

That strips the game of the main villian, of course, but we can do a grand great evil in the face of Deadlanders, who act like Dragon Age's Origins Blight or Mass Effect's Reapers - a swarm of danger against what everyone must unite. And it's an AU, who cares about storytelling consistency here anyway.

[kereruatbugaria]

Sometimes like to imagine that some stories are just movies that has been filmed inside the universe. Bug Fables is not an exception.

And in this, beg your pardon, "Movie AU", imagine the Hoaxe actor to be extremely nervous young lad for whom it is a first major villian role in his career. And he is very embarrassed after any slip or mistake he makes.