#ask wackus

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

Hey uuh so if u don't mind.... I want some writing advice... I have heard that ppl don't often like stories with an ending where the main character gets amnesia... But I can't see my fic go anywhere else (The alternative route is dying and I DO NOT want to go down there...)

... Any... Advice? Thanks in advance!

wow i am so honored that you want my advice arisa! it sounds like you concieved your fic with the ending in mind which is already ten steps in the right direction. also, remember you are writing for YOU before anyone else. yes, you want readers to like the story you craft for them, but in the end it's YOUR story that you want to tell and you're the one who knows how to craft its meaning best!

to begin with, the reason why readers are often disappointed by endings where the character gets amnesia at the end is because they feel cheated of character growth. the point of a story is to develop a character from who they were at the beginning to who they are at the end. when a story wipes all that away, it leaves a dissatisfying, empty taste in readers' mouths and they wonder, "what was the point of reading this, then?" it's much like the ending where the character wakes up from a dream and we realize the whole story was made up. we think, "what did i get so invested in that for?" as we shake our heads and walk away.

now with this in mind, it sounds like your character's amnesia will be the culmination of their development (simply based on how the only other option was death). i'm thinking there will be a sacrifice involved which results in the mc losing memories and therefore exiting the role they filled in the story. sacrificing memories can be a good plot device if you use it correctly. but i think there are some things that should be set in place before you go down that route.

have a character who DOES remember everything the mc went through and who reacts to them in a manner that supports that. you can even hint at it, really (think marinette going to visit fu and smiling at his painting). this will create a link between their past life and current blank slate that satiates the reader, because those lost memories are still meaningful to the protagonist as well as someone who cares about them, even if the mc doesn't know it.

have the character show their growth in other ways that indicate their personality stayed the same, even if they don't remember how they got to that point. e.g., if this person's journey was about standing up for what's right, have them walking down a street, seeing an injustice, and stepping in to right it. then we the readers will think, "aww, they're still the same person even if they don't remember." that's what means the most to us <3

establish whether or not the character will ever get their memories back. is there a possibility the amnesia can be reversed? have the other characters who remember discuss it. is the memory wipe permanent and can't be undone? have the characters who remember discuss it. i love loose ends but i wouldn't recommend leaving this as one, simply because it will add to audience frustration if you don't address it.

cover your bases! make sure we know why the character had to lose their memories, how it completes the point of your story, and who it impacts in what ways. this will all satisfy the climactic decision, as well as just make your story stronger overall!

people like any story that's good, no matter the plot device. it's just a matter of how you use your plot devices to structure your narrative! always remember the basic elements of a story: who is your character, what do they want, and what are they going to do to get it? then, considering this, juxtapose who this person is at the beginning versus who they become by the end. that should give you your entire narrative arc, which you can then close in a fitting way.

thank you for the ask! i truly hope this helped :)))

#ask wackus #writing advice #writing #narrative structure #story structure #character development #amnesia #memory loss #new advice column

[anna-scribbles]

guess who stayed up all night binging one does not love breathing by @wackus-bonkus-maximus​

#this dynamic made me laugh out loud several times #the whole. adrien constantly wallowing in self despair is a minor disturbance to felix #and the only tool adrien has to combat The Worst Situation On Earth is to make fun of felix for having feelings as often as he can #I feel satisfied now that i've completed the current fandom trifecta of Ladynoir Lost Contact And Everyone Is Doing Terrible stories #ml #ml fic rec #my art #adrien agreste #felix graham de vanily #wackus if ur reading this. that part when adrien asked if everyone was gonna be okay during the power outage while he went to go #check the generator #and felix was like 'no we're just gonna sit here fumbling in the dark until you come back and save us' #made me LAUGH #I love them theyre so ridiculous

[coffeebanana]

loveybug au loveybug au loveybug au loveybug au for the wip ask game!

thanks for the ask, @hueynomure and @wackus-bonkus-maximus!!

I don't really have MUCH of this aside from the idea tbh, but it was like...me trying to put myself in the headspace of what might drive Marinette to become Loveybug. And I came up with something a little different from the original Loveybug origin story, in that Marinette doesn't set out to transform into Loveybug. It happens by accident after Elation, when she's trying to push aside that part of her that loves Chat Noir...and she finds can't quite do it.

So there's an Akuma, and she transforms...only to look in the mirror and realize THAT'S NOT WHAT HER SUIT IS MEANT TO LOOK LIKE. TIKKI WTF? (Aka her true inner desire is that she does NOT want to give up on her love, and that feeling is so strong that it's manifesting in her transformation.)

Other highlights include Chat Noir thinking she's the Akuma when she shows up, and then her realizing...Chat Noir doesn't want Ladybug anymore. And he can't date Marinette....so maybe Loveybug is her last chance. Hopefully Chat Noir won't disappear and--oh. what's Catwalker doing here?

ALSO my headcanon that loveybug's name stems from an "I'm Ma-madly clumsy" type situation. Like she's trying to explain to Chat Noir that "I'm Ladybug and I'm in love with you!" and it comes out "I'm Loveybug!"

#ask response #miraculous ladybug #loveybug au #hueynomure #wackus-bonkus-maximus

[ladyofthenoodle]

what is ladrien rpf 👀

ladrien rpf is based on this prompt i wrote, which turned into a whole conversation on the aps discord server where we decided marinette and adrien should collaborate on a ladrien rpf comic together. i have not actually written anything for it, but it was on my list of possibilities for the ladrien zine, so i collected the conversation in a document (which is how it got included on my "touched in the last year list")

some highlights include:

adrien was the only person writing ladrien before gorizilla. afterwards a bunch on people went home and looked up "ladrien" and found his fic, which means he actually set the tropes and characterizations for ladrien fandom

HOWEVER a lot of people disagree with his characterization of adrien and think he's written him too weepy and smitten

this exception to this is marinette, who has been reading his fic since before gorizilla and still thinks he has the most accurate ladybug and adrien out there

she does have some criticism of his ladybug characterization actually

there are definitely ladrien vs ladynoir ship wars but adrien ships and writes both

anyways the end up writing a weekly comic where ladrien just go cuddle and go to farmers markets and raise their hamster

except adrien tries to keep it fresh by adding action/adventure, much to marinette's chagrin, because she does not know how to draw a grocery story in space

she also is way too embarassed to draw any of the kisses he writes

this is all via their online handles btw they have no idea who they're collabing with

thanks for the ask, wackus, @frostedpuffs, and @jattendschaton!

#wackus-bonkus-maximus #frostedpuffs #jattendschaton #ask game #fic ideas

[heartfulselkie]

tell us about sad machine please 🤩

So this was a fic idea that...went a little off the rails. (You should know, its in the littlebug files somewhere)

I've started writing it already and I do intend to share the fic at some point, so I'll not go into too much details for now. But I can certianly give a quick overview!

It's essentially a semi-futuristic cyberpunk au. In this au, Gabriel runs a massive company that specialises in augmentation, cybernetics and other technology (so think Alliance from the show but a lot more products). His brand is at the forefront of technology and is constantly updating and releasing new products for consumers - but this also leads to a lot of waste and things becoming obsolete. This is something that Adrien absolutely hates.

Adrien is very skilled in programming and mechanical engineering, but has yet to really be involved in his father's company beyond being a public face/model. And he's doing a lot to avoid becoming ensnared in the company because he'd rather use his skill elsewhere.

Which is exactly what he does! With the help of his friend Nino, Adrien uses the pseudonym 'Chat Noir' and works to help repair the items and parts for people who depend on these things but don't have the means to keep upgrading to the constant rollout of new models (so things like prosthetics and body augments and things that people literally need for their quality of life).

Of course Adrien does this all without Gabriel's knowledge - which means Adrien has to source parts for his repairs outside of the company. Luckily with the constant progression and changeover in technology and machinery there's a lot of scrap. So Adrien often spends his time salvaging for parts.

It's during one of these salvaging expeditions that he comes across a very curious little thing. A piece of machinery that appears to host some kind of AI. He doesn't know if it had been some kind of robot, android or just some assistant programme, but he's very quickly intrigued why such a complex and sophisticated AI would be thrown away (even if she is a little bit glitchy and buggy).

So he takes her in and calls her Ladybug.

Who/what is she? Where did she come from? What's hidden behind her corrupted memory?

Obviously there's a lot of questions but... you'll just have to wait until I post the fic!

[WIP Ask Game]

#wackus-bonkus-maximus #ask selkie #ask game #wip game

[ninadove]

🐑 #feligami, #spy au, #enemies to lovers

“Let me see if I got this right.”

There was no hint of concern in Argos’ eyes as he trailed his gloved hand across the showcase.

“You lied, stole, and murdered your way here,” he recapitulated, nonchalantly tapping on the glass. “Yet, you seem to believe you hold some kind of moral high ground over me.”

“You and I have nothing in common.”

She pressed her blade closer to his throat, which rose and fell back with a scoff.

“I’m here because I believe in our cause,” Ryuko groaned, her teeth flashing against the dark fabric of her mask. “You only care about your own interests.”

The coveted jewel was right there, splashing his face in indigo light. Had she not once again let her own anger take the lead, she could have been gone by now — far away from the security guards, from this wretched town, and from the rival she had strict instructions not to harm.

“You disappoint me, Ryuko,” he commented, his usual smirk morphing into a pout. “After all the times we’ve stood toe to toe. I would have thought you knew me better by now.”

Ask game here!

Part 2 here!

#DAMN WACKUS YOU WERE FAST AND HIT HARD WITH THIS ONE 💜❤️ #miraculous ladybug #felix graham de vanily #argos #kagami tsurugi #ryuko #feligami #aryuko #nina writes #tumblr asks #ask games

[mostmagical]

DUOLINGO REVEAL PLEASE 🦉

WAHOO YAY THANKS FOR ASKING

so duolingo reveal came about during a brainstorming session where I was just trying to come up with the most ridiculous reveal scenarios possible. and around that time, my friend and I discovered that her brother was on duolingo because I needed his contact info for whatever and duo sent a notification to my phone that said something along the lines of "your friend so and so is on duolingo!"

my plan was that Ladybug admits to Chat Noir that she would like to work on her English more so they can help akumatized tourists better, and he suggests they both download an app. she reluctantly agrees and allows him to follow her. since this is the only social media she allows him to follow her on, he goes ham, cheering her on and sending her in-app gifts daily. he spends a TON of time on there and is just dominating leaderboards so everyone eventually finds out that Ladynoir is on there, but they don't follow anyone besides each other.

as it turns out though, Marinette did not realize the app syncs her contact information, until someone she knows gets an alert to their phone, "Your friend Ladybug is on the app!"

ask me about my wips! <3

#it's been so long since I wrote a goofy reveal. I should get back to this #ask game #wip #wackus-bonkus-maximus

[maridotnet]

for the wip game - kiss

okay starting off REAL strong let's see what we've got here oh it looks like adrinette

thanks for the ask!!! manifesting this for your fic

#adrinette #ask game #viv talks #wackus #mari.net art #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #psyche and eros

[lesbitorte]

REDDITOR GHOSTS 😱👻

THE REDDIT GHOST

Okay so this one is basically Adrien is dead and the plot is not entirely stablished and I'm lowkey making it as I go, but Marinette is trying to solve his case.

I have very little written in this wip, but i have two pages of bullet points on how this happens, so here's one of the titles that are on hold xD

AITA for getting my black widow neighbor arrested so I could date her latest late husband after resurrecting him?

(ask game)

#ask game #wackus-bonkus-maximus

[bugaboooooooooo]

congrats whiskers!!

i would love to see the senti twins in your style pls 👉👈

Thanks wackus!!! 💕

:)

#if you look closely there are hints of green and indigo in the white symbolising that the peacock and black cat miraculous respectively are #in a way their ways out of this whole senti mess / give them freedom :)))))) #sorry it took so long to get to your ask wackus!! i just didnt know what to draw for so long lol #also there are some hints of red in adriens outfit :)))) symbolising ladybug #hehe i really like how their faces turned out #also the knot at adriens neck :))))))) #hue hue hee ehee #miraculous #ml #mlb #miraculous ladybug #les aventures de ladybug et chat noir #miraculous les aventures de ladybug et chat noir #tales of ladybug and cat noir #tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #ml fanart #my art #felix graham de vanily #adrien agreste #sentimonster theory #senti felix #senti adrien #my posts

[mila-beedoodling]

✂️💣 (sorry i think the scissors are different in the ask game!)

💣: What site do you think you’re most active on?

✂: What’s you astrology sign, zodiac, and MBTI?

or as I like to call it: shy attention seeker

(ask game)

#asks #ask game #wackus bonkus maximus #ALSO IT'S ALRIGHT

[mozzygan]

i love the before // after format and if that's what you're doing in your wip ask game i am dying to see it 👀👀👀

ok this one is...i've kept it very close haha. imma share some of it because i'm brave!!!!!!! but i'm sure you'll figure out why i've been closed-lipped about this story lol. just gonna share the intro tho—honestly, i know very little about this story right now. haven't super explored it/gotten to know the characters. but anyways IT'S BRAVE FACE TIME 😤 (self harm tw)

I used to write on my skin a lot—notes, dates, assignments, all that. Whenever you’re fresh out of notebooks (which is a perpetual state of being for me), just whip out a pen and you got yourself an easy-to-remember and unlosable agenda on your palm. After my friends got annoyed at me for washing my reminders off whenever I went to the bathroom, I started using the notes app on my phone to take notes, write down dates, remember assignments. But there were marks on my skin that I’d drawn on years and years and years ago. They’d had long since washed off. Still, after days of scrubbing myself raw in the shower, I could never quite remove them. They were gone from my skin, sure, but not from my soul. Two simple words, separated by a barrier of dashed lines all along my stomach, thighs, and the flab of my arms: “BEFORE” and “AFTER.”

#wackus-bonkus-maximus #ask #aske game #wip ask game #i think it's pretty evident why i don't talk about this one #but i still feel like it's important—at least for me #oof am i gonna regret posting this???? #yes probably haha #and not just because this is a very very rough first draft 💀 #BUT!!! I'M BRAVE AND HONEST AND VULNERABLE #WHICH IS AWESOME BC IT'S IMPORTANT!! #ok i'm done #mine #my original stories #b//a #my writing #tw self harm

[coffeebanana]

🐕‍🦺for the summary

A drunken game of Twister somehow lands Marinette in Adrien's bed. And there's cuddling. The sort that feels like maybe it's leading to something a little less than platonic. So when an Akuma interrupts the fun, Marinette is NOT about to let Hawk Moth win. Not tonight. This would have been a lot easier if she'd remembered to transform.

"Come on, Adrien." She yanked his hand harder as they raced down the stairs. This would have been so much easier if she could just carry him, but superpowers or not, she didn't exactly trust her coordination right now. "We just need to get to the--fuck!"

Skidding to a stop on the landing between the second floor and the lobby, Marinette stared in horror at the purple smoke that was already creeping through the cracks around the door below. They'd been too slow. It was time for plan B.

Letting go of Adrien's hand (regretfully), she reached for the yo-yo hooked to her--wait. why was it in a pocket? Why did her suit have pockets?

Well, probably for the same reason her transformation had given her a fuzzy onesie and slippers in the place of her usual transformation. Tikki must have been affected by her drunkenness.

None of that mattered so long as she could still do her job and get Adrien to safety. Smoke was quickly filling the landing below, but it hadn't yet reached the hole in the middle of the staircase, which extended to the parking lot floors below. All they had to do was drop down there and they'd be able to find a new exit.

Marinette tossed her yo-yo towards the bannister, frowning as she watched it in midflight. Even her weapon didn't look the way it usually did. It was red, sure. But it lacked its usual spots. And as for ease of handling...it crashed to the floor half a metre away from its destination.

Ugh. Apparently she was going to have to do this the hard way. She bent down to pick up the yo-yo, and was about manually wrap it around the bannister when Adrien grabbed her wrist.

"Marinette, I'm not sure--" Adrien broke off when she whirrled around to face him.

"Adrien, I know you're scared."

"Oh. I'm not actually--"

"But you have nothing to worry about. You're safe with me." She stepped closer, raising a hand to cup his cheek. She had to keep herself from licking her lips at the tiny gasp he let out. There would be time to explore whatever that meant later. "You're always safe with me."

His gaze softened, and he gave a small chuckle. "And normally, I wouldn't doubt that. But..."

Marinette dropped her hand, frowning. Why was there a but? She was freaking Ladybug! And even if she weren't, she'd still find his lack of faith insulting.

He certainly hadn't looked at her that way earlier, when she'd had to crawl underneath him to place her right hand on green.

...

thanks for the ask!! 💜

#ask response #wackus-bonkus-maximus #miraculous ladybug #adrinette #ladrien #sort of #marinette THINKS it's ladrien at least 😂 #this is pure crack because like. i genuinely refuse to believe someone can ACTUALLY be this drunk but #it's FUNNY OKAY #i also have other ideas about how this plays out--and backstory for why she's wearing the onesie #but i'll keep those to myself for now on the odd chance i ever end up writing the rest of this LOL

[ladyofthenoodle]

trick or treat 🪣

YOU ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO ALL MY WIPS 😭 what do you want from me

#ask game #wackus-bonkus-maximus

[heartfulselkie]

if ghostbug knows adrien was chat noir in her timeline......what's stopping her from telling him? 👀

Because Ghostbug has a lot of history with her Chaton and to see it all suddenly vanish is...just a bit traumatic. This Adrien doesn't know her at all and only assumed she recognises him because he's a celebrity.

She catastrophises the worst possible scenario and her brain just kind of sticks on it - that Adrien won't believe her and find her to be some kind of weird creep if she tries to tell him that she loves him and that he DID love her. Even if he now doesn't remember loving her.

She's already lost the love she thought she had so she can't bear the thought of losing Adrien any further, even if it means starting from scratch. Which is exactly what she's going to do. Things will work out if she can get Adrien to fall in love with her all over again (at least, get him to fall in love with the non-ghost her). When that happens, she's sure Adrien will believe what she has to tell him.

#kwami swap amnesia au #ghostbug au #wackus-bonkus-maximus #ask selkie #kaleidoscope au

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

For the game, I once assumed you've at least watched Spy X Family. It's because of your name. "Wacku wacku!" is an iconic line from one of the characters. It's an expression for excitement. I thought you based your name off of that. I could be wrong though.

I HAVE WATCHED SPY X FAMILY. mlb broke my 10+ year no fanfiction streak and spy x family broke like a 5 year no anime streak 😭 oh well zero regrets there.

I have said that i'm never going to write the spy x feligami au but. uh. i'm probably going to end up eating my words bc i'm obsessed with both of them.

ask game: confess something you've thought about me on anon

#wackus bonkus is the name of caligula's sledgehammer in horrible histories #it's also the voice in my head that gives me more ideas on how to torture adrien agreste #among others #ask game #confess something you've thought about me on anon #felix graham de vanily #kagami tsurugi #feligami #spy x family #spy x feligami