#have you ever been really tempted to delete a blog?

[1004tyun-archive]

i said i would write you an essay to prove you i love you the most 😖🩷 so here i am

crystal 🥺🥺 when i met you i didn’t think we would end up messaging everyday all day hehe i was actually so worried that you’d find me boring and that the conversation would just die ><

we have talked about so much, in general, and yet it feels like i just never get tired of talking to you 🥺 you make me so happy, i feel so much better now that you’re in my life 🥺🩷 thank you so much for being in my life i feel so loved and appreciated >\\\< i feel like i really don’t deserve it which is why i want to give you more 🥺😭🩷

my little fairy of crystals, my crystal gem 💎🥺🩷 you’re so beautiful, nice, sweet, kind, talented, intelligent, my favorite writer, i love the way i get immersed into your stories you really have a way with words 🥺🩷 my favorite… i think is i love you and i want us both to eat well 🥺🩷 it’s the one i reread it the most… 🥺🩷 aaaah i love you so much <3333

i think i’m running out of things to say i wouldn’t want to repeat myself over and over 🥺 i love you 🥺🩷🩷🩷 and so does taehyun!!!

CHERRYYYYYYYYYYYYY

WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN WITH THIS???!?

one thing is for sure, you’re a woman of your word. you said you’d write me an essay and you did just that! i don’t know what i expected!!

first of all, i cannot believe that you would ever think you would bore me considering every conversation we’ve had is anything but boring 😭 i feel like we always find something to talk about no matter what we talk about, we end up fighting about who loves the other more lol if anything, i thought you would find /me/ boring!

i could never ever imagine getting tired of you. it’s like you’ve cemented yourself into my daily life the way we talk everyday 🥺 i’ve learned over this weekend that a day without talking to you (or, let’s face it, even HOURS without talking to you) just feels wrong. it’s like i need you here so everything is okay, so you gotta stay by my side, okay? i’m not letting you go now that i’ve got you 🥺🩵 thank YOU for being here, thank you for pushing yourself to message me first, thank you for being you.

🚨 WEE WOO CORNBALL ALERT ‼️ CRYSTAL’S ABOUT TO GET SAPPY 🚨

i’ve always been a firm believer of people coming into your life when you need them most. so many things have happened to me that have proved this right time and time again, and you’re no different. i believe we found each other at the perfect time.

i abandoned this account for a couple of months and when i finally came back to it earlier this year, i was so tempted to delete it since my fic output was nonexistent and i wasn’t happy with any of my drafts but then i discovered kumi’s taehyun fic and i was like hmm maybe i’ll just stay as a reader account and quit writing but then you came along and we started talking and now i wouldn’t even dream of deleting this blog, not when it’s brought me to so many kind and amazing and talented people. not when it’s brought me to you, my dear <3

i’m so glad we’ve found each other. you continue to inspire me and warm my heart and just make everything so much better. i love learning more about you and finding out we have so much in common and bonding over the tiniest things 🥺

sometimes people say they were born in the wrong generation and (no matter how old we feel sometimes 😭😭) i wouldn’t ask for a more perfect time to be here, to have met you <3

people have called me a tsundere before and while i don’t think that’s completely false bc i’m kinda bad at expressing lovey dovey feelings it comes so naturally when it’s you 🥺 it’s so easy to love you, cherry. i sincerely and truly hope you know that

my sweet cherry bear, my happy pill, my hot choco fairy, my cottagecore princess 🥺🥺 you’re one of a kind, so softhearted and kind and beautiful and supportive and so lovely~ i hope we stay friends forever 🩵🩵 i love you so so much

i hope this isn’t too crazy but… i think you’ve dethroned taehyun in terms of who i think about more 😳 but don’t tell him! i don’t wanna hurt his feelings. there’s still enough room in my heart and mind for the both of you 🫶🏾🫶🏾

[chuya-chuya-blog]

I changed my header because the old one got cut off on every website I used it on.🤦‍♀️ It was so subtle and pretty to me but you rarely actually SAW IT because the sides were always cut off. At least with this one when the sides get chopped, I don't have to worry because the important stuff is toward the middle. As a mangaka, I am already well aware of this, but if a website says your header can be a certain size, I expect to SEE THAT HEADER. But no, tumblr cut the sides off of mine anyways. So now I have this new header using an unfinished line work. I do think it's neat, so hopefully, it will stand the test of time. (The old header cut off Jamie's nose anyway, and I admit that probably looked a bit weird, especially out of context.)

Looking at it now, the new header and the theme of my tumblr reminds me of theotaku.com. It's an old website I used to post on frequently in high school. It was one of my favorite sites because you could have up to four blogs, and separate galleries for comics and art. At one point, I had submitted a drawing for the header in an event they were doing. It was originally weekly, but mine ended up being left up there for months! I was so proud. They have a new header image that they've been using for years now, but remembering that point in time after seeing my current blog feels like a full circle moment. I've come so far since then.

(AND IT MAKES ME SOOOOO HAPPY TO HAVE MY OWN PAGE THAT I AM IN COMPLETE CONTROL OF BECAUSE IT'S MIIIINE ALLLLL MIIIIIIIINE HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!)

I actually hope theotaku makes a comeback. It was so cute, simple and easy to use. It would translate well into an app. I'm getting tempted to make a new account(I deleted my old ones) just thinking about it.

While in my gallery getting the new picture for the header, I came across an old magazine cover I made to cheer myself up. During some rough moments, I had the idea to lift my spirits by creating and printing a manga magazine just for myself and filled with my own work. Manga magazines are becoming a thing of the past, and it's unlikely I'll ever see my work in a physical print one(unless I work really hard and get a one shot in somehow) so I had the lovely idea of just making one up. Plenty of stores print booklets out for a fee and I've always liked laying out books and magazines anyway, so it was really fun to do(and this process in particular will make great practice when it's time to print the full volumes). I named it and everything. I still haven't printed one physically yet, but that plan is still definitely in the works. Completing a full volume will take time, and this gave me something to look forward to and to boost my morale. I still wanna do it wholeheartedly. 🙂

[girlyliondragon]

I'm late to say this here but Happy New Year or whatever.

I'll admit I have purposefully not been active here for a variety of personal reasons. The main one being I just don't really feel welcome and I feel very out of place. I still have people popping up in my notifs liking my old fandom stuff and frankly it just makes me really uncomfortable. I don't do that fandom anymore, I don't wanna be involved in that fandom anymore. I wish there was a way to just delete all posts related to it without having to cherrypick through the mass editor tbh. I want to purge it all. I don't want to talk about it outside my very small friend group if they ever were to bring it up again.

I don't really have a community to be a part of here and that makes me feel uneasy. Ironically I've felt more at home on Twitter bc I'm part of a community fandom there that frankly, I would not be able to be a part of here. I will not say where I am on Twitter bc I don't want anyone stalking me there.

If it wasn't for the fact that you can't reuse tumblr names if you deleted an account, I'd have deleted mine and probably never come back until years passed.

It's just hard to feel welcome here when your last experience regarding a fandom was basically being talked out of committing suicide by the people who not only rejected you but never attempted to speak to or interact with you again after talking you out of it, which frankly only makes me think they never actually gave a shit about me or my life by that point, and just didn't want any blood on their hands. I would've been tempted to go back on that as a Fuck You had the latter half of this year which has treated me a lot better not happened. :/

I don't really have any resolutions for here bc there's nothing I can really do here. As of now this is just a blog where I rb stuff here or there, I don't really have the motivation to interact with people outside my circle. I am still drawing but it's nothing I should post here.

Sorry for the extreme downer post, I just feel like a mismatched puzzle piece now and people have only proven to me that I'm not welcome. Hopefully you guys had a better year than me. Whoever's still stuck around well, thanks for doing that when you had all the other times where you probably should've. It's weird to still have friends here, but I sorta appreciate it still.. ik it doesn't sound like it. I'm just still bitter and broken up mentally.

My only resolution is to actually have a space where I can heal and actually surround myself with a community who want me. And I've been doing that. I just don't like posting here specifically.

Maybe I should turn this back into a RB-only type of blog like I wanted it to be in the very beginning before I got into fandom stuff again. Idk, if it'll keep people from expecting things from me.

[leejihoonownsmyheart]

HELP I WANTED TO ASK YOU REAL GENTLE REAL SWEET WHY YOU DIDNT JUST CHECK MY NAME FROM THE COMMENTS ON YOUR FIC BUT THEN I REALISED THAT I NEVER REALLY MENTIONED ANYTHING IN THOSE COMMENTS ABOUT BEING THE WRITER OF THE OTHER FICS THAT WOULD HELP YOU JOIN THE DOTS EHRJEJFJDUDS IM SO SORRY??? I LEGIT THOUGHT THAT YOU'D HAVE KNOWN FROM THEREEEE

WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE NEXT POINT- I KEPT YOU IN THE DARK FOR A YEAR? I KEPT YOU WAITING THAT LONG? I CHECKED AND THE FIRST ASK I SENT YOU WAS ANSWERED LAST YEAR ON JULY 14 😭😭😭😭😭 IT'S BEEN MORE THAN A FULL YEAR SUENRKSKDKDKDSKA

Third: omg us in july is truly a miracle because turns out that you posted your fic in july 2016

FOURTH!? SEVEN YEARS???? IT'S BEEN ONE FULL YEAR SINCE I FIRSTFOUND THIS BLOG OF YOURS SO THAT MAKES IT SEVEN YEARS THAT WE'VE "KNOWN" EACH OTHER??? IM GOING TO SCREAM BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT???

Fifth- that friend from whose fic you found me is one of my besties and I've known her for 8 years minus ONE DAY 🥺🥺🥺 tomorrow (based on timezones) is our anniversary and AHHHHHH GOD THATS MY LONGEST FRIENDSHIP THAT I STILL KEEP UP WITH. to think that I've known YOU for seven... omg?

Sixth! You detective! You are so cool

Seven !! Dw about finding my old tumblr LOOOOLLL I did mean to delete it but am just lazy and avoidant,,, but it's okay really! Not an invasion of privacy considering /my/ behaviour with your blogs JDAJDJSJDJSKSKDKA your "invasion" of my privacy is warranted LMAO let's catch each other up on our misadventures 🥳 jkjk

Eight- although yes I dont use that account anymore and have had four more since then 💀💀💀💀 I planned to contact you through the fourth, you see 🤡 (god this clown emoji looks terrifying on my phone I hate it suddenly, it's NIGHTTIME i dont want clown nightmares even if I'm not scared of them 😭 hard to be scared of something you've never seen before except in a mirror shdhfjdndnjsksa)

NINE - YOU WERE SUBSCRIBED TO ME?!?!!?!??!! SHAJSJSJDJSJSJSA HELPPPPPP?? OHMYGOD? YOURE ONE OF THOSE 66 PEOPLE... WAHHHHHH IM SO EMOTIONAL

Ten- "HAHA DW YOU DONT HAVE TO TALK TO ME IF YOU DONT WANT TO HAHA" these haha's killed my soul a little OF COURSE I want to talk to you I'm just SHIT at having energy for conversations lately (for like 3 years now LMFAOOOO) BUT THATS NO EXCUSE !!!!!!!!!!!

omg i didn't know you hurt your foot 😭 is that why you're bedridden?? SENDING YOU GOOD HEALING VIBES SJDJDJSJS I hurt my feet too because i got overenthusiastic with exercise 💀💀 and then just skipped a day like no MY STREAK! But they're fine rn I guess, maybe the rest was good ehrjejdjsjsa

omg I'm a proper carat 🥺🥺🥺 am I a proper carat if I barely know their songs because I'm fond of them but I probably don't know more than ten songs DHEJEHSHDNSKS??? Help. I must be an improper carat (can you tell I have dumb jokes)

THIRTEEN! I realised after seven entire years that your name basically translates to cheese on toast. That was a revelation. I hope you've brien well. Yes. I actually just did that.

Fourteen- caratumblr abo verse.... I havent written smut for two years and I havent even been writing but this was such a tempting offer JRJERJSJDJ LMAOOOO I'll support you in your endeavours 😌🥳🤩🥰

Fifteen - also same I LOVE SENDING ASKS DISKSKSKS

Ok this was a long ask hehe whoops <3 enjoy your day! I hope you have a good one!!! I think our timezones are far apart so I must zzz now ❤ I think I covered everything I wanted to say rn!!

--- spn anon (oh look! This can double as point number seventeen 🤩)

YOU KNOW IM KINDA ANNOYED I DIDNT FIGURE THIS PUT A YEAR AGO LIKE…. What the fuck was a doing all those other times i tried it wasn’t THAT difficult to find… this is ridiculous i’m so dumb sigh

A FULL YEAR OH MY GOD…. THATS INSANE…. But SEVEN YEARS FOR US?! THAT WOULD BE MY LONGEST ONLINE RELATIONSHIP. I would never EVER imagine that any online relationship I would find would transcend fandoms ESPECIALLY NOT SO DRASTICALLY as going from supernatural to kpop and ao3 to tumblr… what a migration… seven YEARS… damn that means we only just missed our anniversary haha

HAHA SAM 🫵 SCARED OF CLOWNS although tbh… clowns are fucking terrifying… THERE WAS THIS SCARE IN NORTH CAROLINA WHERE THERE WERE CLOWNS IN THE WOODS FOR A WHILE BRO IM STILL SCARED OVER IT

I WAS SUBSCRIBED TO YOU!! OBVIOUSLY I REALLY LIKED YOUR WRITING CAUSE I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN ANYTHING BASED OFF ANYTHING EVER AGAIN

DONT BE STRESSED ABOUT MY HAHAS THEY ARENT LIKE haha… 🥲 THEYRE LIKE REALLY HAHA THATS SO FUNNY LIKE REALLY ENTHUSIASTIC HAHAS AND NO THATS A PERFECTLY FINE EXCUSE i just went through a phase where i didn’t want to talk to anyone so i GET IT

I think that if seventeen brings you any type of comfort you’re a carat, no matter if you listen to one song or all of them. You know their names, that’s MUCH more than i knew when i knew that amount of songs. So i think you qualify as one, even if you don’t go further into liking them or listening to their music

BUT STOP YOUR JOKES ARE SO FUNNY YOU ARE GENUINELY SO FUNNY

YES CAPTAINBRIEONTOAST IS LIKE THE MOST CLEVER THING I’VE EVER COME UP WITH LIKE IT’S DEVASTATING TO ME THAT I AM NOW SOMETHING ELSE… people on this blog don’t even know my roots… WHO I WAS BEFORE (that’s probably a good thing) I actually only started going by brie even offline when i gave myself the captainbrieontoast name for writing. I HAVE BRIEN WELL 🤣

Come on sam… dad’s on a hunting trip and hasn’t been home in a few days…. DUST OFF YOUR SMUT WRITING SKILLS I can’t do this without you 😫 (just kidding don’t feel pressured) what if i actually did do a caratumblr abo verse collab that would be crazy i don’t think i have the confidence or influence to start that alone

I HOPE YOU SLEEP WELL!!! I’LL TALK TO YOU LATER!! I just woke up (but it’s almost 4pm where i am and i should’ve woken up sooner)

[musette22]

I'm not the same anons as before but I agree. I'm not going to delete my blog as I enjoy the content, but it does seem like a closed fandom in some respects. It makes participating in bangs and creating content frustrating bc you want the same encouragement and engagement that you're seeing others give/receive, but it's difficult to break through when everyone seems to be mutuals and you're on the outside. Sometimes it's super unmotivating. I've come to the conclusion just to stop trying to find mutuals to interact with, and enjoy the content on my own, which is a shame as so many creators seem to be nice and talented.

I hear you, anon, and I'm very sorry you feel this way. Other anon hasn't gotten back to me, so I assume they deactivated, which is just really such a shame, because I firmly believe there is a place for everyone in this community. It's odd, because contrary to what you're describing, I've personally never felt so much friendly energy and willingness to share and interact with strangers as much as I've felt it in this corner of the fandom. So I'm not sure why your experience is so different from mine, but I can imagine it must so frustrating to you sometimes, and I really want to help if I can.

I do recognize your frustration regarding bangs and stuff like that, because I've felt that what in the past too (and still do sometimes), and it's so tempting and tricky to fall into that trap of comparing the level of engagement your creations are receiving with that of others. That's slightly different discussion though that we've already had a number of times, so I won't go into that now, but I do know what you mean, and how frustrating that can be.

But to go back to the issue of it being a 'closed' fandom that you're having trouble breaking into: I personally do my very best to interact with new people, and people who seem to be trying to reach out to others in this community, but it's very possible I'm honestly just accidentally missing people out. That's never the intention, but I have no doubt it happens occasionally. I want to make everyone feel included - as I know without a doubt most of my mutuals do too, because that's just the kind of people I know them to be. But we do need be aware of you and your desire to be interact with others. So instead of sending anon messages, go out on a limb and send bloggers and creators you like a DM or ask off anon, even if it's just to introduce yourself and go 'I just love stucky so much and I think your blog is great, and I’d love to interact more with you all’ or something like that. Just making it plain – there is no shame in that at all. As far as I’m aware, no one in this corner of the fandom likes clique-ing. There have been cliques in the past though, and that was extremely frustrating, so we’re all mindful not to fall into that trap again, I think. So unlike in some other fandoms, I truly feel like this fandom actually actively welcomes ‘new’ people, because we’re all always on the lookout for more likeminded folks to share the love with.

To draw from my personal experience: when I first started out in the fandom, there were two people who sort of ‘discovered’ me and then included me in their conversations and tag games and stuff at first. And then I started reaching out to lots of people myself, just messaging them to chat and sending asks and posting my creations and tagging them in those. And for an introvert like me, that was really scary, but it paid off. And believe me, it didn’t always work. There were times where I was convinced people hated me, or people just didn’t reply and I’d wonder what I could have said wrong, but hey, that happens sometimes (still happens sometimes of course). More often than not, I struck up a friendship of some sort, a lot of which are still going strong today. So I really do believe putting yourself out there works, daunting as it sometimes may seem.

So anyway yes, this is my long-winded way of saying: if anyone ever feels left out, feel free to drop me a note (off anon), because I know it doesn’t have to be that way 💖

[umbralundertaker]

hi do u have any recommendations for good jack noir (using interchangeably w/ slick here) content. like artist fanfics blogs analysis whatever. i juuust got back into homestuck and i absolutely dont want to get into the fandom again bc holy shit no way. so ive been avoiding looking in tags or anything. but i wanna see my favorite guy

yaaaa omg. I dreamed o' this day.

Just saying the hs tumblr presence has cooled down considerably esp compared to twitter, so if you ever are tempted to tread into the fabled tumblr search function your brain Might not explode.

Well first the JACK CUBE in by bio links to a google doc that has a list of carapace names. So if you ever are wanting to make midnight crew OCs theres some ideahs

This reblog also has some of my thoughts on Jack

The Legitimate Businessman series by Halberdier on AO3 is worth mentioning, despite it not being my cup of tea. These fics are ones I really like, but there are tons more good ones on AO3 if you know how to filter put all the bad stuff.

Pawnstuck, an AU where the carapaces play SBURB, is gr8 if you havent read it already! And HSETAU is another awesome AU about the carapaces being aliens!!

You could also look on the MSPFA for other Jack based fanventures. Theres a fanventure called Be Game Over Sovereign Slayer that cataloges all of that specific instance of Jack in chronological order, and although I haven't had the time to look at it yet, user Lieutenant97 has dome something similar!

I know that there was a KFAD clone that involved Jack Noir and remixing his songs! It was hosted over on SoundCloud and YouTube I think? I never got into it as it would have made me Too excited lol

I also have saved a triple mashup of Black that I found on youtube, but the vid got deleted. So if you want the sound file I can send that.

That being said, I know for a fact there are cool Black remixes on both of these sites so go lookin for em!

You know the Homestuck books? And how Hussie left commentary on most if not all pages? Well, an acquaintance of mine is sending me Jack Noir-related screenshots of these comments, so if I see enough interesting ones I'll post em!

Jack artists, hmmm... @threeheadedsewerrat comes to mind first, but @laconic-lance @firecrackrz and @charliesinfern0 are all active.

Um anyways. My message to you. Create the Jack Noir content you want to see in this world

[neon-junkie]

Hey everyone,

This will be my final post addressing the fandom conflict that has quite frankly gotten out of hand. Although it’s very likely this post will be picked apart, no matter how well intended it is, I will no longer be addressing, interacting, or responding to any further accusations made against me. Of course, if people have questions from a genuine place of interest, I will be happy to clarify anything for you, either via DM’s or non-anon asks. I will not be answering anonymous asks on this, as I do not want anything else posted on this topic. 

As a side note: For anyone tempted to wade into the debate, I sincerely ask you not to get involved. Do not make yourself a target, do not feel you need to ‘pick a side’, and please do not think you have an obligation to reason with either side. It seems to be well past the point of that, so please find people you get along with in this fandom and curate a space for yourself away from all this conflict.

Warning: This post will contain uncensored slurs, mentions of racism, paedophilia, transphobia, LGBTQ+ phobia, death threats, threats of violence, targeted harassment, and abusive language.

To start off, I want to apologise to everyone who has somehow gotten drawn into this mess by either defending me, following me, or interacting with my content. This whole situation with me began well over a year ago when I wrote a crack-smut fic featuring Javier/Micah, posted back in August 2019. A crack fic is defined as “a work of fan fiction that is absurd, surprising or ridiculous, often intentionally.” It was inspired by a camp interaction between Micah and Javier, and like many other fanfiction writers, I decided to write smut about it. The fic was titled ‘Dirty Fucking Greaser’, and if that shocks you, I’m sure you can imagine how shocked I was to be informed afterwards that ‘Greaser’ was in fact a very serious 19th century slur for a Mexican individual. My first encounter with this word as insult was via RDR2, where it was used like a very casual insult. My only prior knowledge of this term was in regards to the greasers youth subculture, so the severity was lost on me. This obviously does not excuse my ignorance, and I should have researched the term better, but this is just again to apologize for that oversight, the insensitivity, and to highlight that my use of this term was not meant maliciously. Following this being pointed out, I proceeded to make 3 separate apology posts [Unfortunately I can only find the third one: HERE], renamed the fic, and added slur warnings in both the tags and the fic description. When I continued to receive complaints and increasingly aggressive abuse (which included being told my apologies weren’t good enough and I should delete my account and even kill myself), I attempted to delete the fic and mistakenly abandoned it instead. I contacted AO3 to see if it could be removed, but they said there was nothing they could do. I contacted their DMCA takedown team, who also said they couldn't remove it. Please note that all this happened 7-8 months ago, and has been dragged on for almost a year. 

So, from this one unfortunate incident, I’ve been branded a racist, and someone who attacks POC, when all I have done is tried to defend myself and correct my past mistakes. I could have done this more gracefully in the past, but frankly when you’re suddenly the target of unrelenting callout posts and nasty anons, it’s very hard to be open to criticism of this sort, but this is what I’m trying to move past.

Over the course of the year, this one mistake has spiralled, and the crusade against me has somehow coincided with moral conflicts over certain characters and ships. This has devolved into dehumanizing abuse, witch hunts, death threats, doxxing, anon hate, and much more unpleasant behaviour.

I have been in fandom for a very long time, and at the heart of all fandom circles is the fear of censorship and subsequent purges, so the ‘ship and let ship’ mentality was more or less the pinnacle of fandom philosophy. And yes, this can be problematic in some contexts. People have their right to be uncomfortable with content, have a right to be offended by content, but that is not content meant for you. This argument has devolved into ‘what material is morally right to engage with’ and that is a mentality in which fandom will not survive, because for every person who is telling me I’m an awful person for writing about Micah, there are three other people telling me how much they appreciate me making that content. For every fic in which I characterize Javier and Flaco a certain way, some people are made uncomfortable by it and others tell me they enjoy it. And this isn’t just white people, but POC too, which makes it very difficult to know whether I am genuinely in the right or the wrong, especially when it comes to the concept of ‘fetishization’ which I have been made aware I need to educate myself on. I intend to do so, but I disagree with the common accusation that finding non-white men romantically and sexually attractive is inherently fetishistic and makes me racist. It’s pushing a catch-22; don’t find POC sexually attractive? Racist. Find POC sexually attractive? Racist.

I am always willing to be (politely) approached about anything my readers may be concerned about, but if it’s something I’ve specifically tagged for (such as themes, scenarios, etc.) I’m afraid you consented to reading it and with that I cannot help you. You are just as responsible for curating your space and what you see/read just as much as I am responsible for tagging it appropriately.  

On the topic of racism, I want to bring up my prior use of ‘white racism’ which has obviously been a point of contention among both white and people of colour. The (literal) black vs white concept of racism is incredibly American-centric, and as someone from Europe, which has a history of oppression against white cultures and those of people of colour, it feels inaccurate. However, this has recently been discussed with me and I came to the realization that while growing up, especially in the UK, ‘xenophobia’ and ‘racism’ were marketed as one and the same. So, with this little revelation in mind, I will no longer be using ‘white racism’ (Or ‘reverse racism’) to identify the abuse I have been receiving, but will instead call it by what it really is; dehumanizing, debasing, xenophobic, puritanical.   

Very briefly, I will also touch on the NewAustin situation, which has also been dredged into this. I did not ‘chase a POC from tumblr’. NA was a minor who for some reason was on my 18+ blog and took issue with me, likely from the ongoing discourse regarding my fic and initial mistake, as well as my interest in Micah. They were subsequently harassed into deleting their account by anonymous hate following various conflicts with other users for their support of me or their ships in general. I have never encouraged my followers to target anyone, and have always asked to be blocked and blacklisted by those who do not like me or my content. When NewAustin messaged me following the deletion of their blog, I was admittedly indifferent to the point of being unkind, and accused them of sending the hate themselves. This was based on the anon hate being racially-driven without there being any prior knowledge or publication that NA was a person of colour. This aside, I should have at the time, whether I believed it was my followers or not, condemned this behaviour. Regardless of the issues I’ve had with these people, it is never ever ok to send hate to anyone, no matter the motivation behind it, and that should have been stated at the time.

All I can do at this point is acknowledged and apologize for my past mistakes, and try to improve myself going forward.  

It is not my place to dictate the morals of the character/ship-aspect of this argument, and I am not interested in waging a war of opinion. This post is simply to clarify how I am involved in this, and why I am so viscerally targeted. You can draw your own conclusions, but I am no longer interested in this endless back and forth.

To my mutuals/followers, I stand by my request to not interact and to block and move on, as this is what I’ll be doing too.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope it makes things from my perspective a little clearer.

-RAT <3

EDIT: Just after this post was made, the fic in question was finally removed. I had to go through a DMCA take down, which can take months, since I originally abandoned the fic, thinking that meant delete. I explain this in more detail above. Said fic is gone, and has been gone since this post has been around.

[lazywitchling]

Alright friends, buckle up, pretty sure this is going to be a long one.

Let me start off by saying that I am about to bring up a problem to which I have no solution. I will say what I think we shouldn't do, but I don't know what we should do instead. Someone smarter than me will have to cover that one.

Anyway, all this is regarding this post I made this morning after seeing yet another one of those asks floating around Tumblr. "What do you think of [website]?"

(Actually I'm going to toss this under a cut because it's WAY longer than I meant it to be, but I still think it's important to say)

It seems like a harmless ask. It usually comes with an explanation as to why there's something interesting there at that URL. Maybe not correct or good, but certainly interesting. Just enough to make you curious to go check the website. It's even in the phrasing of the question! They're not telling you they're good or bad, they're just asking what you think. That's harmless... right?

Yeah, no, it's definitely nazis. Not "nazis" as in "uhhh everything I don't like on the internet is nazi", it's nazis as in full-blown anti-Semitism, reptillian-people-control-the-banks... it's gross. I looked up what they're about just so I could tell you, and it's gross. 0/10, do not recommend.

Anyway, here on Tumblr, they send these asks out to various blogs. And over the past couple weeks, I've seen an increasing number of these asks published on my dashboard.

Now, every time I have seen them, the person publishing it has absolutely called it out for being what it is. They'll go into detail about why it's filth, or they'll go for the short-and-not-sweet "Fuck off, you nazi piece of shit". Every time I've seen the ask, it's been refuted.

But I've seen the ask. A lot.

Now... why is that a problem? Why is it a problem to publish the ask and call it out for what it is? Isn't it better for your followers to know what it is so they don't get taken in by it?

Let me tell you two stories.

1. The Cheeseburger

So yesterday for dinner I had a cheeseburger from... the Large Burger Chain (you know the one). Earlier in the day, I had read a post here on Tumblr about a lawsuit involving this Large Burger Chain, in which they had done a shitty thing. It was a funny story, where we got to laugh at the Large Burger Chain for being greedy and awful. "Look how awful those people at Large Burger Chain are. Aren't they the worst?"

So why did I go get a cheeseburger from them? Well, 'cause for the rest of the day, I kept thinking "Damn, a cheeseburger sounds delicious right now." It managed to weasel its way into my brain, and I couldn't stop thinking about cheeseburgers. And of course, that one cheeseburger place stands out in my mind. Until eventually, when out for a drive with Dad, he asked if I wanted anything in particular for dinner, and I said I had a craving for a cheeseburger from Large Burger Chain (It was Burger King).

Now why did I go there after having read about the shitty lawsuit?

Here's the thing about advertising. They know they can't sell you a cheeseburger from one advertisement. One commercial on TV does not make you go "I will now go get a cheeseburger from Large Burger Chain!" It doesn't work that way. But they want to be sure that when you DO want a cheeseburger eventually... they are the one you think of. They want to be the first place you think of.

Let me ask you something. How did you react when I said the name of Large Burger Chain? Because I said it up there in the strikeout. You might not have had a fully thought-out reaction, but I bet you had an instinctive moment where you either thought "I KNEW it was Burger King", or "Oh, I thought it was McDonalds."

Why did you think of the place you thought of? Is it because you like that one better? Is it because there's one down the road from your house that you pass all the time? Did you recently see a commercial for that one? This is a rhetorical question that probably doesn't have a specific answer. But somehow, for some reason or for many reasons, one of those burger places has made it's way into your head and is now the first place you think of when you hear "Large Burger Chain". One place stands out in your mind as The Fast Food Place With The Burgers. Even if you don't like either place, you've heard them advertised enough that they've got into your head.

You seeing where I'm going with this?

The more these asks show up on my dashboard, the more it gets into my head. I, knowing full well what that site is about, have wondered more than once "Hey, I've never actually looked at that website. What does it look like?" or "What is actually on there?" or "I want to go look at how bad it really is."

I can't name off the people who have received and published the ask. I didn't pay that much attention. Each time I saw it was insignificant at the time. But I've seen the website often enough that I can name its exact URL without ever having intentionally memorized it.

BUT JES, you say, WHY IS THAT A PROBLEM? If you KNOW the site is garbage, and you CALL it garbage, then no one is going to get taken in by it, right??

2. The Price Tags

So, I'm a cheesemonger. My job is to sell things to people. I've been in this business for nearly a decade, I've got certifications you probably don't even know exist. I am trained and paid to know how to get you to buy shit.

It's gross and I hate it and I don't use those skills if I can help it, but I have them.

But there's one very very easy tactic that I do use in my cheese department. It's very easy, takes no effort on my part, and it's really effective.

Every price tag is on the back of the piece of cheese.

These are cheeses that are cut to variable weights, with a certain price per pound. Because these cheeses are cut individually, they are priced individually. Smaller ones, bigger ones, whatever you need. Now, the thing is... if you are browsing my cheese wall looking for something interesting, you are going to see cheese, you are going to see names, you are going to see types. You are not going to see prices. If you want to see the price, which is on the back, you know what you have to do?

You have to pick it up.

I have now got the piece of cheese into your hands. And that's one step closer to it being in your cart.

It's not 100%. It's not even 50%. The majority of people who pick up a piece of cheese on a whim to check the price will then put it back down. But not all of them. A lot of people will pick it up, just to check, just to satisfy their curiosity. That one sounds odd, I wonder how much it is? And then it's in their hands, and they shrug, and they toss it into the cart. Because why not?

So WTF does this have to do with anything?

Look, it's a lot of fun to digitally punch a nazi. They come into our ask boxes, and it's so tempting to take a verbal (textual?) swing at them. But the goal is to get their name out there into the ether. It's to put that name in front of all your blog's followers, as many times as possible. Maybe you refute the ask and someone who has never heard of them before now knows who they are. OR maybe this is the fifth time they've seen it on their dash this week, and now they're curious. This group wants to make sure that you know their name off the top of your head, the way you know the name of that Large Burger Chain. And if they can get you to their site, even if it's just to satisfy your morbid curiosity, even if it's just to see how bad it really is, then they've got the piece of cheese in your hands. And yeah, maybe most people put it back. But sometimes it winds up in the cart.

So... what do I do?

Don't feed the trolls. Starve them. Block the anon. Delete the ask. Move on with your day.

As for how to teach people about these assholes? -shrug- That's where you have to ask someone smarter than me. I don't know how to educate people on this stuff without exposing them to it, but my instinct is to not let them control the conversation. Beyond that, you're probably best off listening to the people these groups hate. Find Jewish voices explaining what's so harmful about these people, and boost their voices instead.

Anyway.

That was a tome. Thanks for reading. Don't feel bad if you've ever published an ask they sent you. Individually posted, they don't have a whole lot of power. It's when it becomes a trend that it becomes a problem.

[earlgreytea68]

Tagged by @carbonbased000 and @pyrchance

1. why did you choose your url?

Many years ago, EarlGreyTea was the name I chose for the late, great Television Without Pity. I didn’t want something fandom-specific, so I chose the name of my favorite tea. I only found it later that it’s a Star Trek reference, oops. EarlGreyTea was already taken on LJ, so I added the 68, which is my birthday, and I’ve kept the name on every platform ever since.

2. any side blogs? if you have them, name them and why you have them.

I actually have several, but I don’t really use any of them, except the armes4eva blog, which I sometimes post interior design and Sebastian Stan things to lol

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

oh, goodness, I think 2012. Yes, I just checked, 2012.

4. do you have a queue tag?

No, I can’t be bothered lol. The only time I use the queue is when I do my year-end round-up (which didn’t happen this year because I was too depressed alas).

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

Right after “The Reichenbach Fall” aired, I started writing “Sherlock” fic. But I was having a hard time finding active Sherlock communities on LJ. When I asked about it on Twitter, many people were like, “Oh, you’ve got to go to Tumblr, that’s where fandom is now.” And so that’s what I did!

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

That’s my icon! I’ve had it for years. I wonder if I can even remember how long. It’s a picture I took of a teapot and teacup I was served at breakfast outside by the pool at a fancy hotel in Las Vegas. I haven’t been to Las Vegas in a long time, let me see, it must have been...11 or 12 years ago.

7. why did you choose your header?

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass is basically my favorite book (I count them as one). The older I get, the more relevant I find those books to what adulthood turned out to be like. So, anyway, it’s a quote from “Looking-Glass,” it’s what the Red Queen tells Alice, and I say it *all the time.*

8. how many mutuals do you have?

I do not even know how to figure that out, I fail Tumblr lol

9. how many followers do you have?

7,359

10. how many people do you follow?

Why don’t I see this information??? In the beginning, I tried to follow back everybody who followed me, and that was how I learned that at the time there was a limit to how many people you can follow. So I stopped following back at that point (this was years ago). Then I realized I could follow people again because I guess people had deleted their Tumblrs or whatever, so I’ve tried to start following people back again, but I’m kind of sporadic about it. Anyway, all this is to say that I probably follow a lot of people.

11. have you ever made a shitpost?

I suppose I will let all of you be the judge of that!

12. how often do you use tumblr each day?

I mostly just glance at it for twenty minutes or so a night. Sometimes I might scroll on mobile during the day, and it’s actually my favorite social media platform to just scroll endlessly through if I’m feeling anxious and need to calm down. But if I’m having a normal stress-level day, I just kind of glance it over a little to see what’s going on in fandom-world.

13. did you ever fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

I don’t think so.

14. how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

I don’t do any of the chain-mail-ish ones. However, I am superstitious enough that I always reblog the good luck ones. They have never actually had an effect that I can see but why tempt fate! I’m not going to turn down luck!

15. do you like tag games?

Love them.

16. do you like ask games?

Love these, too.

17. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

“Tumblr famous” seems like it should be an oxymoron lol

18. do you have a crush on a mutual?

I’m sure they’re all awesome, but sorry, I’ve got no notes to pass “Do you like me? circle y or n!” 

Tagging whoever feels like doing this! And I guess I’ll also tag @godless-lunatic @thisisnotjuli @thumbllebee @unicornshatetacos @jinxwild19

[1kook]

hello! i guess this is a bit of an unexpected question, because i'm not sure if you've ever dealt with this. i admire your confidence and honesty a lot, so that's why i've been tempted to ask you for some advice, if you can! if not, feel free to delete it!

have you ever wanted to simply unpulish all of your works? not because of the readers or the fics themselves. but more so over the horrible negativity that we encounter in the fandom over.. fanfiction? i feel that other content creators, especially ones that are not into fanfiction, look down upon writers because we're somehow "less than", even if said works are merely just that: fiction. not intended to represent or project on the boys in any way. if you switch their names for anyone else's, you've got an original character all of a sudden.

but lately there's been this huge negativity and almost mockery over writers writing simple things as just... fluffy scenarios. not even anything "taboo" or problematic. just literal stories about them that are not even based off of them irl.

if so, how do you handle it and maintain your confidence? it's been hard for me to continuously want to publish anything because there's always the horrible amount of blogs who find themselves superior over something as silly as that.

first off, it makes me incredibly sad that you or anyone feels this way about something you enjoy. for me writing fan fiction has always been a hobby, a space for me to let some creative juices flow. that being said I take pride in my work!! and I feel really honored when people like it as well. the feeling you described, sucks to say, is something I’ve also experienced in the past. in fact, in between the time I wrote skirt chasers (August 2019) and netflix & chill (June 2020), I didn’t post any fics because at the time I was mutuals with a lot of people who looked down on fan fic? like they would interact w my posts and know that I was a fan fic writer and then in the same breath turn around and laugh at ff writers. my solution to that was cutting all connections off with those ppl 🤷🏻‍♀️ block, unfollow, whatever. granted we weren’t close or chatted or whatever, but the simple act of removing them from my space greatly motivated me to start writing again!! it’s hard and uncomfortable to write when so many people are judging you, so the solution I’ve found is to remove those people from my internet experience!! idc how funny your text posts are or how good your gifs are, I refuse to interact and be in the same circles as people who make me feel bad about myself. as terrible as it can be, ultimately you do have a hand in how your internet experience goes! so yeah, hope this helps!!!

[david-akintunde]

10 Tips To Boost Your Email Open Rates

Here is a simple talisman for success if you’re an email marketer — higher email open rates mean more conversions. Sounds obvious? Even then, many organizations don’t end up writing emails that subscribers want to open. A study by MailChimp found that email open rates are just at 21.33% across all industries.

In a quick glance, this figure looks ok. But is it really? Suppose you have an email list comprising a whopping 15,000 subscribers. With a 21.33% conversion rate, only a mere 3199 leads are ever going to see your emails, and fewer will take any action.

Remember, there comes a point, when it doesn’t matter how extensive your email list is, but how many prospects within that list open your emails. If within the same list of 15,000 subscribers, your open rates go up to 50%, you end up with 7500 leads engaging with your pitch.

So, how do you get here? By following these 10 hacks that are sure to improve your email open rates:

1. Don’t Forget to Segment your Email List

Without email list segmentation, you cannot personalize your emails. While you can categorize your email list under parameters most relevant to you, try these three segments for starters.

Segment based on:

Demography

Challenges and pain points

Like and dislikes

2. Get your Subject Line Right

Your subject line alone is what encourages prospects to open your email. It also helps form your brand’s first impression. So, craft it well! How?

Personalize it for your target audience. Write more than one subject sentence for, say, different age groups, even if the product you’re pitching is the same.

Hold back on using too many punctuations like exclamation marks. You’d be surprised how commonly marketers use more than one exclamation point in subject lines for emphasis. Choose to emphasize with your words instead.

Keep it concise and avoid vagueness.

Draft it in the form of a question, if you can.

Use powerful words and phrases. These stir emotion and arouse curiosity. For example, the image below uses a power word like “sanity-saving.”

Source: Smart Blogger

3. Get your Email Timing Right

Remember, leads will read your emails at different times in different parts of the world. Some will read them late at night, while others will do so in the morning. Leverage whichever email automation tool you use to track the time most of your prospects read your emails.

Once you have an optimal time, send emails accordingly to boost open as well as click-through rates. Also, as a general rule of thumb, avoid sending marketing emails over weekends. Several studies have now revealed that weekends are the most inopportune time to send promotional communication.

4. Get your Email Frequency Right

Nobody, and that even includes you wants their inbox to be bombarded with too many promotional emails from one brand. Not only does this single-handedly bring down your open rates, but the prospect can blacklist you or mark you as spam.

Simply put, strike the right balance with your audience. Generally, sending emails twice or thrice and no more makes for a healthy frequency that doesn’t annoy prospects.

5. Re-engage with the Dormant Prospects

All email lists have prospects who haven’t opened promotional emails from certain brands in months. Your list is likely no different. Weed them out! And scout for new prospects.

But, before identifying and deleting them from your email list, make sure to draft and deploy a re-engagement campaign. Maybe, this campaign contains time-limited offers or personalized deals to re-engage passive leads.

6. Send Emails using an Official Email ID

No matter how small your business is at this point, don’t use your Gmail or Hotmail ids to send out marketing communication. Such a practice will likely land you in the prospect’s junk pile. Use a domain email address that carries your brand name to stay out of spam filters and boost your open rates.

7. Ensure a High Deliverability Rate

Unfortunately, over 20% of marketing emails don’t land up in your prospects’ inboxes. These emails bounce because of:

Temporary server issues on both ends

Sending emails to abandoned or obsolete email ids

Prospects who accidentally blacklist you

Upping your deliverability rate will automatically boost open rates. You can do this by:

Sending reminder emails requesting your subscribers to whitelist you.

Confirm if a prospect has willingly subscribed to your list by asking them to click on a link sent to their inbox.

8. Avoid using Certain Words in Email Subject Line and Body

Stay away from phrases and words that make your email seem less authentic. For instance, “Urgent,” “free stuff for you,” “you have won,” and several others. Think of these phrases similar to swear words in email marketing.

9. Send the Same Email Once More

Sometimes your prospects want to open your email, but they simply forget or get distracted. And, once they do, they won’t revisit your email. To avoid this situation, resend the same email to subscribers who didn’t open your first email.

Don’t worry about being too intrusive here. You’d be happy to know that this is not an uncommon practice used by marketers to boost their open rates.

10. Don’t only Send Promotional Content

Sure, the ultimate goal for your brand is to sell its wares, but this doesn’t mean all your emails must carry a sales pitch. Share informational or educational content to make your email campaigns more engaging. Help them gain light on their challenges through blogs, case studies, etc. When you send a mixed bag of email content, you are more likely to increase your open rates.

Conclusion

With these 10 tips, you can undoubtedly experience higher open rates, eventually translating into more conversions. As for subscribers who, even after all the attempts, don’t open your emails, it’s best to let them go! After all, not all subscribers turn into qualified leads, and that’s ok.

Three Tips For Writing Marketing Email Subject Lines People Actually Want To Open

Sales, marketing and branding expert. CEO of GoPromotional, distributor of promotional products with a focus on online business development.

When was the last time you sent an email? Did you know that, according to Statista, roughly 306 billion emails were estimated to have been sent and received every single day in 2020? There are only about 7.7 billion people on Earth. Let that sink in. Now, ask yourself this: How many of the emails you receive every day do you actually read? More specifically, how many of the promotional emails you receive do you open at all?

With all the benefits of the information age, it’s important to remember that we’re utterly swamped with information to an extent we’ve never experienced before. So if you want to get through to people — if you’re an e-marketer whose goal is to reach as many targets as possible via mass emails — you’ll have to put in some thought and get creative. This is a game of subject lines, and your job is to master it by crafting engaging, inviting, tempting and even daring email subject lines that will grab attention — even if it’s just long enough for a click.

The fear of missing out is your ally.

FOMO is real, and it’s powerful. For the uninitiated, “FOMO” stands for “fear of missing out,” and while it may be a behavioral trend brought about by our rapidly developing internet infrastructure, it is a valuable marketing tool. No matter what you’re missing — a new blow dryer, a different kind of juice or a wedding — the point is that you’re missing something. Maybe you just don’t know about it yet.

FOMO will be of great use to you as you draft up effective subject lines. Don’t just stop with basic additions such as “act fast,” “for a limited time” or “while supplies last.” Go all the way and use numbers. What makes you want to move faster: “while supplies last” or “three hours left?” The fewer details, the better. This is all about getting your target to open the email. Don’t worry about telling them what ends in three hours. Let them find out for themselves.

Less is sometimes more.

We’re all busy. Nobody has time to read your spiel. Yes, that even includes your 10-word subject line. How many of the hundred emails you received today had 10 words in their subject lines? It adds up, and, at some point, it just looks like alphabet soup. Crafting an email subject line is all about visuals. In my experience, a short, quippy subject line can catch the eye of someone looking at their email inbox because it helps break up the sea of text.

Consider shortening a subject line such as “New jeans from Lucky Brand, Calvin Klein, Collection by Michael Strahan and more” to something more like, “Lucky. Calvin. Strahan.” You can call it a laconic method if you want, but when you treat every word like it’s a scarce commodity, they instantly appear more important.

Laugh it up.

I think we can all agree that email is no longer the stuffy, daunting, formal affair it may have once been. Email is something we do without even thinking. It’s on our phones. It’s how we confirm toothpaste orders. It’s like socks: totally ubiquitous. And consider this: More and more, your target audience is made up of people who weren’t even born before email was invented. These consumers grew up in the beginnings of a post-advertising era, when I believe traditional advertising began to lose its grip. They know a promotional email when they see one.

The solution? Laugh it up. Be a little self-aware. I’ve found that millennials and Generation Z pick up on self-awareness, and they appreciate it. Make fun of yourself a little; it can’t hurt. Switch out your stock enthusiasm for deadpan humor. Be honest. Instead of, “This week’s top picks just for you,” for example, you could try, “We want your money.” The content matters, but what matters more is getting your target interested.

Remember, the meat and potatoes are in the body of your email, but the subject is your alluring dessert. You can have dessert before dinner — as long as you eat.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?

Your Email Marketing Is Destined To Fail Without These 3 Essentials

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Think email marketing is all spam? Think again! In a world where marketing pitches come at us from all angles and on every device, email marketing has held steady as the favored channel for consumers. When used well, this platform can help you attract, convert, close and delight your buyers. Don’t underestimate it — your company’s email strategy can make or break you.

When it comes to building a successful email-marketing strategy, there are three specific elements that will help you achieve your business goals or move you further away from them, depending on how well you use them.

Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

1. Frequency

Nobody wants to get ten emails a day from a subscription. It doesn’t matter if the content is brilliant, useful or undeniably accurate. Your leads will get annoyed if you send them too much information. Even though they might read it (with some luck), at some point, they’ll feel bothered and eventually click the unsubscribe button.

Avoid losing contacts by not only asking their desired frequency to get your emails, but also by relying on your metrics. Don’t pay too much attention to your open rate alone — look closely at your click-through rate too. This will indicate how interested your leads are and how often they take action to prove it.

While every industry and situation is different, a good place to start with email-marketing cadence is about once per week. This establishes a relationship with your subscribers that can turn into a habit-forming routine. Being too timid about frequency can lead to a sporadic cadence that will end up irritating recipients. If you wait too long between emails, even opt-in subscribers may report you for spam — simply because you’ve let them forget all about you!

2. Relevance

While subscribers may certainly become frustrated by the frequency of your emails, they are more likely to become annoyed if your content is not relevant to their interests and needs.

Relevance is a tricky concept because it depends on many factors like the consumer’s knowledge level, his or her stage in the buyer’s journey and good timing. You must know your audience in order to understand what type of content they want.

Specifically, you need to know what they want from you, which is often dictated by where they are in the buyer’s journey. Are they ready to buy? Are they trying to get valuable information? Are they looking to solve a problem? Are you able to solve that problem?

In every industry, there are two types of buyers: “now” buyers, who are progressing down the purchase funnel, and future buyers, who have no interest in or need for your product currently, but may down the road. For future buyers, the relevance of your content is what’s most important to them; it’s what builds the brand trust that will bring them back to you when they are ready to buy.

Finally, timing is everything. Relevance is about getting the right content to the right person at the right time.

3. Action

We receive emails basically everywhere — at home, work and while on the go. When receiving an email, we may take a look at it immediately, but sometimes it requires further action like submitting a form, watching a video or visiting a website. Try to reduce or streamline required actions in order to make it easy for contacts to follow through at any time of day.

First and foremost, make your offers simple. Your buyers don’t like to be given too many choices; when they are, they often won’t buy anything at all. Even in the physical world, this is the case. In the famous “jam study” by Columbia Business School Professor Sheena Iyengar, for example, she set out two tasting booths for a brand of jam. One table offered six flavors to choose from; the other offered 24.

While the tasting booth with 24 flavors attracted more people, the booth with six flavors sold much more jam — 30% of those who stopped at the booth bought a jar, compared to just 3% of those who stopped at the table with 24 varieties. These visitors were too confused and overwhelmed to make a purchase decision.

The difference between stopping at a booth and buying from a booth is similar to the difference between opening an email and clicking through to an offer. Your email campaigns must be able to achieve both to be successful. The more personalized and concise you can be in your offers, the simpler the choice will be for your email subscribers.

BONUS To enjoy the best email marketing software, click here

[iiguess]

What made you pick up the muse you have? :3

[ QUESTIONS  FOR  THE  MUN   ! || accepting! ]

OOC. Ah, it's a little embarrassing, but I originally thought of Sam as a self-insert of sorts a long ways back, eheh ;; the idea of interacting with a bunch of different characters in different universes was incredibly tempting to a much younger me, so I wound up making Sam to see how those interactions would play out.

I can't say she's always been a dimensional traveler ( in fact, I'm sure that before my blog was first deleted, I had listed her as a dimensional hopper in one of her verses ), but? Ever since then? I've gotten to see her really grown into her own person—-both as someone I'd want to be, and not want to be, and I could go on about how much she's broken past what I initially wrote her out to be.

In the end, I'm really happy with how she turned out, and I'm just as happy to know people grew to like her!

[twsted-tales-of-scheherazade]

Hmm, new blog. 👀 I would like to request a fluff scenario of Sebek, Idia, and Azul with a fem!reader who is color blind. Colors can be hard sometimes.

Sebek first finds out about your condition one day when you point out how Malleus' flames didn't appear green in your eyes. They just looked brown. Naturally, the fae was shocked and asked if you were joking. You shook your head 'no' and explained how some humans like you suffer from color blindness. A specific color that he sees may not appear the same as what you see. 

It wasn't just Malleus' flames. Diasomnia's signature green was not present in your vision. The bright color looked brown in your eyes and you told your boyfriend as such. His shocked expression turned aghast. As expected of Sebek, he started going on about how it was unacceptable that you were not able to see his lord's brilliance. 

You were used to his tangents by now and he would most likely continue for quite a while. So you got comfy in your seat and watched in mild exasperation as the fae continued speaking.

The tea he brewed is, as always, very delicious.

"Lord Lilia...I would like you a question."

The ancient fae hummed and turned his curious gaze to the first year once he put down his bagpipe (up to this day, Sebek did not know where he got that instrument from). "What is it?"

"Is there perhaps a spell that can show someone dreams? Is it possible to meet in a dream?"

Lilia raised his eyebrows at the strange question. "Certainly. But what would you do with such a spell?"

The first year cleared his throat before he started explaining. "You see, [Name] has..." His senior stayed silent and listened attentively as he explained his plans. Once he was done, Lilia smiled. "My, my. Such a sweet gift...very well. I' shall help you."

"T-Thank you very much, Lord Lilia! I apologize for my lack of skill! I vow to make this up to you."

"Nonsense. Young love is a wonderful thing, Sebek. Just tell me how that little one reacts afterward."

The next day, you had spent a few hours after school with your boyfriend in the library, studying for the upcoming exams. Ever the gentleman, he escorted you to your dorm afterward. You gave him a kiss and bid goodnight. However, before you shut the door, you heard him say "You will have good dreams tonight. I guarantee it."

It honestly made you confused. That was a rather strange way to say good night to someone. Though you didn't think much of it and got ready for bed.

...

You open your eyes to the sight of a starry sky. You blinked before shooting up, looking around your unfamiliar surroundings. The sight of the glowing flowers surrounding you took your breath away.

"W-Wh-"

"I see the spell worked. As expected of Lord Lilia and the young maste."

You turned towards the source of the voice, eyes widening once you saw Sebek. "Y-You're hair...your clothes?! They're..." You spluttered.

He sent a smug smile your way. "How do you like it, [Name]? Surely, you see the brilliant green of Diasomnia now."

Your mind couldn't process what was happening all at once. You looked at your boyfriend then out into the clearing of flowers beneath the starry sky. It seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"Is this a dream?"

"It is. Yet, it isn't." He murmured, taking a seat beside you. "This is a world created by a powerful spell of the ancient faes. Lord Lilia had helped me with it along with the young master. To be honest, I was rather ashamed that he had to assist me too...however...he wished for you to see the world in all of its beauty. Are you happy with this, [Name]? 

"...Y-Yes! A hundred times, yes! I love this! I love this so much! I love you, Sebek! Thank you!" You cried before tackling him in a hug. His strong arms caught you easily. He could hear your delighted laughter right next to his ear, causing a small blush to rise to his cheeks.

"...You haven't seen anything yet." With a snap of his fingers, small green lights started rising out of the field of flowers. You gasped as hundreds of fireflies flew through the air.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let us explore this place. We have a few hours left before you wake up."

"Yeah!" 

Sebek watched from behind as you frolicked in the endless garden, pointing out new colors you have never seen before.

Illuminated by the green fireflies, you looked even more breath-taking in his eyes.

Idia knew that you were colorblind before your relationship with him started. It honestly amazed him how your condition altered the world you saw around you. He's looked up information about color blindness on the internet several times, and with each article he read, the fact that he would never understand the world you see became even more clear. 

Sometimes, he would even ask you what it was like. What colors do you see? How did your condition affect your life? Once, he showed you different pictures and with every answer, he finds himself looking at them intently, marveling about how you were seeing something different. Of course, once he catches your amused stare, he turns into an embarrassing mess and ends up curling into a ball while hiding his blushing face from view.

He never stopped thinking about you though. You said that you were used to the world you're seeing. You've been dealing with color blindness for years...but was there a way to improve your vision?

Apparently, there was. They were in the form of enchroma glasses. According to the website he found - he checked the sources and confirmed that the information there was legitimate, the glasses filter out specific color wavelengths and let people with color blindness see with normal vision. However, it was also mentioned that the effectiveness of it vary depending on the severity of color blindness. 

"...Filter...these glasses filter wavelengths...can I enhance that with magic?" He murmured to himself.

"Well now, Idia. This is a rather interesting project you've thought of." Azul stated as his sky blue eyes gazed at the enchroma glasses with interest. "Humans are rather interesting...so many aspects of them are new to us."

"...You'll help me, right? I already promised to give you that new board game you wanted." Idia said with a huff.

The octopus chuckled before pushing his glasses up. "Of course. It's a deal."

Both of them had a lot of experimenting to do.

...

A few weeks later, your boyfriend had asked you to visit his room since he had something to give you. Once you arrived, he urged you to sit on his bed as he rummaged through his work desk.

"Close your eyes first."

You raised your eyebrows but complied. A few moments later, you felt something being placed on your face...they felt like glasses? Why was he making you wear glasses?

"Alright. You can open them now." You felt a tingling sensation just as your eyelids lifted. What greeted you afterward was a completely different place. A gasp left your mouth as you looked around the room. 

'The colors...!'

They were more vibrant, more beautiful than you could have ever imagined. For the first time in your life, you were seeing the world that other people saw. What really took your breath away, however, was how Idia looked. Especially the glow of his hair that burned a bright blue. "Wow..." You murmured before reaching out and touching his locks.

"Wh-why are you touching my hair?" And then, the glowing blue turns into flaming red as your boyfriend stammers in embarrassment. "You're so weird..."

"Thank you, Idia. I...really wasn't expecting this."

"Y-Yeah...well...you always mention how it was a pain to deal with...the color blindness. I had Azul help me out...but it still took a long time to get the desired effect..."

"I see! I'll make sure to thank Azul too. These are amazing. And you know what I love the most about this?"

"...What?"

"I got to see you become even more beautiful in a different shade of blue." You chirped, pecking his rosy cheeks.

"Ugh...what the hell was that, so cringey..." He muttered as he pulled his hood up to hide his embarrassed face.

You laughed in response and as Idia stares at your delighted expression, he feels himself falling in love all over again.

“Angelfish? Is there something wrong?" Azul asked as he stared at your depressed state. You had curled up on the sofa with such a displeased frown that he can't help but worry. 

"...I wanna go into you octopus pot and stay there forever." You mumbled. The merman blinked in confusion before setting down his pen and taking a seat beside you. He patted your head, and in turn, you moved to lay your head on his lap. "Talk to me, angelfish. I'll listen to all your troubles."

"...I mixed up my clothes today."

"Pardon?"

You sighed before looking up at his eyes. "I got up late today so I had to rush. I wasn't paying attention so I wore different colored socks and shoes. My shirt was different too. It was super embarrassing..." Your frown got deeper and you hid your face with your hands, groaning. "I think someone took a video of me dashing through the school in those clothes...god. I must have looked like a moron."

Ah...so it was one of those "colorblind problems" you've told him about. It wasn't a condition that he encountered often and the most important fact he learned from his research on it was that it affects some aspects of your life. Being able to see colors are something that most creatures take for granted. But for people like you, he can at least understand that you're going to have a hard time.

"I see. Don't worry, I'll have Jade look into it. If such a video exists, then it will be deleted immediately."

"Thanks..." You mumbled, turning to the side and burying your face in his stomach. He gave you an exasperated smile, knowing that he won't be getting any more work done today.

"Shall we perhaps go to my room? It's more comfortable on the bed."

"Yeah..."

Now, you find yourself in his embrace, still upset about your mistake earlier in the day. "It's hard dealing with colors sometimes...and frustrating." 

"You can always .make a contract with me." He said with a chuckle. "I'm sure I can find a way to improve your vision."

"...Tempting. But, strangely enough, when I think about it...I don't want to. I've spent so many years with my color blindness, saw the world differently from most people...it would feel kind of wrong if I suddenly started seeing everything. Sorry...I complain a lot but I don't even want to make changes...I know it's confusing."

"That's alright. I am here to listen to other's woes after all."

"Like the sea witch, right?"

"Exactly."

You giggled before both of you lapsed into a comfortable silence. He pulled you close to his chest, letting you hear the sound of his beating heart.

"Hey, Azul...can you describe a color to me? What is that color to you? Anything will do..."

He hummed before kissing your forehead. "Alright. I can certainly try. Let me see..."

“...Blue is the color of the ocean. My home filled with mysteries that humans have yet to understand. It is also the sky we see on a sunny afternoon. Do you remember, angelfish? When Jade had dragged us to the mountains, we found a clearing and decided to lay down and rest. We looked up at the sky and stared at the clouds. 

And then, when the sun had set and night took over, it becomes a canvas, being filled with twinkling stars. You loved that sight too. Why we almost spent the night in the mountains because you wanted to look at those stars and engrave it into your memory.

It’s the sound of rain falling outside. The rainy weather keeps you from going outside, so you sit by the window, watching the sky's tears. Your thoughts drift and you enjoy the warmth of a blanket around your shoulders.

It is also the color of my eyes, is it not? You've told me over and over again how you loved my eyes, glittering behind my glasses. I admit that when you first said that, it had me quite flustered."

You laughed at his statement. Azul's flustered expression was a sight to see indeed.

“Blue is the frost we see when everything becomes a winter wonderland. As we spend winter together, we also await the welcoming of a new year where we'll make new memories.

...It will also mean the sadness we feel in our lives. But do not fret, because beyond that sadness will surely be something wonderful. It is a sign that you will grow as a person through the pain you've felt..."

The merman trailed off as he heard the sound of your steady breathing. It seems you fell asleep. He smiled at you fondly before closing his eyes as well. Tomorrow is a brand new day.

"There's no need to worry, angelfish. My eyes are yours. I will let you see the world through them for as long as you need me to."

Another story has been told. To tell you the truth, I did not know much about color blindness and I wasn’t sure if I portrayed it well in these scenarios, even if I did do a bit of reading around the subject. Regardless of its possible inaccuracies, I do hope you still enjoyed it, traveler.

References: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/513nkf/wp_explain_a_color_to_a_blind_person/

https://www.thecut.com/2018/02/my-life-as-a-woman-with-colorblindness.html

Credits for the images used on this post:

Border: https://pngtree.com/freepng/vector-title-frame_3573975.html

Lantern decorations: https://pngtree.com/freepng/ramadan-decorations-luminous-ramadan-lantern-moon-and-star_5356170.html

Divider: https://pngtree.com/freepng/european-border-curtain-pattern_4068944.html

[theunconcernedembalmer]

Toko! I was thinking of creating an ask the character blog for IDV or Genshin Impact and wanted a few tips on how to start off. Anything you can share?

ey yo my dude!! thank you so much for this question, now im lowkey tempted (again) to make a genshin ask blog sjadhlkshgkahshglsaj anyway my 1.5 cents is under the cut, yall know how much i talk here HAHAHAHAH

uhhhhhh so i guess we start with picking a character u really Vibe with tm? I KNOW THIS SOUNDS LIKE COMMON SENSE BUT LIKE ive been considering making a genshin ask blog for a while now but i never really got to it cos i couldnt really decide on a character (plus the fact that their outfits are. so intricate. is also a hmm since i try to follow details to a t) (at first i wanted to do zhongli, but i feel like to be able to muse him well u need to know the lore super super well, which i dont n im too lazy to research on that aha. n u know how much i respect characterizations, especially for such a complex character like him. i also considered xiangling for a period of time mostly for guoba but also like i have 2+1 blogs here n having one more might not be a very good idea aha) (as for aesop he was my Hyperfixation Character tm also cos i looked at his kit n went Yep i could work with this. probably)

so assuming ur not a dumbass like me n u kinda know who u wanna pick, id actually say to snoop around here for other ask blogs n kinda get a feel of the... scene? is that the word? or like u know, other blogs that u can potentially vibe with. ive run a couple of ask blogs before this current one (both that have died for different reasons) n from my experience interacting with other blogs (if theyre okay with it, i think most should be) is pretty fun. it also kinda helps get ur blog around to other ppl on other blogs so they can go Oh whats this cool shit n check u out, n its also a reason why we kinda reblog promo posts for other blogs (also cos we’re always excited when someone new comes on, its really the more the merrier. we see all :eyes:). interacting with other blogs is also an option when ur inbox is looking real roomy too

another reason why i havent exactly done a genshin blog is that idk i cant actually seem to find genshin ask blogs around (i have seen rp blogs, or those that answer asks with mostly text instead of art, but thats. not my thing since i hate my own writing aha) (i did find one aether blog some time ago, but for some reason i hardly see them around anymore??? idk man i might be wrong). its not like im trying super hard to find them ask blogs, so im sure they exist out there (hopefully?? im not sure but im being optimistic). i mean theres nothing wrong with just starting an ask blog without others around, but for me i do find a difference when i interact with other ask blogs n when i dont, n i prefer when theres others to have fun with (unfortunately i couldnt find any ask blogs to interact with in my previous fandom. i tried, but the blogs i approached seemed to go inactive shortly afterwards...) plus u get to meet friends that way too :D (i made a lot of friends via idv askblogs n its really been a joy vibing with others)

as for the idv scene. gestures around me. unfortunately there are a lot of ask blogs that arent that active anymore, but theres still some of us who are alive n kicking empty inboxes, n im sure everyone would love to see a new face around. winks at u. also there seems to be a lot more blogs popping up lately, which is really heartening to see.

then u kinda just. make ur blog? n a starting introduction post so ppl can reblog it n spread the word XD n yay u have a blog i guess??? XD

i gotta say tho. dont expect ur blog to take off immediately (especially for smaller fandoms like idv, tvbh i didnt think my blog would even get half this far when i started cos of how non existent idv tumblr seemed to be) n ur inbox will probably be looking pretty empty a lot of the time (or at least filled with some that u havent quite thought of how to reply to yet aha) (but also like empty inboxes happen pretty often, im sure most of us here have experienced this problem)

in the case of the first ask blog i ever started, it never really took off at all. ngl it was kind of demoralizing n depressing but to be fair i had picked one of the more obscure characters in the series, so obscure that many ppl in the fandom would have never heard of this character before. if u wanted to know, i took a character that only appeared in the 2nd musical of the series, who also made a very brief cameo in the manga to acknowledge his existence within that universe. thats how obscure my character was, but i went with him purely because he was my favourite character. i will say though i did enjoy it while it lasted n i learnt a lot from the experience, n i think thats whats important really.

i guess this kinda leads on (not really but let me digress) to the whole uhhhh thing where if u choose a more popular character, u get more attention. which is fine i guess? if u really vibe with the character, i mean theyre popular for a reason. n choosing a more popular fandom (like genshin) would objectively also get u more viewers n numbers. but like honestly i believe that ask blogs are meant for u to have fun with, n like trying to get popular gets tiring pretty fast (this shouldnt be like a main goal, but u know sometimes u subconsciously also want that gucci follower count n bomb ass notes or something. i used to be guilty of this until i realized it isnt worth it) especially if ur not enjoying yourself in the process. (case in point: my previous fandom was considerably larger n my blog got about 700 followers within a year or so, but it got very tiring n stressful to maintain after my interest in it died, n no one was really interacting with the blog even though i tried which kinda made it even more depressing despite the so called success n popularity of the blog)

anyway on a less serious note, theres a lot of fun stuff u can do with the ask blog, like some ask blogs have really fancy tags that i really like n try to do but also like not really HAHAHAHA. i kinda just channel what i want to see in an ask blog into my own ask blogs (good art is one, i try very hard for it to be good :,DD another is characterization, n others is just extra miscellaneous arts n stuffs like au ideas or memes. these are also somethings u could work on during ask box downtimes perhaps)

uhhh another side thing is like a posting schedule i guess? like ppl would be more likely to interact (i think) if ur blog is relatively active, n this is usually determined by the last post u made (i think XD). but like generally for blog maintenence id say try to kinda find a frequency that ur comfortable with?? cos i know my once a day posting is kinda insane if i wasnt so hyperfixated on all of this n fight the urge to dump all ur replies when u finish them XD (though ive seen some blogs do that n they do it pretty frequently so its pretty nice to know once u see their post u can spend some time going through the latest batch of posts XD) the queue function is pretty useful here even though i truthfully have never really used it, i kinda just post from my drafts really but it also helps to space out ur content to seem somewhat active especially when u dont have the time to be working on replies sometimes. i hope u know what im trying to say here aha

ANYWAY that was like my 1.5 cents cos i dont even think its worth 2 cents HAHAHAHAH these are just my thoughts from running all my blogs up till now, some that are still running n the others that have just died a natural death. i wouldnt actually delete them (theyre still around actually XD) cos theyre kinda like archives n i can look back at what i did last time. cos ngl i made some high quality stuff back then, n i dont even know how i managed to do that aldhflhdsgk. also ppl do look at archive blogs every now n then for the content thats there yknow

BUT YES anyway if u do decide to join the idv ask blogs hmu, ill be sure to give u a lil shoutout here. winks

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 46

Three akumas, one sentimonster and Mayura in this one chapter! It was a lot but I think I pulled it off. I also feel like I've foreshadowed Lady Blanc quite a bit here and something else :D One person will know exactly what I mean when they read this as this is something we've talked about for ages but I wonder if the rest of you will. We will see but feel free to hit me with your theories. Now there is a number of things that are different from the actual episode and something that appear the same but are not. One those things are Mayura and the sentimonster's appearance. Unlike the episode, Mayura isn't going after Chloe. Her and Hawkmoth were testing the waters so to speak. They wanted to get a rough idea of how Anatis and Lady Noir would defeat a sentimonster to see if it is worth using the peacock miraculous. I always imagined Mayura would be the one to try and tempt miraculous holders to join the bad side because she is way better then Hawkmoth. She's pretty and knows how to booth an ego. Anyway, I hope you guys like this episode! It took a lot to work out how to adapt it and it was very challenging but I'm really happy with how this turned out :D

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Forty-Six: Miraculer

"Isn't this great? I have so many views!" Alya grinned, proudly holding up her phone that showed the photo of Anatis and Lady Noir kissing. Marinette felt sick upon seeing it. This morning, Alya had came to the bakery and dragging Marinette to school. They had gotten there so early that only it was only them and Chloe in the classroom. "I have so many more views then before and everyone loves this. Like this comment... 'Anatis and Lady Noir are my otp and I'm so glad my ship is sailing'... isn't it amazing?"

  Alya clearly was happy and proud of the image but not everyone was impressed with it. From what she knew, Nino and Alya weren't exactly on talking terms again. They had briefly made up after the whole Puppeteer incident but right now, they weren't talking. Marinette frowned to herself as she wasn't exactly sure why but she had a feeling it had something to do with that photo. She felt sick every time she saw it. Not because she was kissing Anatis in it. She did not regret it, even if she couldn't remember it as she had been attracted to him from day one. No, she felt sick because Alya had posted it, despite been told to delete it. She couldn't help but feel betrayed. Every time she saw the image, it just reminded her of the betrayal and it wasn't making their job easier. Anatis had been on butterfly watch for the past couple of days since the image had been released. Luckily, he had caught most of them that had even dared to come near her. A couple of them had tried to get her outside of the mask but she had transformed and captured them in jars that Master Fu had provided then brought them to Anatis on their meet ups. They had become few and far between but seeing the image again and the way Alya was so proud of it was making her feel sick and hurt all over again.

  "Alya, Lady Noir and Anatis did-"

  "Marinette, not this again," Alya sighed, interrupting her. "If they didn't want to be photographed then they shouldn't have kissed in front of me. I mean hello I run a blog about them! Of course, I'm gonna take a picture,"

  Marinette had no words for her but she felt like she was gonna be sick. She got up and rushed over out of the room, causing Alya to roll her eyes and mutter something about been dramatic. She ran downstairs and into the girl's bathroom before locking herself in a cubical. Plagg flew out of her purse and gently hugged the side of her head as she curled up on the seat. 

  "I'll keep an eye on for butterflies," He muttered, frowning. He really wanted to cataclysm the crap out of Alya. Hell, he'd get Tikki to use a cure to bring her back, just so he could do it all over again. Marinette sniffed and looked up at him as she wiped away her tears.

  "I'm ok, Plagg... I'm just..." She muttered, looking down. "I don't think Alya meant to be mean but it's just... it hurts... I know that she only post a picture but we told her not to and she didn't even listen... I know I shouldn't be so upset. She's a journalist after all,"

  Plagg snorted at that, making her look up at him.

  "More like a tabloid," He smirked before they heard the door open. He quickly flew into her purse as she tried to wipe away her tears. 

  "Marinette?" Chloe's voice surprised her, causing her to gasp. She heard the heiress' shoes tap on the ground as she walked over to the cubicle that Marinette was in. She heard her sigh before she knocked on the door. "Marinette, come out. I know you're in there,"

She let out a sigh and unlocked the door, making Chloe huff. She had her arms crossed and didn't look too impressed but her expression softened when she noticed Marinette's red eyes. She let out another huff and took something out of her own purse before handing it to Marinette. She blinked and carefully took the handkerchief, looking up at her.

  "Thank you," She whispered, dabbing her eyes. "Don't tell anyone I was crying,"

  "I won't but I'm curious as to why?" She asked, making Marinette sigh. "Marinette?"

  "Um... well... it's kind of weird," She admitted, getting a try me expression from Chloe. She sighed and looked at her. "Lady Noir and Anatis didn't consent to that image and it upsets me that Alya won't take it down,"

  "How do you know that?" She asked, eyeing her up. Marinette blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh my god... you're one of Anatis' spies!"

  "Well... yes but that's not how I know..." She mumbled, making Chloe raise an eyebrow. "I'm also one of Lady Noir's informants and she came to be the night after that image had been posted. She asked if I could talk to her about removing the image since I'm her friend. I did try but Alya refused to take it down,"

  It wasn't a lie. She had asked Alya to take it down, claiming that Lady Noir had asked her but Alya had brushed her off, claiming that was the price of fame. She had reported to Anatis about her reaction later that night as Lady Noir. To say he had not been impressed was an understatement. He had even commented that he was looking into laws regarding photography to find out where they, as public figures, stood and what they could do about it. She was ok with that. They wanted to know where they stood before fully dealing with Alya but she knew that they would. It was a matter of time. 

  "She what?!" Chloe pretty much screeched before storming out. Marinette gasped and quickly followed her as she rushed into the classroom. Most of the students were in now, including Nino and Adrien. Both were happily talking to each other as Chloe slammed the door open. Everyone quieted down as Chloe glared at Alya and Lila. "You!"

  "What?" Alya asked as Chloe glared at her with daggers.

  "How dare you!" She growled, slamming her hands on the table and making everyone jump. A few people were concerned that Chloe was going back to her old way. "How dare you post that photo!"

  "Oh, I see," Alya replied, looking at her calmly. "You're just jealous that I was able to get it,"

  "Jealous?! Me?!" Chloe gasped, shocked. "I'm not jealous! I'm pissed off because you post that photo without their permission!"

  Alya snorted as she looked at Chloe, making the heiress frown.

  "Of course, you're jealous," She replied as if it was a fact. "I mean why wouldn't you be? After all, I'm closer to Anatis and Lady Noir then you are,"

  "How are you closer to them then I am?!" She gasped, annoyed that Alya would even suggest that. She was their friend. She could flag them down at any point. "I'm their friend!"

  "Sure, you are," Alya laughed but then she noticed that Chloe looked serious. "Ok... if you're their 'friend' then answer me this. Why hasn't Anatis given you a miraculous yet? Oh wait... because you stole from him,"

  "At least, I was able to admit my mistake and give back the bee miraculous," Chloe stated, glaring at her. "You don't even realize you're in the wrong,"

  "How am I in the wrong?!" Alya gasped, looking at her. "I have every right to post the photo!"

  "Expect you don't," Chloe smirked as if she had won. Alya glared at her. "Need I remind you that you need permission to post an image of a person or persons when they are the subject which they are in that photo. Oh and you didn't get their permission,"

  "Ok... so I don't have their exact permission to post this but this is proof that they are in love and they didn't exactly say no," She declared, making almost everyone look at her in shock. Nino shook his head in disgust as Adrien frowned deeply. The couples of the class looked pale and a number of them looked angry. "What?"

  "That is so wrong," Rose gasped, looking upset. "Why would you post such an intimate picture?!"

  "Because I'm a blogger who blogs about them and this is the best thing I've ever come across?" She replied, frowning. "Besides, like I said they didn't exactly say no,"

  "Expect they did," Nino stated, making everyone look at him. "Both of them told you to delete it and Anatis warned you that if you posted it, there would be serious repercussions. Not to mention they didn't remember it,"

  "They didn't remember?" Sabrina asked before glancing over at Alya. "You took that while they were under the effects of Oblivio?"

  "Well... I..." She gasped before Adrien looked at her.

  "Did you at least let your followers know that they had no memory?" He asked, crossing his arms. She huffed but didn't answer, causing him to frown deeply. "You did let them know right?"

  "I... I decided to let them make their own assumptions..." She gasped, making everyone gasp. "And they should know I would take a picture. I'm a blogger! It's what I do and they know that!"

  "No, they didn't," Marinette argued, making everyone look at her. "They were under the effect of Obivio, meaning they had no idea that you had a blog or even who you were. They probably didn't even realize they were superheroes at first. They wouldn't have remembered who they were or anything linked into their hero identities. They don't remember the kiss. Lady Noir told me so herself as she came to me to ask you to take it down so I'll tell you again. Take it down!"

  "Why should I?!" She gasped, getting annoyed. "I have every right to put up that photo so stop hating me for it! Anatis and Lady Noir are public figures so I have every right to take the photo!"

  "Alya, calm down," Adrien stated, making her frown and turn to him but she failed to miss a black butterfly fluttering towards her.

  "Calm down?!" She shouted, clutching her phone. "Why should I?! You people are questioning my integrity at journalism!"

  Before anyone could argue, the akuma entered her phone and the purple mask appeared over her face. Adrien shouted for everyone to scram, causing them to rush out. Marinette took her chance to escape and transform, returning as Lady Noir. She jumped down and began to attack Alya, now Lady Wifi as she waited for Anatis to get to there. He arrived, just before Lady Noir got captured and together they made very quick work of Lady Wifi, defeating her in record time. Lady Noir crossed her arms as Anatis released the cure and Lady Wifi turned back into Alya. She blinked and looked up before squealing with excitement and began to live steam.

  "Oh my god! Anatis and Lady Noir!" She gasped, holding up her phone before noticing their expressions. "Is something wrong?"

  "Is something wrong?" Lady Noir repeated in a mocking way, making Alya frown as she glared at her nails. "Oh no... other then the fact that you posted that photo of us kissing without permission!"

  "I-"

  "I don't want to hear your excuses," Anatis stated, narrowing his eyes. "We explicitly told you to delete it and that you didn't have our consent to post it yet you did anyway. You didn't care that we didn't want that posted or that we didn't have our memories. No, all you cared about were the views! You don't see me and Lady Noir as actual people! We're just masks to you but we are real life people, Alya! We have a life beyond this one but you never considered that! You just saw a new scope and you jumped on it without a single care about who you hurt! Well, I hope you're proud of your actions, Miss Cesaire because this is the last time we'll be doing any videos for you,"

  "What?! But-"

  "No buts," Anatis growled as Lady Noir glared at her. Alya gulped. She had seen Anatis' speeches before but she never thought she would get one. "If you're gonna act like a child then we're gonna treat you as such. So until you can prove to us that you are actually worth our time and trust, we will no longer be doing interviews for you. You can start by taking down that photo and explaining to your viewers that we are not a couple and that you took and post that photo out of context. You have one day to do it and if you don't, we will take legal action,"

  "L-Legal action?" She gasped, a little pale. "But... you're public figures..."

  "French Law states that to post a picture online you need the subject's consent regardless of if they are 'public figures' or not. Also you need to ensure that the photo doesn't not contain something that is potentially harmful to the subjects. Given that photo can damage our reputation and could be used by Hawkmoth to exploit what he thinks is a weakness, I'd say that comes under potentially harmful but of course, you didn't think about that," He replied, smiling harshly as she looked devastated. "I warned you, Miss Cesaire but you chose to ignore that. Now you have to deal with the repercussions of your choice. Lady Noir, let's go,"

  "Fine by me," Lady Noir replied, jumping away from the scene. She landed on the roof next to Anatis, who let out a sigh. "You ok?"

  "I'm fine," He replied, turning to her. "Are you ok?"

  "As best as I can be," She muttered, holding her arm a little. "Can you really get legal action?"

  "Yeah, Master Fu helped me research it and he said he can act as a third party to get a good legal defense if we need it..." He replied, making her nod. "Are you ok with that?"

  "I am but... honestly, I don't want it to go to that," She sighed, making him nod. He understood where she was coming from. "I just hope Alya decides to actually listen this time,"

  "Me too, Kitten," He sighed before his earrings beeped. "I better go... meet up later?"

  "Yeah," She nodded, getting a smile off him before he ran off. He stopped before he dived off the building and gave her a wave. She waved back as he dived off the building before leaving the roof. Her transformation dropped and she headed back to the class room, feeling a bit lighter then she had before the fight. 

  ~Later that Night~

  Marinette stretched as she got up from her sewing machine. She folded up her current project before poking Plagg, waking him up. He had been snoozing while she worked but now it was time to meet up with Anatis for patrol. He blinked and yawned as she took out a piece of cheese. Instantly, he flew out and grabbed it off, swallowing it whole.

  "Hmm... yummy..." He grinned, rubbing his belly before flying up to her and landing on top of her head. "Time to meet bug boy then?"

  "Yeah," She nodded as she climbed up to her bed and out of her skylight. "Did you enjoy your nap?"

  "I did," He grinned, flying up. "I had a wonderful dream about cheese,"

  She giggled before holding out her hand.

  "Plagg, claws out," She declared, transforming into Lady Noir before jumping on the edge of her balcony. She smiled a little as she felt the wind in her hair before jumping off the edge. She landed on a flag pole and jumped back up, landing on a rooftop before breaking into a run. She extended her baton and used it to jump across gaps in the roofs before landing on Notre Dame. She put away her baton and walked over to Anatis, who was sat on the edge of the church. She sat down next to him, making him look over and offer a bag.

  "Cookie?" He asked, making her smile and take one before begging to nibbling on it. "I have some good news,"

  "Really?" She asked, looking at him as he put down the bag and took out his yoyo, opening up the Ladyblog before turning it to her. She blinked as she saw a new post named An Apology. "S-She actually took it down?"

  "Yep. I checked through the blogs while I was waiting for you," He replied, making her smile. "The apology isn't exactly what I hoped it would be and it seems that she just took it down to avoid a law suit but it's a start,"

  "Let me guess she claimed not to know that the photo was taken out of context?" She asked, eating her cookie. He chuckled but shook his head.

  "No, she covered that it was taken out of context and was posted without our permission but it was just short and to the point," He explained, making her nod as he closed the yoyo. "But I'm glad never the less... we'll still have people trying to ship us and chances are a number of people have downloaded that picture but now they know the truth about it..."

  "Yeah... I get taking a picture of your favorite couple and maybe I did overact but-"

  "I don't think you did," He replied, making her look over at him as he looked up at the moon. "What she did was wrong and just because she's young doesn't mean her actions should go unpunished. I just hope she learns from this,"

  "Me too," She mumbled, looking down at the cookie. "I'm sorry that you had to be on butterfly watch,"

  "Don't worry about it, kitten," He replied, shrugging. "You've helped keep me calm when I was going through the whole abandoned by Ryuko and Aspik thing so it's only fair I help you with this. Besides, you're my partner and best friend so of course, I'm gonna be on butterfly watch. You're the last person I want to fight as an akuma,"

  "Annie..." She mumbled before hugging him, catching him off guard. He returned the hug, laughing as he heard her purring. She grinned and pulled back. "I'm glad you don't want to fight me,"

  "Of course, I don't. You'd kick my ass," He replied, making her laugh. "We both know you'd be a terrifying akuma. For one thing, you're small and everyone knows small girls are scary girls,"

  "Really?!" She grinned, making him give her a cheek smirk. "Well, maybe I should kick your butt now!"

  "Ooh, is that a challenge, kitty cat?" He asked, making her smirk and nod before she got up. He jumped up as well and walked off to the middle of the roof, clicking his neck. "Are you sure you want to take this on?"

  "Pft, like you scare me," She grinned, circling him. He returned the favor. "Besides, it's been ages since we've sparred. Rules?"

  "Hand to hand only. No powers and no weapons," He replied, unhooking his yoyo. She nodded and placed down her baton. They had sparred with their weapons before but they don't use their powers. That would be too easy. "You sure you don't want to back out? I won't judge,"

  "Aww, is Annie scared he'll get his ass handed to him by a girl?" She teased, making him roll his eyes.

  "I'm not afraid of that... kind of use to it to be honest," He replied, making her giggle before taking a bow. "Shall we dance, my lady?"

  "Bring it, bug boy," She grinned before the two of them charged at each other. They gave it as good as they got, landing in hits and blocking each other but in the end, Lady Noir won. She used her body and height to her advantage and pinned him down with her legs wrapped around his arm, causing him to surrender. She let him go and jumped up, laughing as she did. "And the winner is the cunning and amazing Lady Noir!!"

  "Hey, I didn't do too badly," He protested, making her laugh and turn around as he got up and walked over to her before he ruffled her hair. "I'm glad to see you're feeling happier,"

  "Damn right I am," She grinned, poking his chest playfully. "I just kicked your ass! Hey, I guess you're right. I would be a very scary akuma!"

  "My point exactly," He shrugged before picking up her baton and chucking it to her. She caught it as he picked up his yoyo. "But there is one thing that I'm better at,"

  "Oh yeah? What's that?" She asked, leaning on her baton. He grinned at her in a playful way.

  "I'm faster then you," He grinned before dropping off the edge of the church and swinging off. Lady Noir gasped and jumped after him as they raced toward the Eiffel Tower. 

  ~A Few Days Later~

  Marinette hummed to herself as she walked with a spring in her step. Since Alya had taken down the picture, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She walked into the courtyard and waved to her friends. Luka was stood next to Juleka and Rose while Adrien was stood talking to Kagami and Nino. She walked over and glanced around, noticing Alya wasn't there.

  "Where's Alya?" She asked, getting a sigh of Nino.

  "She went into the classroom with Lila," He replied, making her frown before he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Best to avoid her, dudette. She's still sour about the whole photo incident,"

  "Oh," She mumbled, nodding as the bell rang. Despite been happy that it was over and done with, part of her couldn't but feel like it was her fault. She had been the one to tell Chloe that she didn't have permission. She was the one who questioned Alya's journalism skills. She was the one who lead to her been akumatized. She jumped as she felt Luka placing his hand on her shoulder.

  "It's not your fault that Alya decided to post that photo and evoke the wrath of our heroes," He smiled, making her smile back shyly. She wasn't surprised that he realized she was feeling guilty. "She chose to do that and now she's facing the price,"

  "Yeah..." She mumbled before jumping as the bell rang. Luka chuckled a little, making her pout at him before she decided to gently kiss his cheek, making him blush a little. She giggled and rushed off, waving at him. "See you at lunch, Luka,"

  "Y-Yeah," He gasped, waving before heading to his classroom as Aurore teased him a little. Marinette caught up with the rest of her class and walked in to the class. Alya was sat in her normal seat but Lila was sat next to her. Nino briefly glanced at her but she ignored him, making him sigh and sit down next to Adrien. Marinette decided to sit at the back since Alya would more then likely blame her. She began to walk to the seat as Lila leaned over to Alya.

  "Oh, Alya, I'm so sorry about the photo," She whispered, making Alya frown. "It's such a shame that it had to be taken down,"

  "Yeah... well, it was either that or face a lawsuit from Anatis," She huffed, making Lila gasp.

  "A law suit?" She gasped, making Alya nod. "That's just so awful. I don't understand why they would blame you for this though,"

  "Apparently, it was inappropriate and I didn't have their consent," She sighed, poking her paper with her pen. "So I had to take it down,"

  "I understand... but it's still a shame," Lila nodded, making Alya sigh. "But I guess they aren't ready to go public with their relationship,"

  "What?" Alya gasped, looking at her. Marinette stopped and rolled her eyes. Of course, she would lie about this. In fact, she should have expected it. "What relationship?"

  "Their relationship," Lila replied, making Alya frown. "Anatis and Lady are dating,"

  "But... they said they weren't?" Alya asked, confused but she held her pen to the paper. "Right?"

  "Why do you think they freaked out so much?" Lila replied, making Alya gasp. "They don't want to go public with it,"

  "What?! But everyone would support them!" Alya gasped, making Marinette grip her fist. She walked over, making both Alya look at her. "What?"

  "You don't seriously believe her, do you?" She asked, causing Lila to gasp. "Anatis and Lady Noir are not dating,"

  "Of course, they are," Lila smiled sweetly. "Anatis told me himself but Lady Noir's parents don't approve of him- oops,"

  "You know their identities?!" Alya gasped, looking excited but before she could say anything more, Chloe chuckled, causing her to glare at her. "What's so funny?"

  "Oh, only that the liar is at it again and you're lapping it up," She smirked, making Lila grit her teeth a little bit. "Marinette is right. Anatis isn't dating Lady Noir. They're best friends and have a great dynamic but they are definitely not lovers and nothing you say or do will change that but honestly, Cesaire, I'm amazed that you're still believe Lie-la when everyone knows she's a liar? I mean Anatis himself outed her. It's ridiculous how much faith you have in her. Utterly ridiculous,"

  "Shut up, Chloe!" Alya gasped as Lila sniffed and her eyes began to water. "You're just jealous of Lila because she's hundred times better then you!"

  "Why would I be jealous of that lying vixen?" Chloe asked, making Lila sniff a little more. "For one, Anatis actually acknowledges my existence and two, he knows I'm not a liar,"

  "Lila may have lied in the past but she's been honest with me since then!" Alya argued, making Chloe snort. "And yeah, she is way better then you! She actually cares about her friends and isn't a spoiled, bratty bully like you!"

  "Chloe is not a bully!" Sabrina gasped, jumping to her defense. "She is super kind and-"

  "Sabrina, it's ok," Chloe smiled, making Sabrina look at her with awe before she turned back to Alya. "I may have been a bully but unlike Lila there, I realized my own faults and have been working on them or did you forget that I've pointed that out before. After all, I may not be perfect but at least, I can say I'm not a liar,"

  Alya went to argue but before she could, the akuma alarm went off, causing her to gasp and grab her phone. Marinette frowned deeply as she ran off before following the rest of the class out as par the procedure. As she lived near by, she was able to go home and let her parents know she was safe but as soon as she was upstairs, she climbed out of her skylight and transformed, jumping across the roofs until she saw a pile of dust and smoke. Anatis landed down next to her.

  "The akuma is called Destructor. Similar powers to Destroyer but definitely more powerful," He replied, making her frown before he let out a sigh, causing her to look in the direction that he was looking in. She frowned deeply as she saw Alya on her bike cycling towards the akuma. "And Miss Cesaire is naturally running straight for danger,"

  "Should we get her out of there?" She asked, making him frown as he looked around.

  "She's not in any immediate danger," He replied, noticing she was far from the akuma that seemed to be moving east. "Let's head there and see what we can do,"

  "Sounds like a plan," She nodded, jumping off the building. He followed, swinging across the cityscape. They got there, just as Destructor destroyed another building. Anatis jumped down and threw his yoyo, catching the falling building as Lady Noir got the people underneath it out. With everyone safe, he lowered the bricks before jumping out of the way as Destructor went to attack him. He landed on a lamp post and frowned as another building broke down. Once again, he used his yoyo to stop it from falling on innocent bystanders, allowing Lady Noir to get them out but it left him open for attack. Destructor roared and slammed his hand onto the ground, causing it to shake and crack but he jumped away, scoping up the last bystander as Lady Noir grabbed the other one. They dropped them off before he frowned. 

  "It's almost like a cataclysm," He muttered as he jumped back, making Lady Noir frown. He landed on the police cruiser before throwing up his yoyo. "Lucky charm!"

  He caught the small tea cup as Lady Noir jumping away from Destructor's beam. She managed to jump away from it but it hit a building behind her that began to fall. He threw his yoyo and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her to him and away from the falling debris.

  "Thanks, Annie," She grinned, noticing the lucky charm. "A tea cup?"

  "It's a hint but I think I need to get us some friends," He replied as they jumped out of the way of Destructor's beam. "Keep him busy til I return,"

  "Sure thing," She grinned before jumping back into battle. He jumped off and headed to master Fu's home. He got there in record time and detransformed in the alleyway, giving Tikki a cookie before heading up into the apartment, knocking on the door.

  "Ah, Luka, come in," Master Fu smiled as Luka entered. He closed the door and knelt down on the rug as Master Fu walked over to the gramophone. "I assume the lucky charm lead you here,"

  "Yes, Master," He replied, frowning. "Destructor has a beam that acts like a cataclysm. He's already destroyed a number of buildings and is using it a distraction to try and attack us,"

  "I see," He replied, kneeling down with the miracle box. "Luka Couffaine, you must pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission. Once the mission is over you will get the miraculous back and return them to me,"

  "I need to distract Destructor but also trap him..." He muttered, glancing at them before he grabbed the fox then looked at Master Fu. "Master, I'll need to borrow Wayzz and the turtle miraculous for this mission,"

  "Of course," He nodded, taking off the bracelet and placing it in his hand. Luka took it and got up, grabbing a couple of boxes from the draw and placing them in. "Good luck, Luka,"

  "Thank you, Master," He smiled, placing them in his pocket before leaving. As soon as he was back in the alleyway, he re-transformed and jumped on the roof. He knew Juleka would be on the boat with Rose but Anarka wasn't in so he headed there first, landing on the deck and going down into the living area. Juleka jumped up in alarm as soon as he walked in. "Sorry to interrupt, ladies but I need Culpeo,"

  "Of course," Juleka mumbled, taking the box that he held out. She opened it and greeted Trixx before putting on the necklace. She transformed, leaving Rose gushing before turning to Anatis. "I take it that this akuma is harder then usual,"

  "Yes," He replied, taking out his yoyo and checking where Lady Noir was. "I need you to head to Arc de Triomphe and meet up with Lady Noir. I have to go find Leatherback. Sorry, Rose but Abeille will be sitting out on this one,"

  "No worries, Anatis," She smiled before giving Juleka a kiss. "You go kick that akuma's butt,"

  "I'll try my best," Juleka muttered before leaving. Anatis gave a nod of Rose, who waved before leaving. He headed straight for Ivan's house, getting there in a short amount of time. He knocked on the window and waited. Within a few seconds, Ivan opened it and let him in.

  "You need help?" He asked, getting a nod of Anatis. He took out the next wooden box and handed it to him. Ivan took it and opened it. He placed the bracelet on and greeted Wayzz before transforming. "Alright, let's go,"

  The two of them jumped into the city and headed to where Culpeo and Lady Noir were. The two were doing their best to kept civilians safe and out of the way but it was hard for two people to do. Destructor fired his beam towards Lady Noir while she was trying to get people to safe but Anatis jumped down and blocked it with his yoyo before Leatherback threw his shield, knocking Destructor back, causing him to growl and fire a beam at him as he caught his shield. He lifted it and blocked it as Anatis and Lady Noir got the rest of the civilians out of the way.

  "Any idea as to where the akuma is?" Anatis asked as Culpeo jumped down and helped them. 

  "We think it's in his helmet," Lady Noir replied as the three of them jumped up, dodging a beam. "But we can't get close to it,"

  "We did notice he seems sensitive to sound though," Culpeo explained, making Anatis look at her. "Officer Roger tried to intervene with his microphone. The sound of it made Destructor roar before he blasted it out of Roger's hands,"

  "That's good to know," He smiled as they landed on a building next to Leatherback. Anatis threw up his yoyo and summoned his lucky charm, which was a rubber duck. He frowned as he caught before jumping out of the way of Destructor's beam. "Leatherback, Lady Noir, can you distract him while I work this out?"

  "Of course," Lady Noir grinned before jumping off the building with Leatherback. The two of them fought against Destructor as Anatis looked around, trying to work out his plan. His luck vision landed on Culpeo before highlighting the Eiffel Tower then the Rubber Duck and finally Leatherback and Lady Noir. He smirked before turning to Culpeo.

  "Kit, I need you to use mirage to make an extremely loud noise," He ordered before whistling and getting the other heroes' attention. He pointed to them then to the Eiffel tower before getting a nod of Lady Noir. He nodded over to Culpeo who played her flute and summoned her mirage, causing a number of car alarms to go off. Destructor screamed and covered his ears, allowing the heroes to retreat to the Eiffel tower, where Anatis located the room where the sound system was. Lady Noir rose an eyebrow. "Leatherback, you'll need to use Shell-ter to protect us when he gets here as he will probably end up destroying the tower,"

  "Ok," Leatherback nodded as Lady Noir looked over the edge. Anatis recorded the sound of the duck squeaking on the sound system and looped it so it would repeat before hooking the duck to his belt.

  "Annie, he's on his way," She declared, making him nod. "And we still don't know where his akuma is,"

  "We'll work on that," He replied, setting up the sound system to repeated play the sound of a rubber duck. The heroes jumped down as Destructor got there. As predicted, Destructor began to destroy the tower in an attempt to destroy the sound of the duck. Leatherback used Shell-ter to protect them from the falling debris, allowing Anatis to watch Destructor as he destroyed everything around him. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed a darkened bracelet around his wrist. "Lady Noir, his bracelet,"

  "I see it," She replied as the tower fell. Leatherback lowered the force field before charging into battle with Anatis and Culpeo. With Destructor focusing on the three other heroes, Lady Noir sneaked up on him. He turned just before she could grab his bracelet and when to punch her but she blocked his arm and threw him over his shoulder, knocking the wind out of him before summoning her cataclysm and tapping the bracelet with her finger. It crumbled and the akuma fluttered out, allowing Anatis to capture it before he threw up the rubber duck and released the cure, fixing everything. His earring gave off their first warning, causing him to turn to Lady Noir who grinned. "You three get going. I'll take care of him,"

  She pointed to the man who was Destructor, getting a grateful smile of Anatis before him, Leatherback and Culpeo jumped off. She smiled, shaking her head a little in amusement before turning to the victim.

  "Lady Noir?" He asked, looking around confused. "What happened?"

  "You were akumatized, sir but don't worry. Everything is ok,"

  ~Meanwhile~

  "Thanks for trusting me, Anatis," Juleka smiled as she gave back the fox miraculous. Anatis placed it in the box before putting it back in his yoyo. "I better get back to Rose but if you ever need my help again,"

  "I'll come and find you," He smiled before giving her a salute and jumping up to the roof where Leatherback was waiting. The two of them made their way to his house before he dropped his transformation and handed back his miraculous. "Thank you for your help, Ivan,"

  "No worries, Anatis," He smiled, clapping hands with the hero. "If you ever need help, you can rely on me,"

  "I'm glad to have such reliable friends," He smiled, making Ivan go a little shy. He did not expect the hero to consider him a friend but he was truly honored. Anatis waved to him before heading back to Master Fu's. He landed in the alleyway and dropped his transformation before heading up into the apartment. Master Fu glanced up from the miracle book as he walked in. "Hi, Master. Doing some translating?"

  "Yes," He nodded as he walked over to the gramophone and unlocked it before taking out the miracle box. "I assume the mission was a success?"

  "Yeah but Destructor was really tough," He replied, placing the miraculous back inside. Master Fu nodded and placed the miracle box back. "Have you learnt anything new?"

  "Ah, not much yet but as soon as I do, I will let you know," He replied, getting a nod of Luka before he bid goodbye. He was tired from Destructor and still had homework to do as well as a patrol later. Master Fu nodded, understanding before he left, heading straight home to do his homework and get some rest before he went on patrol. 

  ~The Next Day~

  "I got some pretty decent footage," Alya grinned as she showed the group her footage of the battle. Rose was gushing about Culpeo, causing Juleka to blush. She was trying not to give away her identity and trying to hide her blush. Luka was also trying not to laugh as if he did, it would give away his identity. Marinette was happily chatting to Mylene and Ivan as Chloe walked over with Sabrina. She stopped in front of Marinette, making her look at her.

  "Marinette... um.... ho-"

  "Hi everyone!" Lila called, interrupting her as she walked over. Both Marinette and Luka rolled their eyes as she walked over. Everyone else pretty much greeted her, expect for Chloe who completely blanked her and began to talk to Marinette. Luka hid a smile as she asked how Lady Noir was doing. However, Lila wasn't done yet. "Oh, are you talking about the heroes? I'm close to them, especially Lady Noir. She's my best friend,"

  "Funny how she's never mentioned you," Marinette deadpanned, crossing her arms as she glared at her. Lila did her fake laugh before flipping her hair.

  "Well, she doesn't know me as Lila obviously," She giggled, making a number of people look at her. Luka frowned deeply as he noticed the fake fox miraculous around her neck. Apparently, Alya noticed too as her eyes wide wide. "Anyway, I can't tell you how I know her obviously but let's just say we're super close,"

  "Yeah right," Luka snorted, making everyone look at him. Lila faked laughed before flicking her hair again.

  "Oh, Luka, you're so funny," She grinned before turning back to Marinette and Chloe. He gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm so amazed by you, Marinette. Been able to talk to your bully and treat her like normal. I just hope she's really changed,"

  "Of course, I have!" Chloe gasped, making Lila look at her and hold up her hands. Marinette gave her a glare, noticing she was inching closer to Luka. She hooked her arm into his and suggested they go study, causing him to nod and happily walk away. Lila wanted to glare daggers at her as the rest went to do their own things before turning back to Chloe.

  "Oh, I didn't mean to offend," She gasped, trying to look like the picture of innocence. "But old habits die hard. I would just hate if you went back to your old ways. I'd have to tell Anatis and he would be so disappointed,"

  "You don't know Anatis," Chloe declared. "Or did you forget that he called you out on that video?"

  "Oh, that was nothing," Lila laughed, shrugging it off. "He was just trying to protect me from Hawkmoth since he was worried about me but we've come up with an arrangement so I can protect myself and of course I have a magical command that summons him to be every time. Would you like to know what it is? I don't mind sharing it with you, Chloe,"

  "I'm not interested," She replied, causing Lila to frown. 

  "Oh but what if there's an akuma?" She gasped, faking concern.

  "I can just alert him with the akuma app,"

  "Oh but that app can be so unreliable," Lila gasped, frowning. "But my magic command works every time but maybe you just don't want to be friends with him. Probably don't want to disappoint him,"

  "Anatis isn't disappointed with me and I can see him anytime I want!" Chloe gasped, causing Lila to chuckle a little. "What?!"

  "Well... I'm not saying you're wrong...." She replied before glancing at Chloe. "But... well, he promised to give you a second chance and yet he really hasn't, has he? So maybe it's better to be safe then sorry right?"

  She stepped forward and whispered in Chloe's ear before she could argue.

  "I promise if you do that and he doesn't come then you'll know that he's not really your friend," She smirked before turning on her heel and walking away. Luka got up and walked over to Chloe, making her look at him.

  "Whatever she said to you, ignore it," He advised, making her frown a little as Marinette joined them. "She's a liar,"

  "Yeah, yeah, I know," She sighed, waving her hand. "Don't worry, Luka. I'm not stupid,"

  "Didn't say you were," He replied, making her nod before the bell went. "We better go to class. See you guys at Lunch,"

  "Bye," Marinette waved as he walked off before letting out a sigh, causing Chloe to laugh. "What?"

  "You have it so bad," She grinned, making Marinette blush and try to argue. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna say anything so let's get to class,"

  "A-Alright," Marinette nodded as the two of them walked off. "Hey, what did you want to ask me?"

  "Oh, I wanted to know how Lady Noir was doing since you actually know her,"

  ~Lunchtime~

  "I think Lila might be Culpeo," Alya gasped as she walked with Marinette, Rose and Juleka to the bakery. Marinette instantly rolled her eyes, making Alya frown. "Come on. She's friends with Anatis and Lady Noir but they don't know her identity and she has a necklace that looks exactly the same as Culpeo's,"

  "Firstly, Anatis called her out for been a liar and secondly, he and Lady Noir are the only ones to keep their miraculous full time," Marinette countered, making Alya frown. "Why would Anatis trust her with a miraculous?"

  "Why wouldn't he?" Alya countered back.

  "Because she's a liar," Marinette replied back, noticing Rose and Juleka were super quiet. "Rose, Juleka, what do you think?"

  "There's no way she's Culpeo," Rose gasped, getting a nod of Juleka.

  "For one, she looks nothing like her but Lila claimed not to be in Paris when Culpeo first appeared and wasn't she akumatized on heroes day?" Juleka pointed out, making Alya frown. She had a very good point. Sabine greeted the girls as they walked into the bakery and brought some food before heading to the park as it was a nice day. The four of them grabbed a seat before beginning to eat their food. Marinette kind of wished Luka could join them but right now, he was in detention for forgetting his homework and the other boys were gaming in the library. Normally, she would join but it was such a nice day so she wanted to sit outside. Luka did promise that he would join them once his detention was done. Luckily, it was only half an hour so he would have an hour and a half left of lunch. Marinette let out a little sigh as she thought about him before noticing August and his mum walking by. He was crying again, wanting a lolly pop and his poor mother was trying her best to get him to calm down as he cried. However, a blue smog suddenly appeared before turning into a lollypop monster. The girls gasped and jumped up before it went to slam it's fist at them. Marinette dived to one side as the other three went the other way. Naturally, Alya began to film, causing Rose and Juleka to try and pull her back. However, the lolly monster turned it's attention to Marinette and stomped towards her. She scrambled to her feet and tried to run, only for her to trip up. The monster went to hit her again but before it could, she was pulled out of the way. Anatis landed on the roof and put her down.

  "Careful, princess," He smiled, making her blush before diving back down and began to fight the monster. She quickly transformed into Lady Noir and jumped down to join him. "Lady Noir... glad you could make it,"

  "Is that an akuma?" She asked, jumping out of the way. "It doesn't look like an akuma,"

  "No, I don't think it is!" He replied, diving and landing a kick to it before back-flipping away. As he did, he noticed the dummy on the ground. He threw his yoyo to capture it but the creature began to defeat it. He summoned his lucky charm, getting a bag of marbles before throwing them on the floor as Lady Noir distracted the lollypop monster. She back-flipped away, causing the monster to follow her and slip on the marbles. Anatis jumped onto it's back and trapped it with his yoyo, causing it to step back. Lady Noir extended her baton and placed it between two trees, allowing Anatis to force it towards there. It tripped and fell forward as he jumped and grabbed the dummy. He broke it and frowned as blue feather escaped instead of an akuma. He caught it in his yoyo and released, grabbing the now purified feather. Lady Noir grabbed her baton and moved over to him as he held it up.

  "A feather?" She asked before gasping. "It's like the one from heroes day,"

  "Yes," He muttered, frowning as he let it go. "An amok... the peacock miraculous user creates them to infect someone in a similar way to akumas but instead of the person been transformed into a super power villain... the emotions instead take a form of their own... a sentimonster... the lolly pop monster must of have been the frustration of a child been denied sweets and that moth we saw on heroes' day... it was the embodiment of Hawkmoth's despair at almost been defeated..."

  "That is worrying," Lady Noir admitted. "But why make a sentimonster on it's own?"

  "I don't know," He admitted, frowning before picking up one of the marbles and throwing it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybugs!"

  It burst into the cure and fixed everything that the sentimonster had destroyed. He frowned to himself as he looked to the rooftops, wondering if the owner of the peacock miraculous was near by. He frowned deeply as his earrings beeped. 

  ~During the Battle~

  "Chloe, are you ok?" Sabrina asked as they headed up to the roof for lunch. She had been super quiet since Lila had talked to her about the 'secret' command. She frowned as Chloe let out a sigh before she looked at her.

  "Do you think Lila is lying about been friends with Anatis?" She asked, making Sabrina frown a little.

  "Well, he did call her out on her lies as Volpina so I imagine so... but... Alya seems to believe her," She replied, making Chloe frown and look to the city. "Maybe you could ask him yourself,"

  "Yeah... I guess," She muttered, frowning before shaking her head. "Anatis would never be friends with that fox,"

  "That's the spirit," Sabrina smiled, feeling a little annoyed that Lila would suggest that Anatis didn't trust Chloe. Sure, he hadn't given her a miraculous yet but even if he did, she wouldn't be able to tell anyone anyway so for all she knew she did have one but she just couldn't say. Her phone vibrated, causing her to look at it and gasp. "Chloe! Anatis and Lady Noir are fighting a lolly pop monster!"

  "What?!" She gasped, looking at the phone. "That's insane!"

  "Ooh, it makes me want to play as Lady Noir and Anatis! Should I go get the outfits?" She gasped, making Chloe wave her hand a little as she nodded. She was too fixed on the battle. "Yay!"

  Sabrina ran off as Chloe watched the battle. She thought about flagging him down after the battle to ask about Rossi and her second chance but there was a high chance he wouldn't go this way. Her mind drifted back to Lila's command. If she did the dance now, he might come after the battle.

  "No, that would be ridiculous! Utterly rid- hmm..." She hummed, thinking to herself. The chances were Lila was lying but Lila's comments about how he hadn't really gave her a second chance echoed in her mind. Frowning to herself, she glanced around, seeing no one around. She wasn't stupid. She knew Lila was probably lying but a small part of her questioned that. If there was a small chance that it could work then... well, she should try. She lifted her foot up and placed one hand near her stomach and the other over her head. She took a deep breathe before hoping around on the spot. "Anatis, Anatis, Anat-"

  She opened her eyes and saw her butler watching her. Embarrassment flooded through her mind as he rose an eyebrow before he held out a silver plate and presented Mr Cuddly to her.

  "Mademoiselle seemed a little upset earlier," He explained, making her frown deeply. She knew he meant well but his sudden appearance made her feel stupid. 

  "Get lost!" She shouted, making him step back a little at her tone. However, he nodded and left, causing her to take a deep breathe a sigh. It would be worth it if Lila's command worked. Even if it didn't, she would flag down Anatis and prove to Cesaire that she was worth it. Anatis believed in her... right? She frowned as he released the cure but seconds turned to minutes and he didn't turn up, making her gasp and grip the edge of the railing. "That smart Alec was lying again! First she accused me of framing Marinette and now she wormed her way into my mind... but I am worthy of a second chance... aren't I? Anatis wouldn't forget all about me! Right?"

  She felt tears filled her eyes as she took out her picture of her and the two heroes. It hurt her to think that Anatis would ignore her but maybe Rossi and Cesaire was right? Maybe he had given up on her.

  "Of course, he wouldn't Chloe," Sabrina gasped, making her jump and turn around. "Why don't we play-"

  "Play?! With you?!" She gasped, annoyed. "Why would I want to play with you?! You can't give me a second chance or make me a hero! All you do is follow me like a dumb, lost sheep! You're nothing so just leave me alone!"

  Sabrina's eyes filled with tears, causing Chloe to gasp as she realized what she just said. She turned on her heel and rushed out, causing Chloe to gasp.

  "Sabrina!" She called, reaching out to her but she lowered her hand, looking down. She knew Sabrina wouldn't forgive her and neither would Anatis. Cesaire was right. She was a spoiled bully. "I didn't mean it..."

  She looked down as she gripped the photo in her hand. She was a monster and Sabrina deserved better then her. Suddenly, she felt a familiar buzz fill her mind, causing her to gasp in silent horror as Hawkmoth's voice filled her mind.

  "My dear Chloe Bourgeois, this is Hawkmoth," He stated, making her shake as he spoke in her mind. "Embarrassed by your classmates and feeling powerless and abandoned by Anatis? Well, I can empower you for good and all I ask in return is his and Lady Noir's miraculous. What do you say, Empress?"

  "Na... No, Hawkmoth!" She cried out as she gripped her head, surprising him. "A-Anatis hasn't abandoned me! He believes in me and I will not disappoint him again!"

  "But you already have," Hawkmoth laughed as she tried to fight him. "After all, you lashed out at your best friend,"

  "And I regret it!" She gasped, taking a deep breathe. "But I'm still learning and that doesn't mean I'm a bad person! It means I made a mistake but I'm human and I will make it up to her! I will not let you control me! I will never work for you! Ever!"

  She threw the photo aside, feeling the connection disappear as the butterfly left it and flew off. She took a lot of deep breathes before grabbing her photo and logging onto the akuma alert app. Anatis needed to know that an akuma was lost. It would probably go to the nearest person with negative emotions. Her eyes widen as she realized that would be Sabrina. She was upset at the fact that Chloe snapped at her. 

  "Oh no, what have I done?" She gasped, covering her mouth in horror. She had to find Sabrina now.

  ~Back at the Park~

  "Huh?" Anatis muttered as his yoyo buzzed. He took it out and frowned as he saw the notification from the akuma app. He went to open it but before he could, a pale looking girl with bright pink hair landed on top of the carousel. She was wearing a black body suit that covered her neck and torso but cut off half way down her legs. She wore elbow length gloves that started pink and faded into black with a pink outline. Her shoes were similar designed and she had a pink outline on the collar, armholes and lower legs. Her eyes were blue with pink sclera and she wore a black mask with a pink outline. In the center of her body suit was a pink hexagon with a black question mark in the middle. Anatis frowned as Lady Noir went on edge.

  "If you're here for the battle then you're running a bit late," She replied, getting into her fighting stance.

  "Ooh, you're running a bit late... Well, the battle is right now!" She mocked before jumping down before tapping her tonfa against her hand. "You've neglected Chloe for too long, Anatis!"

  "I'm sorry but what?" He asked, clearly confused.

  "I'm sorry what?!" The girl mocked again before looking at him angrily. "Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

  Anatis frowned as he heard his earrings beeping before he turned to Lady Noir.

  "Lady Noir, I'm gonna transform back soon," He muttered, getting her to look at him. "I need to go recharge. Are you ok-"

  "Oh, help me, Lady Noir!" The girl mimicked in a mocking way before suddenly charging at him. He jumped back and when to throw his yoyo at her but she ducked and slammed her tonfa into his ribs, knocking him back a little before she jumped back and laughed. Several ladybug themed circles appeared on her suit, making him gasp before she threw up her tonfa. "Lucky charm!"

  Both heroes gasped as she summoned a giant sword and caught it.

  "What have you done?!" Anatis gasped as she laughed before she charged at him. Lady Noir jumped over and blocked it before knocking her back.

  "She's stolen your power!" She explained before giving him a wink. "Get out of her and recharge. I'll keep her busy,"

  "Be careful," He replied, throwing up his yoyo and retreating as Lady Noir smirked and summoned her power. The girl charged at her, ready to cut her in half. She blocked it with her baton but the akuma took the chance to slam her tonfa against her, stealing her power. Lady Noir gasped as her cataclysm disappeared and some of the circles turned green with a paw print before the akuma straightened up, causing the sword to disappear as she made a thoughtful look.

  "What's the phase again?" She asked before smirking darkly towards Lady Noir. "Oh, yeah. Cataclysm!"

  She slammed her tonfa into Lady Noir's ribs, sending her flying into the fence. She smirked and began to stalk over to the weakened hero but before she could, Anatis swung by and scoped Lady Noir, swinging away. She jumped up on the roof and glanced around to look for him but somehow he had disappeared. Frowning to herself, she jumped away to give powers to Chloe.

  ~In the Sewers~

  "Lady Noir?" Anatis gasped, lowering her down to the ground. She carefully opened her eyes and gave him a soft smile before glancing around. 

  "T-The Se-Sewer?" She asked, hissing in pain. He frowned and moved his hand against her ribs, causing her to gasp out in pain. He frowned deeply before scoping her up again. She leaned into him as he walked through the sewers. "W-We need help..."

  "I know," He replied, coming to the area they hid in from Desperada. He kicked open the door and gently laid her down on the bench. "Rest and recharge Plagg. I'm gonna go get help,"

  "O-ok," She gasped as he glanced at her worried. "H-Hey, don't w-worry about me,"

  "I can't help it," He muttered, frowning a little before he gently moved a strand of her hair. "I'll get my power back and then I'll heal you. I promise,"

  "I k-know..." She muttered, making him nod before he jumped up and left the room. She let out a small sigh and coughed a little. "P-Plagg, claws in,"

  She detransformed, causing Plagg to land on her stomach as he gasped in pain. Marinette groaned and held her ribs as she tried to take a breathe. However, the cataclysm had broken her ribs. She was lucky that a lung hadn't been punctured. She was certain that if she hadn't wore her supersuit, the cataclysm would have killed her.

  "S-so that's what it feels like to be cataclysmed..." He gasped before looking up at her. "I swear I won't ever call the dinosaurs wusses again..."

  She laughed but hissed in pain, making him frown.

  "Th-there's cheese in my p-purse," She muttered, making him pull himself over. "E-Eat up... we'll r-rest t-til An-Annie c-comes back,"

  ~Back to Luka~

  Almost as soon as he ran out of the room, his transformation dropped and he caught Tikki as he ran. He gently placed her in his pocket and climbed up the ladder, pushing open the manhole and climbing out. He put it back and ran towards Master Fu's apartment as fast as he could. He ran into the building and up the stairs as fast as he could before bursting through the door, making Master Fu look at him in surprise.

  "Luka?" He asked, a little confused. 

  "Master Fu, we have a troublesome akuma," He gasped, stepping in and closing the door. "She's stolen both of our powers and used Lady Noir's against hers,"

  "Oh no," He gasped, jumping up and rushing over to the gramophone. He took out the box and placed in front of Luka before opening it up. Luka glanced over at the miraculous as he thought about what he needed but his mind kept going back to one conclusion. "Luka Couffaine, you must pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you in this mission. Once the mission is over, you'll get the miraculous back and return them to me,"

  "This akuma has stolen our powers and injured Lady Noir," He muttered, reaching for them before he began to grab all of them. "We're gonna need everyone,"

  "Are you sure?" Master Fu asked, getting a nod of Luka as he got up and grabbed several boxes. He filled them with the miraculi before looking up at him and nodding. "Well, I trust you know what you're doing,"

  "Thank you, Master," He replied as Master Fu took off the turtle bracelet and handed it to him. With all the miraculous on his person, he ran back outside and headed down the alleyway, coming to a manhole. Glancing around to make sure no one was around, he opened the manhole and climbed in. As soon as he was in the sewer, he transformed into Anatis and rushed back to where he left Lady Noir as fast as he could. He came to the door and stopped outside, gently knocking on it. "It's me. I'm back,"

  "H-Hang o-on," She gasped before he saw a green light. The door opened, making him frown as she smiled up at him. She was leaning on her baton and her smile was pain filled. "T-That was quick,"

  "Let's get to the surface," He mumbled. She went to walk forward but hissed from the pain of her broken ribs. Anatis instantly rushed over to her. "Put your arm around my waist and lean on me,"

  "Th-thanks, Annie," She smiled, doing what he told her to. With his help, they headed to the exit. He stopped and looked up before turning to her as she leaned on the wall, breathing in. It hurt just to walk with his help. "I d-don't think I'll b-be able to climb up,"

  "Hang on," He muttered, climbing up and throwing his yoyo to a street light that was directly above the manhole. It wrapped around it, allowing him to climb back down. Lady Noir hobbled over to him. "Ok, hold onto me,"

  She blushed a little as she held onto his shoulders before he wrapped his spare around around her back, securely holding her close to him.

  "Does that feel ok?" He asked, not wanting to hurt her. She nodded and leaned into him as he pulled on the yoyo, causing it to pull them up into the street. She hissed a little bit when they landed, causing him to look at her with concern but she gave him a soft smile. He took out two miracle boxes and gave them to her. "I need you to go and get Aspik and Ryuko,"

  "Su-Sure," She nodded, taking a deep breathe but he gave her a worried expression. "I'll b-be fine,"

  "I'll heal you," He stated again, getting a smile off her. "I promise,"

  "I know," She replied before hobbling off. He gave her one more glance before jumping up and running across the roof, heading to Ivan's house. He jumped and landed on the window seal, looking inside. He frowned as he noticed Ivan wasn't there before thinking. He probably out with Mylene, which might make it a little difficult to collect him but he had a rough idea where they would be. He back-flipped off the window seal and swung off to Place des Vosges. Mylene and Ivan mentioned they would be collecting rubbish that day. He landed on a nearby building and saw Ivan with Mylene. Luckily for him, Ivan said something to her and walked off on his own. He smiled before heading to the alleyway next to the shop he was heading to before whistling, getting Ivan's attention. He looked behind him before rushing into the alleyway, quickly dropping a text to Mylene. 

  "I need Leatherback," Anatis stated, holding out the box. Ivan nodded and took, putting on the bracelet before transforming. "Head to the Grand Paris hotel but just observe what's happening for now,"

  "Alright," He nodded before jumping up and heading that way as Anatis went the other way. He tracked down Juleka and Rose near Andres' ice cream cart. It appeared that they were training, making him smile before he whistled, getting their attention. They rushed over to him, taking the miraculous he held out for them. They took them and transformed into Culpeo and Abeille. The three of them headed to the Grand Paris hotel but as soon as they got there, they saw Lady Noir, Leatherback, Ryuko and Aspik fighting the akuma and another person. Anatis narrowed his eyes as he didn't recognize the other person but she seemed to targeting Lady Noir while the akuma kept the other three heroes busy. He needed to get his power back and interfere with the fight. He glanced around and noticed Chloe hiding from the fight. He tapped the two heroines before pointing to her. They two of them nodded and followed him over to behind Chloe. He glanced over and narrowed his eyes, noticing that the akuma's outfit had the shell-ter symbol as well but neither the dragon or the snake. Aspik was staying back and jumping to avoid been hit but directing Ryuko and Leatherback with his second chance. Lady Noir was battling against the older miraculous holder, making him frown before turning to Abeille and Culpeo. "Abeille, I need you to keep yourself hidden until you see an opening to use venom on the akuma,"

  "What do you want me to do?" Culpeo asked as he grabbed Chloe and pulled her near to them. She gasped and went to say something but he covered her mouth and made a shush sigh with his finger. She nodded, causing him to let go before in a very hushed voice explained to him what had happened. He listened and nodded before turning to Culpeo.

  "I need you to make me into her. Both look and voice," He whispered, pointing to Chloe. "Think you can do that?"

  "I think so," She replied, taking her flute and playing it quieter then normal.The light ball appeared on the end and she directed it towards Anatis. "Mirage,"

  He instantly turned into Chloe and gave her the thumbs as the real Chloe remained hidden with Abeille and Culpeo. The Fake Chloe got up and walked to where the real Chloe previously was. Lady Noir was still fighting against the new comer while Aspik dived out of the way of Miraculer's attack. Leatherback threw his shield knocking her back before she could hit him with her tonfa. Ryuko then dived in, taking her on while Leatherback helped Apsik up. He went to help out Lady Noir but Miraculer threw Ryuko into him. She went to charge towards Aspik but Chloe stepped out.

  "Sabrina, I've changed my mind," She stated, walking over to her. "I do want Anatis' power. Since he hasn't really given me a second chance, I've decided I rather play with you and if he won't give me power... well by rights I should have his,"

  "Ooh!! I'm so happy!!" Miraculer declared, holding up her tonfa. It had a strange glowing ball on the end that resembled the ladybug symbol. "We're gonna have so much fun. Oh, here's Anatis' power,"

  'Chloe' held out both her arms and closed her eyes, ready to embrace her new powers. Miraculer tapped her with the tonfa, causing the illusion to drop and Anatis to smirk as he took out his yoyo and threw it as she stared at him in shock. Culpeo jumped out from behind the brushes with the real Chloe.

  "Thank you, Miraculer," He smirked, throwing the yoyo up again. "I needed that back,"

  "No!" Miraculer shouted, going to hit him again but this time Anatis dodged and kicked her back, allowing Culpeo to charge at her. Ryuko and Leatherback were fighting the new comer who was trying to get at Lady Noir. Narrowing her eyes, she jumped up to the roof before throwing a feather towards Miraculer. Anatis gasped and threw his yoyo, capturing it before it could land in her. The woman, who he now realized was the Peacock holder, narrowed her eyes and jumped over the two other heroes before going for Lady Noir. The two heroes went to stop her but Miraculer threw Culpeo into them and trapping them with Anatis in a shell-ter. The villainess knocked down Lady Noir, despite her best attempt as Anatis charged at Miraculer. She summoned a cataclysm and when to charge at him but he grabbed her and slammed into the wall of the shell-ter, causing her cataclysm charged tonfa to hit it and destroy it. He threw her towards Ryuko who instantly engaged as the peacock holder stepped on Lady Noir's arm. He threw his yoyo and knocked her back into one of the sun chairs before rushing over to Lady Noir, who was laid on the cover of the swimming pool. She was breathing but he could feel that she was severally weakened from her injury. He glanced at her then towards his team. Miraculer was still able to summon lucky charms and was combining them with a cataclysm, keeping his team busy. He frowned deeply as the peacock holder got up and smirked at him.

  "So you're the mysterious holder of the peacock," He stated, glaring at her as she lifted her fan to her face. 

  "I am Mayura-"

  "I don't care what you call yourself or what you have to say,"

  "Oh but you should, Anatis. After all, your team is weak... just look at them," Mayura replied, making him frown and glance at his team but he didn't see weakness. He saw determination. Sure, Miraculer was giving them a hell of a time but they weren't down yet. Not even Lady Noir was. She was hurt and weak but she was using her baton to stand. "You should join me and Hawkmoth. The three of us together would be unstoppable. What do you say, Anatis? Why protect a city who won't even thank you when you can join us and be a god among men,"

  "D-Don't, Annie," Lady Noir gasped, causing Mayura to look at her with a ferocious look. Anatis instantly took a step in front of her in a protective manner.

  "So protective of her," Mayura laughed a little. "Yet it would be so easy for you just to reach and take her miraculous,"

  "I would never do that to her," He replied back, causing her to frown. "Just like I've never join you and Hawkmoth... Oh and my team isn't weak. They're brave and determined, unlike you and Hawkmoth... You're both cowards by the way,"

  "How dare you!" She growled, diving towards him. He blocked her attack with his yoyo but widen his eyes when he suddenly got hit with a terrible feeling. He suddenly felt so weak and tired before he suddenly began to cough like he was sick, causing Mayura to look at him with horror and surprise. Lady Noir gasped and tried to rush over to him as he caught his breathe. Seeing her chance to escape, she jumped off as Anatis straightened up.

  "Ryuko! Aspik! Go after her!" He ordered as Lady Noir checked on him. The two heroes nodded and ran after her. "I'm ok,"

  "A-are you sure?" She asked, frowning. He nodded before throwing his yoyo in the air and summoning his lucky charm, which was rope. He frowned deeply as he looked around. Miraculer went to dive at him with her tonfa charged up again but Lady Noir pushed him out of the way, getting hit with another cataclysm. She went flying across the swimming pool lid, landing on her back. Miraculer smirked and went to attack her again but Leatherback and Culpeo attacked her, stopping her from getting to Lady Noir. Seeing his chance, he glanced around before his luck vision lit up. He gave a nod to Abeille, who gave him a thumbs up before he moved two of the sun chairs and tied to the rope between them. Culpeo and Leatherback destroyed her illusion selves and forced her to back up, causing her to trip over the rope as Abeille waited behind the bushes, quietly summoning her power. Anatis grabbed her arms and pinned her down as Culpeo and Leatherback grabbed her legs but she kicked Culpeo off, followed by Leatherback. She freed herself from Anatis and kicked him into one of the sun chairs before she began to stalk over to him, summoning a lucky charm and charging it with another cataclysm.

  "I'm gonna take your power again and this time it will be painful," She grinned evilly, lifting the tonfa but before she could, Abeille dived at her and slammed her spintop into her back, freezing her at the spot. Anatis got up and walked over to her, taking the tonfa from her. He snapped it in half and dropped it to the ground, freeing the akuma before he took out his yoyo and captured it. He released the purified akuma and walked over to the rope. He picked it up and threw it in the air.

  "Miraculous ladybugs!" He shouted, releasing the cure. It flew straight to Lady Noir and swarmed around her, causing her to gasp and sit up before she flipped up and did a cartwheel. It swarmed around the rest of the affected heroes as she rushed back over and hugged Anatis, causing him to hug back. "I'm glad you're ok,"

  "I feel as good as new, all thanks to you," She grinned, pulling away and lightly punching him in the arm. He grinned before turning to Miraculer, who had turned back to Sabrina. Almost instantly, Chloe rushed over and threw her arms around the smaller girl as she cried.

  "I'm sorry!" She gasped, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I am so sorry, Sabrina! I didn't mean for you to be akumatized!!"

  "Sabrina, do you remember why you were akumatized?" Anatis asked as she hugged Chloe back. Both girls pulled away from each other. Sabrina looked down and went to answer but Chloe stopped her.

  "It was my fault, Anatis," She admitted, causing the other heroes to glance at her. "I... I was upset and I snapped at her... and the akuma that came for her... it.. it was suppose to be for me..."

  "Can you tell me what happened?" He asked as she closed her eyes. She explained that it all really started with Alya and her reaction to the photo. She went into details of how Alya's reaction to her telling her off for posting it resulted in Alya accusing her of been jealous and calling her a thief. She explained that a couple of days later Alya once again had a go at her and calling her jealous again because of her reaction to Lila's lies. At the mention of the liar's name, Anatis groaned. "What did she say this time?"

  "Oh, she was claiming that you and Lady Noir are actually dating and the reason you freaked was because you're not really to go public with your relationship. She said that apparently Lady Noir's parents don't approve of you," She explained, making him groan again as Lady Noir sighed and shook her head. "She also claimed to be your best friend and apparently the reason why you called her on that video was to protect her,"

  "No, it's because she's a liar," He groaned, making everyone nod in agreement. "Anyway, continue,"

  "Anyway, earlier today that liar brought up mine and Marinette's past. As you know, I use to bully her and Lila tried to make people question if I had changed. She had the nerve to turn around and be like oh, I've hoped you changed and when I told her I had, she was like 'old habits die hard' and 'i would hate it if you went back to your old ways'. She insisted that she would have to tell you and you'd be disappointed then when I pointed out that you didn't know her, she brushed it off like it was nothing. She claimed that you were just trying to protect from Hawkmoth and that you had come up with an arrangement so she could protect herself. She even hinted that she was a superhero, claiming to be super close with you and Lady Noir,"

  Lady Noir snorted at that.

  "She then told me that she had a magic command that summons you every time," She mumbled, looking to the floor. "When I told her I wasn't interested and that I would use the app to alert you, she called it unreliable and said that I didn't want to be friends with you and that I'd probably just disappoint you. I argued that you weren't and that I could see you anytime I wanted but she... she then pointed out that I hadn't really been given a second chance by you and then she told me the command, saying that if you didn't come that I would know that you weren't my true friend. The thing is... I know she was lying but what she said... it got to me. I started to think 'what if you were disappointed in me' and I decided I wanted to ask you myself but you were so busy with that lollypop creature and you probably wouldn't have past the hotel so I stupidly did the command, hoping that maybe for once she wasn't lying... of course it didn't work and even though I knew she had been lying, I felt like that maybe they were right and that you had given up on me..."

  She sighed before looking up at him.

  "I then snapped at Sabrina. I had a go at her, asking her why I want to play with her and saying that she couldn't give me a second chance or powers. I called her a dumb, worthless sheep and she ran off crying. I realized what I did and called after her but it was too late. That's when Hawkmoth tried to akumatize me. It was horrible hearing him in my head but I thought him off and send his akuma away but he took advantage of Sabrina because of me! I'm a terrible friend and I failed all of you," Chloe gasped, covering her eyes with her hands as she cried. Sabrina looked at with sympathy but was unsure what to do along with the rest of the heroes. Anatis, however, knelt down in front of Chloe as she cried. The heroes held their breathe as they half expected him to have a go at her but to everyone's surprise, he pulled her into a hug. An expression of shock came across her face before she closed her eyes and hugged back. Gradually, he pulled away, making her blink. "Y-You're aren't mad?"

  "Chloe, I want you to listen to me," He stated, holding her shoulder. "I'm not expecting you to be perfect and change straight away. Changing yourself takes time and it can be exhausting so no I'm not angry at you. I'm not saying what you did was ok either but you clearly regret your actions and feel bad about it. You literally broke down in tears and rushed over to Sabrina once we freed her,"

  "But I snapped at her..." She mumbled, looking down. "I messed up,"

  "Making mistakes is normal," He stated, making her look at him in surprise again. "What happened today is called a relapse and they happen to everyone but the important thing is you learn from your mistakes and for kwami's sake, don't listen to that liar ever. Her words are poison,"

  "B-But I nearly got akumatized..."

  "You resisted. I'm proud of you for that," He smiled before turning to Sabrina. "Are you ok?"

  "I am thanks," She nodded before turning to Chloe and hugging her. "It's ok, Chloe. We're ok I promise,"

  Chloe sniffed and nodded as an echo of beeps got their attention. Anatis moved his hand to his earrings as Ryuko and Aspik landed on the swimming pool cover. He glanced over at them and noticed their sour expressions as Sabrina led Chloe away from the scene, suggesting they get some hot chocolate and have a girly night. The two reptiles walked as Chloe and Sabrina disappeared into the lift. 

  "Anatis, Mayura got away from us," Ryuko stated, bowing her head as Aspik did the same. "We're sorry,"

  "It's fine, Ryuko. You two did your best," He smiled as his earrings beeped again. He turned to Culpeo, Abeille and Leatherback as Lady Noir walked over to Ryuko and Aspik. "Great work everyone but time to go home,"

  "Right," Culpeo nodded as the three of them followed Anatis while the other three jumped off the building. Anatis led them to an alleyway near where everyone had been. Leatherback waited on the rooftop as he hadn't actually used his power while Abeille and Culpeo detransformed, handing over their miraculous. Juleka frowned as she lightly grabbed his arm. "Lila was pretending to be me and Alya lapped up everything she said,"

  "I will definitely be having a word with Alya, Kit," He nodded before ruffing her hair. "Now don't you two have ice cream to get?"

  "Ooh!! Yes!!" Rose gasped, grabbing Juleka's hand and rushing off but not before waving to Anatis. Once they had disappeared, Leatherback landed next to him and called off his transformation.

  "I'm sorry that I disobeyed your orders," He muttered, handing the bracelet back to him. "When I got there, the other three were already fighting against that woman and the akuma and they were losing. If I hadn't-"

  "Ivan, I'm not mad at all," He smiled, placing his arm on his shoulder. "You saw your team mates in trouble and you helped them. I also know that you would only disobey my orders if you had to so don't stress about it ok?"

  "Sure, Anatis," He smiled, nodding. "I better get back to Mylene. I told her my mom asked for my help with something,"

  "Nice cover," He nodded before Ivan jogged off. He placed the miraculous into yoyo and leaned against the wall as his transformation dropped. He caught Tikki and took out a cookie for her. "That was a very tough akuma. Hey, Tikki?"

  "Yes?" She asked, looking up for my cookie.

  "Can the miraculous amplify natural abilities?" He asked, making her look at him. "During the battle, I had a sudden coughing fit when I was near Mayura and I felt so tired, like I was drained..."

  "Are you sick?" Tikki asked, worried. Luka shook his head and smiled, gently stroking her head with his finger.

  "That's the thing, Tikki. I was fine seconds beforehand and after she left..." He muttered, frowning. "I think it was my empathy... it's been getting more powerful recently... that's why I wanted to ask if miraculous can amplify abilities,"

  "Well, the miraculous amplify things such as speed and strength. You're more flexible and practically invincible so it makes sense that if someone like yourself used a miraculous, it would amplify your natural empathy but why did you get sick and tired?"

  "Mayura... something felt wrong..." He muttered, making Tikki frown. "I... I think she's sick, Tikki and it's much more then just a physical sickness... it was like there were cracks on her soul as well... I need to talk to Master Fu about this,"

  "You can ask him about the empathy thing too," She replied, finishing the cookie. He nodded and transformed back before jumping up and heading to Master Fu's. He climbed through the window as Lady Noir placed the dragon and the snake in the miracle box. She looked up at him and smiled as he walked over and took out the other miraculous, placing them back in as Master Fu joined them with some tea. He poured out a cup and handed it to Lady Noir before handing another to Anatis. 

  "I'm glad to see you're ok Lady Noir," He smiled as she slipped her tea. "Quite the tough akuma,"

  "Very," Anatis agreed. "But she wasn't alone,"

  "A sentimonster?" Master Fu asked but Anatis shook his head. "A code purple?"

  "No," He replied, sipping his drink. "Mayura turned up instead,"

  "Mayura... the peacock holder?" Master Fu asked, getting a nod of Anatis. "That is most unusual,"

  "She tried to convince me to join their side," Anatis muttered, making the old man frown. "I said no but something happened that concerns me,"

  "The sudden coughing fit?" Lady Noir asked, getting a nod of Anatis and a confused look from Master Fu. "Annie started to violently cough in the middle of battle like he was seriously ill but what confused me was the look of surprise on Mayura's face,"

  "I saw it too," Anatis nodded, frowning. "It was weird. I felt so drained and tired like I hadn't slept for days... I honestly think she's sick..."

  "Really?" Master Fu frowned, clearly surprised. "What else did you notice?"

  "It wasn't that I noticed," Anatis replied, frowning. "It was more like I felt it. It felt like she was broken. Like she had cracks in her soul and it didn't feel like a natural illness. I don't know why but I feel like it's because of the miraculous. Something is very wrong with it... like it was broken or something. Master? Are you ok?"

  "I... the peacock miraculous was damaged when I lost it but I never told you that..." Master Fu replied, clearly shocked. "How did you know?"

  "Well, as I said... I felt it..." He muttered, making Master Fu frown. "It actually brings me to a question I wanted to ask,"

  "Go on,"

  "If someone's natural ability be amplified by the miraculous?" He asked as Lady Noir slipped her tea. "I asked Tikki but she wasn't sure and suggested I ask you,"

  "Well, I imagine so," Master Fu nodded. "But what kind of ability are you talking about?"

  "Well.. for me... it would be empathy,"

  "You're an empath?" Master Fu asked, getting a nod of Anatis. "Well, I've never came across a miraculous holder who is naturally an empath. Not even the holders of the butterfly and the peacock are that way naturally but I would imagine it would be amplified. Perhaps that is why you were able to feel the damage on the peacock miraculous,"

  "Maybe," Anatis muttered, frowning. It wasn't that he doubted that it was to do with his empathy, it just felt bigger then that. Much bigger. "Well, we should head back. Thank you for your help, Master Fu,"

  "A pleasure as always," Master Fu nodded as him and Lady Noir jumped up. The two of them waved and headed back in the window. Master Fu made a thoughtful look as he placed the turtle bracelet back on, causing Wayzz to manifest. 

  "Are you ok, Master?"

  "Oh, yes I'm fine," He replied, putting the box back into the phonograph. "Wayzz, do you recall the mage who created the miraculous?"

  "Yes, I do,"

  "Wasn't he a very powerful empath?"

  "Oh yes, he was. In fact, that's how he sensed us and came to see. After all, not everyone could see could see Kwamis before he invented the miraculous," Wayzz replied, nodding. "He was such a nice man... anyway why do you ask?"

  "Ah, no reason,"

-------------------------------------------------------

Next Chapter: Chapter 47

[brickercupmasterx3]

“Confessions in the Darkened Room”-

AN: I’m NOT exactly too proud of this fic and I’m still going back and forth on it, but I shared it with a friend (you know who you are) and she said it was fine... So I’ve decided to post it anyway? (I’m going to log off for the rest of the day so I don’t feel tempted to delete this minutes after I posted it. However when tomorrow comes, don’t be surprised if I do delete this post.)

And no, this was NOT the second fic I had in mind that I mentioned on my Lukanette blog.

These deal with my own headcanons dealing with Feloe (Felix x Chloe pairing). This ship has little to no content, and I’ve been kinda into it lately. So yeah... Here’s my (terrible, imo) contribution. (If I do end up drawing them eventually, that’s why. They’re a fun pair and I have a few story lines prepared for them. I’m NOT planning to write them out though.)

(I would also like to apologize in advance if anything seems out of place or rushed? I tried my best to make things organic, but anymore and I probably would have screwed this up further.)

Anyways, I’m done talking. So here. Enjoy?

______________________________

First thing Chloe knew, she was arguing with the most insufferable guy she’s ever known and the next, the two were shoved inside a closet. She had no doubt about who pushed them, considering there was only one other person in the room, aside from herself, that knew about her feelings for the boy. 

It had been around half an hour since the two blondes were locked inside the closet, neither having said a word since then. Chloe knew she’d have to say something sooner or later, but when? There was never a right time to admit to someone who had brought you down and made you feel inferior all your life that you’ve grown feelings for them, could there? 

Felix sighed, clearly annoyed at the situation they were forced into. While it wasn’t in the most pleasing of circumstances, at least this provided him the space to get some closure with the girl. She may have those infuriating moments when all she can talk about is Adrien, but lately, throughout their whole “fake dating” scene… He’d found himself falling for her more than he thought possible. 

He enjoyed the closeness and getting to know her more, in and out of character. He’d memorized her facial expressions, the sound of her laughter, her touches… Basically everything… Not that he’d admit it aloud to the blonde girl at all. Otherwise, he wouldn’t hear the end of it. 

“So… What’d you want to talk about?” Chloe asked, trying to speed things along so that she wouldn’t have to be trapped with him any longer than necessary. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather get out of here as soon as possible. Don’t exactly find it thrilling to spend too much time with you.” 

He rolled his eyes at her usual antics. “Not like spending time with you is any picnic either.”

“If I’m that revolting to you, then why ask me to play the role of your fake girlfriend?” She asked, awaiting for whatever response he’d be willing to give her. His responses were always the same, and she knew she shouldn’t have hoped for anything different, but she could dream. 

“I needed a favor, Chloe. You fit the bill and that was it.” He responded, keeping it short.

"That's all you ever say." She said, crossing her arms. "Sometimes, it just feels like you're this emotionless robot with the same practiced lines. Is there really nothing else on your mind?" 

"Why does it even matter to you? The only person you ever cared about was Adrien!" He shouted, just about done with her. 

"I can't believe you…" Chloe started, anger evident in her eyes. "That's honestly what you think? Even tracking back to our childhood where I tried so hard to be your friend? Need I remind you that you rejected me?"  

"Did you really expect me to take your friendship?" He looked over to her, returning her glare. "And watch you become another one of those annoying fangirls of Adrien's?"

"Did you really think so lowly of me then that you couldn't find a single ounce of genuineness in my eyes then?" She looked away from him, trying so hard to conceal all those horrible childhood memories. "Of course you did. After all, I played my part perfectly well… The bratty, spoiled rich kid who wanted nothing but to be part of the Agreste family. No matter the cost…" 

“Are you seriously trying to get me to buy into that?” Felix looked at her as if she was crazy. “Would you stop trying to make up excuses to justify your petty behavior from back then? And just take responsibility for what you really are.”

“Responsibility? For what exactly?" Chloe shouted, more than fed up with his attitude. "Do you really think that this is what I wanted for myself? You don't know me! You never tried to get to know me, even with the several chances offered to you!" 

"Why exactly would I want to? You've shown your true colors and by the way you're acting right now, you're not making yourself look any better." He said matter of factly. 

"Ugh!" She groaned. "Fine! Think whatever you want about me! I'm done trying with you… Done with this stupid arrangement of ours altogether!" 

“We had a deal… You can’t just back out of it now.” “Why not? You’re insufferable, Felix! You constantly treat me like trash, bring me down all the time with your pathetic insults and just expect me to sit there and take it like I’m inferior to you!” The blonde girl knew she couldn’t normally act out like this in public, but considering Sabrina locked them inside to talk feelings, that’s precisely what she was going for. “Well… You’re not any better than I am. These petty feelings you say I have, well, you have the same ones towards Adrien. Neither of us get why, because you refuse to tell us anything.”

“That’s hardly any of your business.” came his simple reply. “I didn’t ask you to help me out with this in order for us to get to know one another better. I could care less about your opinion on any matter. I simply just needed someone around to get that annoying Bridgette out of my life. You just fit the part.” “So… You’re just using me?” Chloe laughed, of course it was moreso a fake one, not that he’d know the difference. She needed to save her pride, not give him the satisfaction that he’d gotten to her yet again. It was just as she’d feared, wasn’t it? He never cared about her, no matter what she did. “Of course, you are… It never mattered how well I played the doting girlfriend part… Nothing can ever satisfy you.” 

He just stared blankly at her, rolling his eyes at her usual dramatics. “Are you done yet?”

“As done as I am with you…” She responded, rolling her eyes at him. 

How she fell for him over his nicer, denser cousin, Adrien, she wouldn’t understand. In ways, Adrien was everything she should have desired. He had the status, the cash, the looks… Those were the things she was supposed to chase after for the sake of her mother’s approval. Chloe was a Bourgeois. And Bourgeois’ don’t settle for anything less than the best. 

But that wasn’t what she wanted for herself… Adrien just wasn’t it for her.

While he was kinder, sweeter, most endearing and at times a bit more understanding than his jerk of a cousin… Adrien couldn’t understand most social cues, which was indeed beyond frustrating. Nor could he tell the difference between liking someone as a “friend” or more. The boy had been sheltered from the real world for the majority of his life, she knew that and she couldn’t fault him for those things… And she didn’t… but she knew he’d never be more to her than just that childhood friend she adores… 

And it hurts, because loving him would’ve been easier… Adrien wouldn’t reject her out of malice, unlike Felix. He’d do his best to let her down easy, if he came to figure out her feelings, because first and foremost, the two were friends. And the Agreste boy obviously treasured the Bourgeois girl as family, just as she did him.

Chloe then resigned to sit down at the farthest corner from Felix, quietly mumbling something under her breath as she finally registered her thoughts. 

 “If you have something to say, come out with it.” The boy said. He was a no-nonsense kind of guy and mumbling just wasn’t his style. 

“Why would you care so suddenly? I’m of no interest to you.” She said softly, hiding her face between her legs… If she’d said anymore, her feelings would probably be out in the open and he’d know. 

Felix had been witness to many of Chloe’s outbursts… but this? This wasn’t one of them. 

She was never this quiet or reserved around him. She always had something to say and that's how he liked it. Chloe may be loud, annoying, spoiled and all-around self centered from what he'd seen, but he wouldn't have it any other way… So why the sudden change in attitude? 

He tried to reach out to the other blonde, but his attempt was met by a slap. She clearly was in no mood to entertain him, much too lost in her thoughts to do much else. It didn't help matters that she was shaking either. 

Had he really upset her that much? 

"Chlo, come on. Just come out with it." He insisted. 

She didn't budge, just kept her head down and ignored his words. If he wasn't going to listen to her at all, then she wouldn't either. It was a two-way street after all. 

_______________________

Within the next fifteen minutes or so, her breathing had finally evened out again. Chloe couldn’t even bother herself to give him the time of day at all anymore. She’d finally raised her head and stood up silently, making her way back to the door. 

“Sabrina... Whatever it is you thought was going to be resolved here isn’t going to happen… So just open the door, will you?” She spoke, still pretty soft, but a little louder than the response she'd given Felix just minutes ago. Chloe couldn't be bothered to yell out as angrily as she’d had done when she and Felix were both thrown inside. 

Unluckily for her, there was no response from her redheaded friend on the other side of the door. Though she supposed it was to be expected, not that she could blame her. 

The blonde girl then sighed again. Not only was she stuck with the guy she liked, but she wasn't even close to being in control of her own emotions either. So she decided to keep the silent treatment intact, and have her back turned to him for as long as she could. 

"You're seriously going to keep this act up?" Was the blonde boy's interjection in this silence. "You can't stay silent forever." 

Why he was still even trying to get to her is something she wouldn't understand, but knowing him, he probably wouldn't stop until she gave in. 

"Fine… What do you want from me?" Chloe asked, obviously annoyed by him. "To tell me how much it is you hate me? Because if you haven't figured it out by now, I know that already." 

"I just want to know what's wrong with you. You normally have more bite to your words." He said, because she did. She wouldn't let him get away with what he normally said. 

"What's wrong with me?" She finally turned and glared over at him. "What's wrong with me is you… You, Felix. You'll always be the problem!" 

"What?" He raised a brow, confused. 

"Seriously? You don't even see it? You ask me for a favor and you're in no way, shape or form, grateful for any of it! I play this role I hate perfectly, but you're NOT man enough to admit it!" She yelled out beyond frustrated with him. 

She hated that she gave in to her emotions so easily, but how else was she going to get those feelings out in the open? She hated him for making her feel the way she did and she wasn't going to let him off easy until she was done.

"Do you think any of this is easy for me? Do you even try to act like a boyfriend, fake or otherwise, would to someone he's dating? No! Because it seems you're incapable of showing any emotion to me other than one of hatred or indifference, all depending on your mood!" She continued. "If you hate me this much, just end it! This isn't going well for either of us and… and I'm tired of it… I'm tired of growing angrier than I've ever been. Exhausted from everything that's going on between us…" 

“There’s nothin-” Felix started, but couldn’t finish because the female blonde wouldn’t let him.

“Don’t you think I know that?” She asked, nearing her breaking point. It was unbelievable how he couldn’t get what she meant. “That’s precisely why this has to end... You hate me as it is, and I just can’t deal with this anymore!” 

Chloe wasn’t one to just break down without reason. Having always had to bottle up her emotions and fake others, wasn’t an easy task and it’s started to take more of a toll on her since this dumb “fake dating” favor started. What was she supposed to do? Continue this when it wasn’t doing her heart any good? No. That wouldn’t have been healthy and she knew that well enough already. 

“... I… I wish I did have actual feelings for Adrien, you know?” She started, pretty much having to hold back from shedding any tear at this point. “Things would have been easier… He wouldn’t have done anything to hurt me. And I would have been perfectly content just being his friend.”

“Are you ever going to stop denying such an obvious fact? You’ve been into him literally all your life!” 

"That's not true! He was never the one I fell for…" She responded, hugging herself, because she was sure that after this there would be no going back. "Even back when we were younger, loving him never crossed my mind. I didn't have many friends… And I still don't, but I wanted to try…" 

“Try what? Befriending someone with no interest in you whatsoever?” He asked, still extremely annoyed at how hard she tried to prove him wrong. “Becoming friends with just another girl who claims to be in love with my cousin isn’t something I’d ever want.”

“Well, good then! Since that’s NOT even the reason I tried so hard anyway!” She yelled back in frustration. “It was never my intention to make you feel like second best… but you wouldn’t know that since you rejected me every chance you got!”

“As if I’d believe anything you’d have to say… There’s nothing you could say that could sway me to believe you in the least.” He rolled his eyes. Who did she think she was anyway?

“O-Of course not… You’re heartless, Felix…” Chloe said, looking straight into his eyes. The girl never wanted to believe such a thing, but he’d proven it, especially with the way he normally treated her. “It’s sad how nothing could ever make its way through that cold and tough exterior of yours… You’re so unwilling to let anyone in, that I can see now that nothing’s ever going to change.”

The tears became harder to contain with every word she spoke. Chloe was very self conscious and she hated that it had come to this. She was stronger than this. 

"... You never made it easy, you know?" The blonde girl continued, closing her eyes shut, as if that would have been enough to keep the water in. "At first, I thought that was just you playing around… but the more time went by, the more I realized that was just you… You hated everyone and everything around you… And I still don't understand why I tried so hard to change it… because you're never going to see me that same way…" 

He just stared at her. Was she trying to tell him the one thing he always wanted to hear? She wasn't completely clear, so he wouldn't know. 

“It was never even about Adrien… He wasn’t the one who’d stolen my heart.” She’d looked down upset, tears on the verge of slipping away. “But then again, why would you care? I’m nothing but an inconvenience to you.”

Not being able to hold back much longer, the girl just let her tears flow freely. What else could she do now that things were out in the open? She wasn't sure anymore. 

"I… I hope you're proud of yourself…" Chloe said in between sniffles, all the while wiping away whatever tears she could with her hands. "J-jerk…" 

Before she could utter another word, she found herself enveloped in warmth. She wasn't sure how or when it occurred, since her main focus was ridding herself of the tears in her eyes. And when she looked up, she'd found herself staring at those same hues belonging to the one person who had stolen her heart. 

"W-What are you-?"

"Look, I'm not too good at this "comforting" thing… I just know I don't ever want you feeling this way, okay?" He said. "Especially if it's because of me." 

"Why the sudden change of heart?" She asked, curiously. 

"Because if I'm honest, I never actually hated you, Chloe. I was just under the impression that that's how guys would act around girls to show them that they were interested in them." He responded. 

"That explains a lot actually… Sabrina thought as much, but I just couldn't believe her." Chloe commented, in between sniffles. "Though an easier way to let a girl know you're interested is to just ask them out." 

"And would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?" He asked her straight out. Not at all planning to waste another second, as he'd had the last few years. "A real one this time." 

"Hmmm…" She hummed, as if deep in thought. "Maybe… if you can handle high maintenance and clingy?" 

"Only if it's you." 

"Damn right." She said, with a little soft smile on her lips, before it turned to a serious thin line. "I still expect you to make it up to me though. For making me so angry and upset in the past." 

"Demanding as always, are you?" He said, a little playfully. "Alright… Whatever you want." 

"We'll talk about the details later. Just hold me close for now, okay?" The girl requested, just enjoying being near him.

"Okay." He agreed, not at all minding her request. Felix could get used to this. 

He just hoped that the next time they hugged or had an intimate moment, it wouldn’t be under these circumstances.