#WAH OKAY HERE IS THE FIRST BATCH

[asphodxlos]

Happy Valentines Day!

❤ @ancientechos @avettabendrot @scholarlostintime @loldragoon-ffxiv @earthlystar @meepsthemiqo

[cutegirlmayra]

I have to admit, I haven’t seen that episode in a long time, so I had to go back. It’s just... a very silly rebranding SEGA tried and, although fun, I’m still a stickler for the canon xD

But, combining it with the AU altnerative dimensions can be fun! So, here we go~

                                                           , too~

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN, DO NOT SEND IN ANY. Other than that, I love you all so much ^^

Prompt:

After the heroic ‘smolders’ Amy was being whisked away by all the charming chivalry, Sonic began to wonder why she didn’t exactly ‘openly’ show that for him anymore...

When Tails went to press the button to send them home, the machine needed a change of battries, but he accidentally clicked the wrong button.

When that happened, the two beams, one red to their Knuckles, and one blue didn’t cross, but ended up hitting Sonic.

“W-What’s going-!?” before Sonic could say anything, both him and Knuckles were sent to an alternative dimension.

Different... from the heroic Knuckles.

While they were gone, that Knuckles expressed more gentlemenly acts with Amy, and although Amy giggled and ate it up, she kept asking about Sonic and their Knuckles... “I hope they’re okay.” she looked away from Heroic Knuckles trying to extend his hand to her with a plate of cookies.

“Oh, well, your Sonic in this dimension seems quite resourceful!” he tried to cheer her up, “Mine was clumsy and... well, frankly, a child. Yours seems to carry himself with the pride of a warrior and diginity of... uhh... one with dignity, Mi’lady.” he held his fist up in... ehhh... somewhat confidence in his words. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be back in time to send me home, and I can then finish saving my dimension from the ruthless takeover of that dastardly Eggman!” he knelt down from his towering, large stature and patted her back, which made her smile at him.

“Thanks Alternative, party-hat Knuckles.” she looked at him with gratitude, and as he nodded and got up, heading over to help Sticks with another batch of cookies--the first he rested in front of Amy where she sat on the couch--offering to make sure the oven didn’t blow up from her chaotic whacking of it with her boomerang.

Amy sighed and looked out the window, turning around to prop her fingers on the edge of the couch’s back. “Sonic... Knuckles... Just be safe.” she worriedly stated quietly to herself, resting her cheek, “Mmmmm...” she whined a little, ‘At least Sonic’s there to make sure Knuckles will be okay... right? I’m usually there to keep Sonic safe, though...’

She closed her eyes, yearning to know her two friends were safe.

In the other dimension, Sonic and Knuckles crashed down and learned that Eggman had retired, instead, converting his lab into a vactional retreat for old people, and to get off his lawn.

Sonic headed into the village with Knuckles when they thought they saw some Eggman robots, and were trying to get them to cross-beams and shoot them, but they only spat out towels.

Again, they were just running around doing errands, with Orbot and Cubot trying to get the games, party streamers, and food all set up.

Weirded out by a world where Eggman wasn’t... suspicious of anything... Sonic and Knuckles went to their friends places.

Sticks was now a scientist, who would work with Engineer Tails to help replicate the machine they were describing and get them home.

This dimension’s Knuckles was a therapist, but... he really didn’t actually do much besides ask geniune questions that confused him about other people, who then paid him for his confusion as they were able to talk through and about their traumas.

“Guess we can find me then.” Sonic was about to go out the door when Dr. Echidna stopped him by holding up his hand.

“W-wa-wah-wait, hold on there!” he looked to the other Knuckles, “Sonic’s on babysitting duty, you won’t really be able to get five minutes with him... let alone three.” he looked a little like he had tried, his eyelids falling slightly to be half-open in exhaustion. “Amy’s working all the time to support them, too. I really don’t think now’s a good time for-”

“Babysitting!?” Sonic jumped back, “Sonic T. Hedgehog doesn’t sit around and do nothing! What kinda dimension is this!?” he held up a fist in offense.

“Uhh... the dimension where you have responsibilities?” Knuckles held up a hand and shrugged his shoulder.

“Hmph. We’ll see about that!” Sonic took off, not liking the sound of that!

“Uck, can’t believe Sonic’s into daycare now... but, good for him.” Knuckles from their dimension stated before looking to Dr. Echidna.

“No, for real, I was asking a geninune question. Does Sonic even have any responsibilities other than staying home and looking after the kids?” Dr. Echidna sincerely wanted to know the truth to that, “Like, does yours just... actually... do things?”

“What kids?” Knuckles looked over to his other alternative dimensional therapist self. “You mean... Sonic really just plays with kids all day? How fun!” he gave a huge open smile to that.

“More like ‘who’s kids. Sonic’s a full-time dad now.” the good Doctor explained, “Though, I’m not sure how or why...” he put a finger under his chin, looking down as though to think about it, as Knuckles did the same thing.

The two began, ”Hmmmmm....” in unison.

Sonic barged through his door with a spindash, “Alright, I’m here to set the record..! ... Straight?” Sonic paused when he saw the whole of the hut completely surrounded by different colored hedgehogs, all with hues similiar to blue, pink, red, turquoise, and purple shades.

“What... on the planet!?” Sonic moved back, a bit taken aback and scared when all of the children suddenly stopped. Some were crawling up the curtains, others were throwing food from the fridge, and another was bashing a bat against what looked like a ripped up pillow case.

“... Dad’s home!” One called out, throwing out what looked to be a vase out the window and reaching his hands up in the air in joy.

“DADDY!”, “DAD!”, “DADEO!”, “Dadman~”, “Pops!”, “Father.”, “Papa!”

At all the screaming and loud exclaimations of joy, Sonic’s eyes shrank and he cried out before booking it away.

“So, you’re new.”

He paused, as out in the field, in a beach-chair with sunglasses and a drink,... was his alternative dimensional self.

“Sit down, kid. Take a load off.” He pulled out another chair from his back and, with some swagger, flicked the chair out and sat it next to him, dusting it off. “You’re not from a new batch I wasn’t told about, right?”

“H-huh?” Sonic tilted his whole body, too startled to even comprehend.

This Sonic had a small gut and lowered his sunglasses a second to take a look at Sonic, “Spitting image of me... buuut... you look too old to be one of mine.” he put the glasses back on and took a sip of his drink. “Amy won’t be back from work for another hour. Sit and chat a moment.”

The two ended up lounging... before Sonic unparted his intertwined hands on his stomach and shot up, “WAIT! ARE THOSE ACTUALLY YOUR... our?... AMY’S KIDS!?”

“Shhh.... look at that sunset.” Dad Sonic laid back and stretched, “Nothing beats that... Alright. I still got, what..?” He looked at his watch under his gloves and bandages. “Emmm... 10 seconds before Amy arrives? Plenty of time.” he nodded and got up, “Watch this.” he winked to Sonic and tossed off his glasses, dashing back into the house.

A few cat noises and whirling of wind, before Dad Sonic opened the door and gestured for Sonic to come inside.

Sonic didn’t want to, but Dad Sonic dashed behind him and pushed him in.

The place... was spotless? The vase was glued up, the kids were all sleeping on the couch with the t.v on to Tommy Thunder re-reels, and the food was back in the fridge with the floors being spotless. The pillow was sewed up nicely in patches that actually looked like ‘art’ before Sonic turned back to his other self.

“Wow... you... I... how the-?” he was flabberguasted as Dad Sonic bent down and put a hand to his shoulder.

“Look, when things get overwhelming, or if something ‘new’ spooks you too badly... just know you can trust yourself to get things done in the nick of time.”

The door opened and Amy stepped inside, “Oh my gosh, Sonic, I’m so sorry! They held me over for an executive meeting on charity fundraisers and then-... ah.” she smiled sweetly, relieved when she saw that it was all taken care of and handled.

Dad Sonic smiled and got up from speaking with Sonic, going over to help Amy remove her jacket, “Hope it wasn’t too bad, Amy.”

“It wasn’t... this means a lot, thank you for taking care of things at the ‘fort’.” She teased, and looked over to Sonic,... tilting her head. “I... Don’t remember this one.” she confessed. “Spitting image of you, though. Wait... how long have I been working!?” she panicked, her hands coming to her cheeks, “Sonny, is that you!?” but litlte Sonny woke up slightly, yawning.

“Here I am, momma.”

The others woke up and she went to greet them, as Sonic was still puzzled by the fact that this somehow... works?

Dad Sonic put his hands to his hips and then gestured for Sonic to come out with him, “Alright, Champ. Let’s sort you out, huh?”

But then... Dad Sonic began to glitch out of existence like Knuckles had back in their own dimension. “What the..?” He looked at his hands.

The kids gasped, one stating, “Mama... what’s happening to Daddy?”

Amy held that child close and looked to Dad Sonic.

Dad Sonic just held out his hands, “Hey, I’m gonna be fine. Just gonna sort this out, alright?” he was very... calm?

Sonic learned a lot from that day, when they headed back, the two Knuckles were still ‘hmmmm’ing to themselves and Dad Sonic just thumb-pointed to the other Knuckles, which Sonic nodded to and the two hoisted him up and away.

“Hmmmmm--oh, bye other me!”

“Hmmm... Oh, yeah, Bye Dr. me! Hmmm...”

“You take care! Hmmmm....”

The two continued their ‘thinking’ stances before Dad Sonic revealed that Eggman was still evil, hatching up a new plan and showing that the ‘bingo’ machine was actually his newest invention to turn all the old people into mindless work slaves to make more robots for him, so HE could actually relax...

“Diabolical.” Sonic shook his head, just joking around.

“Hey, I got a question...” Sonic began before Dad Sonic held up his finger.

“Nah, save it for your future kid.”

“... Wait, this isn’t my future. We’re in an alternative dimension... r-right?” he suddenly flinched back as Knuckles immediately snapped out of his thinking.

“H-hey! That’s it!” he took Sonic’s hands, “I promise buddy, I won’t do anything to ruin your future... With Amy.”

“My- WHAT!?!” Sonic’s face turned to panic as Dad Sonic just scratched behind his head.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell Sticks and Tails they won’t need to bicker on about how to get you two home. See ya.” he gave his signature smirk and wink, before activating the two beams as Eggman cried out, ‘Noooo!!! My retirement plan!’

Upon arriving back, Amy embraced Sonic, and the other dimensional, heroic Knuckles, was sent home. “I’m so glad you’re alright, Sonic! What was it like in that other dimension?” she cutely put a finger to her mouth as Sonic just shoved her to the side.

“I-I-I need a walk...” he nervously took off... and pulling out a beach chair, facing it perfectly with some adjustments to the sunset... he sighed in relaxation... put on the same shades as Dad Sonic had... and rested his hands on his belly...

“Sometimes... you just can’t overwhelm yourself... with things you don’t know nothing about...”

“Hmmmmmmm....”

“Knuckles... buddy, just let it go.”

“O-oh, sorry.” Knuckles punched over a tree, cutting off it’s truck with his punch, uprooted with some effort the base, and placed it by Sonic to watch the sunset with him...

They both sighed as though letting that confusing dimension go.

“... So... do you like,... want to talk about it?”

“Knuckles, you’re not a real therapist.”

“Well, not yet!”

[mankaithings]

Can I have a childhood friends to lovers for Banri please? Thankyou uwu

Hi~ uh I wasn’t sure if you wanted it as headcanons or a scenario but I made it ended up as a full fledge fic with 4k words 

The first time you talked to him was in the school yard, crying your eyes out after someone tripped you making you lose the mini race your class held

It was just suppose to be a simple race, whoever crosses the finish line first wins but nobody told you that your classmates were so competitive to the point of willing to hurt another person

“Wah she’s actually crying!” You heard a boy’s voice making you turn your head towards the boy who tripped you with his friends who were laughing at you while he wore the batch your teacher made for the winner up high

“That’s cause you’re so clumsy!”

Your lips quivered as a new set of tears threatened to fall, “Shu-shut it you cheater!” Maybe it was stupid and something small, but as a child it was a big deal for you

“What did you say?” He demanded as he walked towards you, “Repeat that and I’ll-” He looked behind his friends and back at you, “I’ll punch you!”

“What are you so pressed about?” A voice drawled out as all of you turned your attention to the biggest boy in your class, he was handsome but anyone could tell he was stubborn

“What’s it to you?” The boy you were fighting with crossed his arms, “It’s not like you joined the race!” He laughed, “Banri Settsu’s scared to lose!” He stuck out his tongue at Banri who was glaring at him

“What did you say?” Now it was Banri who demanded, “You wanna fight with me?”

That’s how you found yourself on the same open field with Banri and your bully. Now, nobody stopped you because everybody who walked by thinks that it’s just a bunch of preschool friends playing around to lose time but that wasn’t the case, you wanted to stop them and tell Banri that he might get hurt but you could tell they weren’t going to listen to you. Especially Banri who even the other teachers gave up on

“Go!” And soon the two of them were running with Banri on the lead. You watched in amazement at how Banri easily won against him

Without thinking you ran towards him to congratulate him, “That was so cool!” You gushed upon reaching him

Banri was taken aback by your sudden appearance but after hearing your compliment he rubbed the back of his neck, “It was nothing.”

After that incident, you didn’t know why because there were so many reasons to but you started to follow Banri around, trying to get him to be in the same groups with you during free times and sharing your food with him during lunch time. At first he was annoyed with you but soon the stubborn little boy became fond of you

“How can you be so good at this?” You pouted and pushed the notebook away from you to look at your friend

“It’s just multiplication, it isn’t that hard.” Banri replied with a bored tone as he answered the questions on the notebook easily without breaking a sweat

“Yeah but it’s cross multiplication!” You whined, “Teach me please?” You asked him and tried to steal at glance at his answers

“You can understand that.”

“Nooo, please Banri?” You begged as he sighed and finally agreed to help you

“Thanks Banri! It’s really awesome having a friend like you!” You gushed as you finished the equations, “Wanna eat? I have gummy bears.” You took out a packet from your bag to show him

“Thanks.” He muttered and took out one and bit off it’s head

Blinking, you noticed his troubled expression and became worried

“Is everything okay?” You asked and nudged his shoulder, “You were like pouting and look sad.” You pouted, “Banri tell me” You stretched out his name while he sighed and took another gummy bear

“I feel bored.” He said simply

“Huh?” You asked, Banri looked at you and noticed your confused expression

“Everything’s too easy! I fucking-”

“You can’t! that’s a bad word!” You gasped after hearing the words leave his mouth

“I...” He raked his brains for anything else to say, “-Really hate it.” He pouted, “Nothing’s exciting anymore and there isn’t even anybody I can compete with.” He huffed while you pout and nodded

“Don’t worry! I’m sure you’ll find someone who you can compete with.” You reassured him, “Mom told me there’s over 7 billion people in the world.” You nodded after remembering your talk about it with your mother about the news about the world’s population

“Do you even know how many that is.”

“No,” You admitted feeling embarrassed, “But the news showed many stick figures so I thought it might be plenty.”

For the first time that day Banri laughed, you felt proud of yourself for making him smile like that

But you couldn’t understand why you suddenly felt giddy when he showed you his smile

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

��Ugh why didn’t you wake me up?” You yawned after looking at your seatmate who shrugged

Morning classes just finished and it was finally time for lunch

“It’s not like the teacher saw you.”

“True.” You nodded in approval

“You should check your phone, it’s been ringing like crazy earlier.”

“Oh okay, thanks.” You gave her a thumbs up and checked your notifications to see that Banri messaged you multiple times

“Wow he actually messaged me.” You huffed, already used to not talking to him for long periods of times, it wasn’t that you two weren’t friends anymore but Banri had other things he liked to do and he didn’t really enjoy pulling you into it for some odd reason. You like to believe it was because he didn’t like to let you join his plans because of how dangerous it was but there was always something in the back of your head which always says that it was because he didn’t find you fun anymore

“Yo,” You greeted him once he finally picked up his phone

“Where’re you?”

“In class, I fell asleep and only woke up now.” You admitted sheepishly while he chuckled on the other line

“Classic.” You could almost see him smiling

“So what does the great Banri need that he actually wastes time by sending me messages?”

“Just come to the rooftop.” He said before ending the call

“I swear, he has some kind of problem.” You mumbled after placing down your phone and standing up to meet him

“Boyfriend called?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” You rolled your eyes at your seatmate who just snorted at your statement. Already used to you always ready to go at Banri’s aid with just a simple message and vice versa

-

“So what did you need?” You asked after getting up on the rooftop, thank god there was no teacher around who could catch you and get you in trouble

“Here.” He said as he handed you a paper bag with his uninjured hand, “Sis went home and said I should give this to you.” He explained while you looked at what was inside to find your favorite food neatly packed

“Give her my thanks.” You said merrily, “Oh yeah, what’s up with the hand? Did you get into another fight?” Your smile vanished and was soon exchanged with a frown while Banri groaned

“It’s nothin’ just a small injury.” He reassured you and messed up your hair, “Shouldn’t you be more worried about yourself? Falling asleep in class like that?”

You couldn’t help but snort, “You are the last person to talk to me about recklessness Banri ‘I’m too cool and smart to attend school’ Settsu” You rolled your eyes, “Now tell me, where did you get that injury?”

It was his turn to roll his eyes, “Got into a fight after an asshole tried to mug my director.”

“Ah,” You nodded finally understanding the whole situation then did a double take, “Director? For what? Don’t you dare tell me you joined a gang.”

“If I joined a gang I would have called them boss idiot.” He flicked your forehead causing you to wince, “But I didn’t-” He clicked his tongue, “I joined an acting troupe.”

“Since when have you been in acting?”

“Since never.” He scowled, “I just saw that damn Hyodo and-” He groaned, “I’ll beat that damn wooden actor mark my words.”

You sighed and Banri immediately knew where the conversation was going, “Don’t bother sayin’ anything I already got in. Hell I’m even the leader.” He smirked in triumph

“But-”

“Come on let’s get you to the cafeteria so you could eat something.” He placed an arm around your shoulder and led you towards the stairs

You didn’t even get to tell him that what he did was wrong

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

“Don’t you have a portrait to get to?” You asked him when the two of you were hanging out in the arcade

“Portrait? How’d you found that out?” He asked, not even removing his eyes on the screen while his hands continued to push the buttons. Easily beating your character in the game

“Ugh!” You glared at him who was just grinning at you, “Another one you damn Settsu.” and threw in another token and once again the two of you played

“But back to the question,” You removed your gaze from the game and towards Banri, “Aren’t you worried about it? It seems like the others are getting to it.”

Banri stopped for a moment because of surprise which you took for your advantage and attacked his character, he didn’t know you knew the other actors in the company, hell he didn’t even think that you actually knew about his portrait

“If you’re wondering how I found out about it,” You started, “Sakuya, you know that bright guy from the other class, told me about it when I asked him about the troupe.” Finally the game finished, “He told me the address so I went to visit you but you weren’t there.” You frowned, not caring even if you lost to Banri in the game, “Then I got to talk to the other guys and found out about it.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Once again his hands found it’s way on your hair and messing it up,“I’ll wing it.”

“But-”

“No buts, now tell me did you meet that bastard Hyodo and did he do anything to you?”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at the question, when you met up with them, you have to agree that he does give that scary guy aura but if you were to be honest after talking with the group, Yuki who was younger than you frightened you more than the big guy

“Banri, if anything I think he’s a good guy,” You looked at your friend who huffed, “He looks nice, I mean- he does look like he could beat me within a minute-”

“Because he can”

“-But,” You glared at him for cutting you off, “There’s nothing wrong with him, he seems honestly interested in acting and so done with fighting.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that I’m gonna beat him,”

You opened your mouth to say something but even you were taken aback at his stubborness and you’ve been friends since you two were five. Why can’t he just give up fighting the poor guy and actually get along with him, not only that but he might actually enjoy acting more than he did if he actually took it seriously. But no, Banri Settsu isn’t like that and it infuriated you to no end

“He’s a good guy and willing to work with you, god.” You muttered but Banri still heard it and it didn’t make him happy knowing you actually think his rival is a good guy, there was something in him that continues to get annoyed as you continue to talk about Juza and how he’s a good guy

“Hey, whatever we have you have nothin’ to do with it.” He finally snapped back, upon seeing your surprised expression, Banri wanted to take it back. He didn’t want to sound rude to you but his emotions got in the way and he couldn’t control it

“If you like him that much then why not hang out with him.” He rolled his eyes at you

“That’s not what I was trying to say-”

“Then what?” He was now annoyed, why do you continue to take that purple knuckle head’s side? What’s so good about him?

“What I wanted to say,” You started calmly, already knowing you have to be the adult in arguments, “Is that maybe you should just drop the whole fight thing and open yourself to acting because who knows you might actually enjoy it.”

Banri laughed and you could tell it was filled with sarcasm, it was like he was saying that he already aced the whole thing so what’s there to enjoy?

 But it wasn’t really anything new, whenever he tried to do something you always tried to motivate him to do it seriously but in the end it never works out 

“Ugh,” He said afterward, “I just wanted to fucking relax but damn you’re always up my ass, I should’a just joined the others today.”

His words struck in your heart, you were always worried that you might be too boring to him, that maybe he doesn’t enjoy your presence like when you were kids. It hurts you, more than you expected

“Well I’m sorry if I’m just trying to look out for you,” Your voice started to waver and Banri could tell he went out of line

“You’re just so damn childish that I thought you might find something out of acting and grow a little but sorry for sticking my nose in your business, don’t worry I won’t do it anymore.” You said calmly and went towards the entrance of the arcade, did other people hear your argument? Most likely. Did you care? Maybe a bit but not enough to stop

You didn’t want to walk out, it was childish that you didn’t even bother finishing your fights with him like usual but those simple words really struck an arrow through your heart and you didn’t want to let Banri see you in that state, who knows what the asshole would say?

After that day, you wanted him to apologize, it was childish and stupid because you were the one who walked out but he nobody knocked on your door, nobody called or even messaged you. Just as you expected, he didn’t even bother with you

And it hurts you more than you wanted it to

Days went by as usual, you went to school, although you had to spend much more time in the library since you didn’t have Banri who was always teaching you on certain topics you couldn’t understand

What more is that he surprisingly goes to school regularly which makes it harder for you to avoid him- not only was he freaking tall and seems to find ways to be in the same place as you but he was popular among the people in your school and you always seem to hear his name everywhere you go- though you weren’t on good terms, you were glad that he actually decided to at least go to his classes

“Hey it’s lunch time, time to wake up.” Once again your seatmate, Haru- who you guess you would consider a friend- woke you up

You rubbed your eyes and yawned, “Wanna head to the cafeteria?” You turned your head towards her while she shrugged

“Yeah, they have that bread that I like.” She agreed and soon the two of you were out your classroom and walking towards the cafeteria

“So tell me,” She started as you two sat down on the empty table in the cafeteria, “Will you be watching Settsu’s show?” She raised an eyebrow while you choked on the juice you were drinking

“Why-why would I?” You tried to sound casual about it but you could tell Haru knows you were still thinking about it

“I’m just saying, you should try and see how your ex does up there.”

“We did not go out.” You huffed, “We were just friends with platonic feelings for each other.”

“Sure, tell yourself that.” She rolled her eyes, even before the two of you- You and Haru- started to hang out more and get along she could already tell that you and Settsu were not just friends. She just weren’t sure on who’s the more oblivious one in your pair

“I want more, I’m going to get tray b today.” You announced and walked towards the counter to order

After getting you food, you were walking towards your table when somebody bumped into you, causing the soup in your tray to spill on the guy’s shirt

“Dude the heck?” he groaned as he glowered at you

You gulped, ever since you were young you never liked fighting with anybody especially when they were bigger and more powerful than you. Were you a coward? Perhaps but you just don’t enjoy hurting yourself

“I-I’m sorry,” You stuttered out

“Is your sorry going to-”

“Hey asshole,” The guy stopped glowering at you as he looked at who was behind you, glaring at him as if he was ready to beat him until he dropped

Now, Banri promised that he would try to stop getting into trouble but seeing the guy intimidating you just lit a flame in him that he couldn’t help but walking over you, was it instincts for having to be by your side for a long time? He didn’t know but he wasn’t going to let anyone hurt you

“Weren’t you the one who wasn’t lookin’ where you were goin?” He hoped that the guy was at least smart enough to sense what he was trying to say and just go away

“Ye-yeah but my shirt-”

“That’s cause of you’re stupidity.” He glowered at the guy who apologized at you and cowered away

You watched everything in pure confusion, the first reason was because you didn’t even know Banri was paying attention to you and the other one was just pure bewilderment at Banri’s ability, you knew he’s a good fighter but not to the extent that he could scare away anybody just that simple

But soon you were woken up when Banri turned his attention towards you and asked if you were alright

“Huh? Oh yeah I’m fine thanks.” You nodded in acknowledgement and soon an uncomfortable and suffocating silence surrounded you two. If you were to be honest, you hated how things were now between the two of you, in the past even when it was silent you always felt comfortable and at ease but now... other from that, you still didn’t understand the root of your fight with him

“Hey Ban-”

“Here,” He cut you off and handed you a ticket, “It’s for our upcoming play, come if you can.” He avoided looking at you as you grabbed the ticket from his hand and examined it

“You stayed in the troupe?” You asked in awe

“Yeah, might as well give it a try an’ see if I actually like it,” He tried to sound cool but you knew it was a big thing for him

“You’re lead right? I’ll definitely go.” You couldn’t help but let out a proud smile

“Really?” Banri finally cracked a smile

“Yeah,” You confirmed, “I’ll look forward to seeing you in stage.”

The conversation at that but somehow Banri felt lighter than he did. He had to admit that he had been having fun in the troupe but still, knowing that he might get you back made him glad

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

You looked at the stage infront of you in anticipation, even though you weren’t all that bright you could tell that the building was old. You wouldn’t even think anybody was doing shows if it weren’t for Banri joining the troupe

Suddenly the lights turned off and finally the play started

-

You clapped along the rest of the audience after the play, the only reason you came to watch was because of Banri but you had to admit that the other actors did a good job in portraying their roles

“Please welcome the actors!”

Looking up on the stage you caught Banri’s eyes as he thanked the audience . ‘Stay, I want to talk to you.’ He mouthed at you after expressing his appreciation to the audience

“Now what?” You mumbled to yourself as you fumbled with the flowers in your hands, you didn’t know whether you should feel excited or nervous with the fact that Banri wants to talk to you

“Ugh, since when have I seem to lose track of him.” You sulked at the thought, when you were children you always knew or at least had an idea on what Banri was thinking but now, you weren’t even sure

Taking a deep breath, you followed the rest of the audience towards the exit of the theater and towards the lounge where you decided to wait for Banri

-

“Hey,” You greeted Banri once he finally went out towards you, “Good job out there.” You praised, “Here, um...” You could feel the nerves filling you up as you held the bouquet of flowers in your hands, “I bought you flowers,” You ended awkwardly and held it out for him

“Since when have you been so awkward,” He raised an eyebrow

“I mean I-”

“Come e’re,” He muttered and soon you were engulfed in a hug, “Thanks for coming to watch.” He mumbled as his fingers go through your hair

“You did really well.” You mumbled, hands shaking from nervousness, you weren’t even sure whether you wanted him to hold the bouquet of flowers out of fear that it might be wet because of your sweaty hands

“I’m sorry for saying those things,” He admitted once he let you go of his grasp, “I just-damn.” He pushed his hair back in frustration

“No, I should be the one to apologize for sticking my nose in your business,” You cut through his dialogue

“Hah?” He gave you a look of confusion, Banri never hated that side of you, if anything his heart always warmed up at the thought of you thinking about him and his safety

“Do-don’t you hate it when I stick my nose and become that worrywart and make you lose all the fun-”

“What the hell are you saying?” He frowned, “I like it when you look out for me,” He admitted, already feeling his cheeks warming up at his confession, “I also like hanging out with you,”

“But you never bring me with you when you go out,” Banri couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of you pouting, if he could he’ll just mess your hair up and pull you into his arms but he knew that he had to fix things between you first... and maybe finally open up his feelings for you

“That’s because I don’t want you in trouble.” He said, “Last thing I want is you to become the target of those assholes.”

“Oh.”

“I-if that’s the case then why did you get angry at me back at the arcade... if you don’t have any problem with me looking out for you and-”

“Ah, that was what I was tryin’ to say earlier.” He sighed, “I-” Banri gulped, already not liking what he was going to say, “I got jealous cause it seemed like you really like Hyodo.” He mumbled out the last part but because of your distance you could easily hear it

“Juza? He’s cool and I think he’ll be a good friend but that’s just it.” You tried to shrug it off, “B-but you know you’re still my best friend so there’s no need to get jealous-” You added hastily upon realizing that your first statement sounded as if you didn’t see Banri as just a friend, well maybe you did saw him as something else but you were scared to know if he felt the same or not

“Just a best friend?” He raised his eyebrows

“Y-yeah,”

“Nothing else?”

“I-I mean if you want as a brother,” You didn’t mean that. The last thing you wanted was for him to see you as a sister and make things harder for the two of you

“Nah, that’s disgusting.” He pulled a face which made you giggle, “What I mean it that maybe we should try to become more than what we were.”

You gulped and tried to keep your face straight, “So you know...like-”

“Damn it, I like you and want to go out with you.” He finally cracked and let his impatience took over

Now you couldn’t hide the joy on your face, “I really like you too Banri, though you might be too much but I can handle it.”

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

“Ugh, how can you even solve this.” You whined and slammed your head on the table where your notebooks laid

“Ow.” You hissed and rubbed your forehead

“What the hell are you doing?” Banri cackled beside you which made you pout at him who was just gaming

“Banri, teach me please?” You tried to plead but he just continued to play his game

Banri paused his game for a moment and returned back to it, “Maybe give me a bit more and I might consider.” He smirked at you while you rolled your eyes at your boyfriend

“Banri freaking Settsu, help me.” You groaned

“What?”

“Banrii,” You shook him but he just hummed at you, enjoying the attention he was getting from you

“Banri.”

“Banri,”

“Banri~”

“Juza!”

“Hah? Hyodo’s here? Told him to piss off earlier.” He finally paused his game to look at the door in his room to see there was nobody there

“Really? Using Hyodo like that?”

“Dude, just help me with this damn equation,” You groaned and Banri’s eyes went from you towards your notebook which still remained unanswered

“Damn fine.” He finally agreed

“Yes!” You cheered

But-” He smirked as you stopped celebrating, “Here.” He pointed at his cheeks which you rolled your eyes at but nonetheless you still moved closer to him to kiss his cheeks

“Ugh that’s so cheesy of you!” You couldn’t help but laugh when he moved his head to the side so rather than kissing his cheek, your lips made contact with his

“As if you don’t like it.” He smirked and focused on your notebook

“Shut it.” You rolled your eyes but still, the smile never left your lips, even while you were solving the problems in your notebook. You just wanted to finish it so you could finally cuddle your boyfriend on his bed

[chaoticgearz]

Tsuna in Dateko: Missing Cookies

It's mostly a rewrite from one of Haikyuu-buu's chapters feat Tsuna!

"Your cookies went missing?" Tsuna asked, raising an eyebrow. He was taking a water break with Aone next to him when Nametsu came up to them. She nodded her head. "Yup, I bought a big box of it since I know you'd love them and I was hoping to hand them out to everyone." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I left them in the clubroom, but now they're all mysteriously gone. I'm not trying to blame anyone here, I just want whoever ate them to come out and say it." Tsuna hummed, eyes scanning at everyone in the gym. "And you're telling us this because...?" He looked back at her. Nametsu clasped her hand together.

"You two are the only ones I trust right now. Will you please help me find out what happened to those cookies?" She said in a pleading tone. Aone thumped his chest with his fist, signifying his agreement.

Tsuna just shrugged. "Eh, sure. We're in. I've always wanted to play detective." Nametsu smiled at them. "Thanks! You two are a lifesaver!"

______

"And so...."

Nametsu motioned to where Aone sat with Tsuna sitting on the table he was in, both of them crossing their arms and had serious expressions on their faces.

"I'd like everyone to give a detailed explanation of exactly what they were doing that day." She went out the door and pushed Futakuchi in. "As the captain, you go in first." The door closed behind him. Futakuchi sighed, walked to the table and sat down, getting himself comfortable.

___(Suspect #1: Futakuchi Kenji)___

Tsuna hopped down from the table and walked behind Futakuchi, trying to look intimidating. "Well, well, well~ Tell us captain, what did you do today?"

Futakuchi just scoffed at Tsuna's question before he leaned back and tilted his head backwards to look at the first year. "You two really are gonna hunt down this cookie thief.."

"Nametsu is really serious about this, huh?" He asked. "Yeah, she promised us a new batch of cookies if we managed to find the culprit." Tsuna chirped in. "You mean she promised you a new batch of cookies if you find the culprit." Futakuchi leaned forward again to face Aone.

Tsuna just shrugged. "Same thing." He said. Futakuchi rolled his eyes when Aone tapped the table to get their attention and motioned for him to start talking.

"Well, we are the iron wall of Date and of course our clubroom's security is also iron clad." He placed his hands behind his head. "All things considered, the culprit has to be one of our club members."

Aone shook his head to disagree. "Nii-san, I know you don't wanna doubt anyone but you can't just put blind faith on them." Tsuna said, walking to stand next to his brother again.

"But whoever did this is nothing short of gutter trash. You'd normally say something, right? Or at least make some kind of throwaway comment, especially you Tsuna."

"Like you're any better, Kenji."

"Anyway, maybe make comments about how good those cookies looked and maybe about the different flavours it offers... There were dozens of them after all-"

"I'm gonna have to stop you there because what you just said sounds oddly specific."

"...."

"...."

"...."

The three occupants in the room stared at each other long and hard. Then, Futakuchi gave a sigh of defeat and placed both his hands on the table. "So hear me out..." The two opposite of him leaned forward. "I may have... Eaten one of those cookies...." He bowed his head in shame.

A hand struck down and smacked the captain on the back of his head. He quickly pulled his head back up and rubbed the area that came into contact with the hand, glaring at Tsuna. "Ow what was that for, you midget!?" Futakuchi yelled out in anger. "Who the hell are you calling a midget!!?" Tsuna retorted, equally pissed.

"Who else is the fucking dwarf here!?"

"That's it! Get ready to suffer! I'm telling Nametsu!!!"

"No wait please hear me out first!! I really did just eat one! I don't know anything about the rest!" Futakuchi raised one hand and placed the other one over his heart with a panicked look on his face. "I swear my life on that!! I thought it'd be awkward if they just sat there untouched, so all I did was open the package and eat one to make them more appealing!"

"Why didn't you say anything then!?" Tsuna growled out. "Because if I say anything now, it'll be one big misunderstanding! Please Aone, keep this a secret between us!"

"Seriously!? You're gonna stoop that low now!? What happened to that confidence earlier, huh!?"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

Aone placed a hand on Tsuna's shoulder to placate him and nodded at Futakuchi, answering his request. "Nii-san! You can't just give in like that!"

"Thanks Aone! I owe you one!"

___(Suspect #2: Koganegawa Kanji)___

"I... I'm next! F-First year, Koganegawa! I'm coming in!" The first year entered the club room, obviously nervous. "Pleased to make you acquaintance detectives!"

"Kogane, chill. It's just us. You're not going to jail." Tsuna said, trying to calm down his friend's nerves. "Sit down. Relax a bit. Just tell us when you're ready."

"So.. how is the search going? Did you find the culprit yet?" Kogane asked. Tsuna was about to answer when his half brother stood up abruptly and held his arms up high, making a blocking pose, shocking both the other occupants in the room.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! That must be classified information!"

"Nii-san! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!? Warn me, please!"

After taking a moment to calm down, Kogane sat down and was suspiciously quiet. "Kogane? What's wrong?"

"Umm..... Well, a-actually..." He became silent for a second. Tsuna was about to ask again when he suddenly bowed his head. "It was me! It was all me!"

"Wh- Kogane! I thought you were better than this! Couldn't you have at least snagged an extra one for me!? You know how much I love cookies!"

"Wah!! I'm so sorry Tsuna!"

Their conversation was interuppted when Aone suddenly stood up and slammed his hands on the table.

"Wait, wait! I only ate one of them since they were sitting right there in the club room! I promise it was only one!"

His hands were clasped together as he continued to talk. "I know it might be hard to believe me, but I really did only eat one! Please, Aone-san! Tsuna-kun! I beg of you! Keep this a secret!!"

No one made any movement for a bit until Aone looked away and nodded slowly.

"Ugh, I'll make this the only exception. Never do this thing again, okay!? Ask first before you eat something!"

Kogane looked relieved. "Th...Thank you so much! I knew I could count on you two!" He mumbled when he made his way to the door. "Futakuchi-san can be a bit terrifying.. Ah! Keep that a secret too!"

"Just get outta here! Let's meet up later!"

"Okay!"

____

"So far, we have two suspects, both claiming to have taken one of the cookies." Tsuna recounted, leaning his back on the table. Aone nodded his head in agreement.

He hummed a bit, a distant look in his eyes. "I have a bad feeling about this."

___(Suspect #3: Yutaka Obara)___

The shaven head teen took a seat across the two half siblings. "This incident does involve food, so I suppose I would end up on the suspect list." He muttered, loud enough for them to hear. Aone shook his head at Obara's statement. "Sorry about this, Obara-san. But we just don't wanna leave anyone out." Tsuna said, a hand behind his head.

"It's okay, I know you're talking to everyone about this." He waved his hand a bit to reassure the two. "So, uh.... Yeah...."

"I kinda... Ate one of them, maybe..." He looked away, felling too ashamed to lookal at the two.

"..…I knew it."

"N-No! I mean they were right there! I'd already eaten it before I even had time to process to process what happened!"

"I may not be the appropriate person to say this, but Obara-san, you should really learn some self control."

"Please, if I say I only had one, no one will believe me! Let's just keep this a secret, okay!?"

"Just get out of here. We've heard enough."

___(Suspect #4: Tarō Onagawa)___

"..........They were really tempting so I ate one.."

"I feel ya on that one in a spiritual level. Now leave."

___(Suspect #5 and #6: Kaname Moniwa and Takehito Sasaya [Absent])___

"Sasaya and I just wanted to come say hello. We spotted the cookies purely by chance, but the two of us only had one each."

"Senpai, I expected better than that from you. Never knew you could be like this."

"Please don't tell Nametsu about that. We really did just come to say hi. We know nothing about the rest."

"You're excused, Senpai."

___(Suspect #7: Yasushi Kamasaki)___

"I did come by to say hi, but the one who took the cookie wasn't me.." Kamasaki rolled up his sleeve and flexed his arm, showing off his muscles.

"But rather these splendid guns of mine."

"Just say you took the goddamn cookie! No one cares about your guns!!"

"You're just saying that cuz you're jealous!"

"I ain't jealous! I'm just saying stop showing off! Everyone is getting sick of looking at your gross arms!"

"HAAAH!?"

Aone had to physically hold them apart until they both cooled down and apologized to one another.

___(Suspect #8: Gokudera Hayato)___

"Gokudera Hayato! I'm coming in, Jyuudaime! Aone-san!"

Without missing a beat, Tsuna said. "Gokudera, be honest with me, you took one of the cookies didn't you?"

The silverette froze, his expression similar to a deer caught in a headlight. They all stayed silent for a second, Tsuna sat at the table, crossing his legs while Aone had opted to stand after sitting for so long with his arms crossed as he stared at Gokudera long and hard.

In an instant, he was on the floor, his forehead pressed into he floor as he begged for forgiveness.

"Forgive me Jyuudaime! I did take one of those cookies! I assumed it was okay since I saw Kamasaki-san take one!"

Tsuna just sighed. Be walked up to Gokudera, crouched and pet his head. "Hayato, it's okay. I was just asking. I'm not mad at you."

It took them about an hour to calm Gokudera down that No Tsuna isn't going to chase him out because of that and No he didn't commit a thievery for taking ONE cookie.

________

Tsuna and Aone had just finished the last of their interrogation, feeling a bit conflicted. Should they tell Nametsu or not?

"Ah, Aone, Tsuna!" The two stopped, watching their club's manager walk up to them. "How's it going? Have you found the culprit yet?" She asked. They both shook their heads, deciding to just lie to her for now. She just looked disappointed and look at the ground. "I guess they're not willing to be honest about it."

Tsuna just shrugged. "It's okay. We'll just have to try harder." She just dismissed him with a wave of her hand and turned her back to them, appearing to be deep in thought. "Nah, you don't need to. All I wanted was for them to just say it outright. I wasn't going to get mad at them or anything."

"Yeah, you did buy it for everyone after all." Tsuna said, crossing him arms. Nametsu just turned back to face them, her arms behind her back.

"I'm just surprised that such a large amount could disappear so quickly. If someone really ate all that and stayed quiet about it, then it's only natural I'd want them to say something, right?" She said before she looked back at the two. "Sorry for making you two help me out, Aone, Tsuna."

Tsuna was about to reassure her not to worry about it when Aone beat him to it. "Don't worry about it." The sudden sound of his deep voice scared Nametsu.

"Woah, that scared me! If you're gonna talk, say something beforehand!" Tsuna sweatdropped at her statement. "Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of him warning you if you get scared by his voice alone?"

_____

The next day during morning practice, Sakunami had pointed out to Tsuna that Aone seemed to be deep in thought. Tsuna pat his arm, feeling worried. "Are you okay, Nii-san?" He asked to which the white haired male shook his head. "Really? You're making quite the face there. You know you can tell me." He said.

Tsuna watched his brother for abit before he realized what was bothering him. "Ah, is it about the cookies? Why? Did you get a lead?"

He shook his head.

"Huh.." was all Tsuna said before he went deep into thought himself. "Wait, Nametsu said she bought a dozen of those cookies right?" Aone nodded. "But so far, we only have about eleven people who all said they've only taken one cookie." He furrowed his eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips. "What happened to the rest?"

"Ah, Tsuna, Aone. Can I talk to you two for a second?" Their coach called for them, leading them to the corner of the gym. "So... Uh... I wanted to talk about that whole cookie incident.." He was interuppted by Aone who was quick to make a blocking motion.

"Woah there! You can't just limit how much I get to say! What are you, Twitter!?" The coach said, annoyed by the sudden interuption. Tsuna just wheezed in the background.

"Anyway, you two are the only ones that I can say this to... But uh... You know those cookies?" Tsuna and Aone nodded. "I actually threw them away."

"WHA-MMPH!!" Aone was quick to cover his younger brother's mouth, preventing him from yelling out. "So yeah. I'm not sure if its because the clubroom has some actual iron walls. But the air quality there isn't too great.."

"And if you combine that with the humidity lately... Well.. those cookies were giving off this horrible stench." Tsuna made a gagging noise behind Aone's hand. "I just didn't want the players to get sick from eating them. I know they were from Nametsu! That's why I want to keep this a secret!" He explained, panicking a bit at the look of Aone's expression.

He came closer to them, speaking in a hushed tone. "As long as neither of us says anything, the the horrible truth will remain buried forever. We won't have to question anyone else! Got it!?"

What else were they supposed to do in that situation but to just nod in agreement.

"Well, it is fortunate that nobody ate any of them."

"Actually, about that.."

That's when another voice rang out through the empty gym gaining everyone's attention. "Weird.. Everyone's running pretty late today."

Just as Sakunami said that, the doors to the gym slid open. "So.... Sorry.... For being late...." The raven haired boy turned his attention to the door. "Ah, Futakuchi-san, you're.."

"LATE!?"

Everyone who was late for practice are all at the door clutching their stomach in pain, except Gokudera who was supporting Kogane.

"S...sorry, I was in the bathroom..." The captain said, pain evident in his voice.

"Are you all okay!?"

"Aone... Did they..." The coach wouldn't finish his question when Aone raised his hand to silence him while his other hand held Tsuna close to him, still covering his mouth.

"Aone!" Nametsu called out. "Do you know what happened to everyone!? Tell us if you do!" A flash of yesterday's events flooded the large teen's mind and he started to think long and hard about whether he should lie or just tell the truth.

In the end, Aone let go of Tsuna and made a blocking motion as his response.

"He blocked us!?"

"What are you, Line!?"

Tsuna just facepalmed at his brother and his everlasting kindness. And thus, the truth of Date Tech Volleyball Club's food poisoning incident remained buried for eternity.

Bonus:

"Hey, Gokudera." The silverette snapped to attention when Tsuna called for him. "Yes, Jyuudaime? What do you need?" He said, seemingly eager to serve. "How come you were the only one who didn't get food poisoning? You did eat the cookies, right?" His question seemed to cause Gokudera to freeze in place before he placed his hands on Tsuna's shoulders.

"Jyuudaime... It's best if you don't think about it." He said with a dark look on his face.

Somewhere in the Italy airport, Bianchi sneezed.

[rain-swords]

Sun-flower | Chapter One

Hey! This is not my art, please please check out the wonderful artist here. This is going on Ao3 eventually, but I don’t have an account just yet.

Rating: T (for mild language)

Content Warnings: Unhealthy friendship, self hatred.

Strong unapologetic lesbian vibes.

Four parts, 2.5K words to start.

Set in the year after Ayano joins high school, a canon-divergence AU where nobody is dead and everyone is gay. The two girls are already besotted with each other, and Ayano finally makes a move in the most sincere way she knows how. The chapter starts with a study session and ends with a (kinda) confession.

Art credit again in case you weren’t thinking about rebogging cute art yet.

The study session had entered it’s final phase: and man was it boring. They’d got past the petty squabbles about seating (ending on the usual: Ayano next to Shintarou, opposite Haruka and Takane), the complaint session (fuelled primarily by Shintarou’s run-in with Kenjirou) gave way to the mournful opening of textbooks.

Now they had settled quietly into the silence of students. Nothing but the scratching of pencils and tinny music coming from Ayano’s headphones. 

It wasn’t unpleasant, she supposed. Just the usual.

Routine like this was good for Takane. She needed this like she needed 12 hours of sleep to feel awake, like she needed headphones for her morning walk. They hadn’t had much of a routine before Ayano had joined their little group, but it’d been like this in the few months since. Wednesday and Friday afternoons in the library, as well as Thursday if anybody had a test.

And Shintarou was also there, most days. Pesky bastard couldn’t commit too much.

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Takane closes the (basically) finished paper and stretches. Something’s bothering her, but something usually is. This time it’s Haruka sat next to her, tapping his foot against the floor, over and over. Tap tap tap tap tap. Breathing in again, out again, she resists the urge to kick him into stopping. That’s not something she does anymore. As long as it helps him.

Tap tap tap tap tap.

She focuses her attention on Ayano.

Sweet Ayano. The curls of her hair bounce ever so slightly in time with the subdued rock of her body.

So much prettier than my pigtails. So effortless and soft. I wonder what it feels like.

Her eyes trace down the curves of Ayano’s face, from her rounded forehead to the bright red scarf she wore, even indoors. I wonder what she’s thinking. Takane thinks of the human life resting that pretty head of hers - she thinks she wants to know it better than anybody else in the world.

God, she even smiles while she’s working. Something about this didn’t bother her as much as Haruka’s endless cheer.

Her mouth is dancing around lyrics of a song that Takane is frustratingly unfamiliar with. She wishes she knew it. She could slip on her own headphones, load the same song into her iPod, and ever-so-casually leave the device face-up on the desk. Wow! Ayano would say, eyes sparkling. I like this song too! You’re so interesting! We have so much in common! I, Ayano Tateyama, with my beautiful brown eyes and my cute round cheeks, absolutely adore you! Would you like to-

Takane visibly winces - heat rushes to her face and her eyes desperately search for somewhere to settle, somewhere that isn’t Ayano’s lips. God, these thoughts are so annoying! But, like a straight woman in a gay bar, these thoughts refuse to accept that they’re unwanted. They act as a separate unit, with no self-awareness - weaving intricate fantasies and putting words in a mouth that admittedly, she does want to kiss.

A cheerful voice interrupts her spiral.

“Wah! What! Hi, yes?”, her head swinging towards the source.

It’s Haruka. Bless that idiot. He’d pulled her mind out of rabbit holes before, unknowingly, but always just when she needed him to. For a moment, she wondered if the boy was secretly brilliant, cunningly kind, pretending to be oblivious. Probably not.

“Jeez, what do you want?,” she scowls, in a contrast to her thoughts that she hopes will throw him off the scent.

“Ah, nothing! Wait, no, actually, something! We’re thinking about heading home now!”

She swings her head back to Ayano, in the process of removing her headphones.

“That alright with you? I can stay and help more, if you like?”

Takane watches Ayano’s lips again, and as she watches them slowly part she finds herself thinking please, please say yes.

“Nah, that’ll be fine, she can copy the rest from me.”

Takane looks up at the source, who seemed to be already leaving - his red jacket glaring at her more obnoxiously than usual.

Oh. Shintarou’s here. She knew that, of course, but she’d been blissfully unaware for the last hour or so - and noticing the way Ayano’s head bows, noticing the flicker of… something sad, she asks again.

“Ayano, do you want me to stay?,” she asks, feeling like she’s asking a completely different question.

Her expression changes in a flash, as if she had caught herself feeling something she wasn’t supposed to feel.

“Actually, I- “

“Look, I already said, she can copy off me.”

She. Not even ‘you’. He didn’t even turn his head to look at her, acting as if Ayano wasn’t worth addressing directly. Takane pushes herself up on the desk,

“Hold the fuck up-“

“Don’t, Takane, it’s fine. It isn’t worth it.”

Ayano interrupts her with a soft voice and a gentle smile. But you are worth it, Takane tries desperately to convey, looking as directly as possible into Ayano’s eyes. Why won’t you let me defend you?

But she gives in to Ayano’s voice inside her head. It’s okay. Don’t lose your temper over someone like him.

The words she’s heard a thousand times manage to calm her down. She was worth it, but she was also, probably, right. Shooting one last glare at Shintarou’s ever distant, uncaring face, Takane pulls her satchel from underneath the desk. The atmosphere returns to normal.

Takane leaves with Haruka. Ayano leaves with Shintarou.

The usual.

============

The brief spat with Takane was affecting her far more than it was Shintarou.

There’s nothing new to note about his behaviour. Nothing new about hers either, feeling the weight of his actions far more than he does. Even though he walked to school with her, tutored her siblings, often ate meals at her house, and was walking home with her, there was never anything but distance behind his eyes. I’m not the one to close that distance. But Ayano was never very good at reading people’s emotions.

Maybe he hated her. Always a possibility. It’s usually best to catch herself in the middle of these types of thoughts before the spiralling starts, although… this time, it seems correct. After all, she’d seen what he looked like engaged - it wasn’t anything like he acted around her. She’d seen what he looked like happy a few times since Haruka joined the pair. Before that she’d been able to rationalise his actions with a quick ‘a­h, he’s like that around everyone.’ Harder to do now.

Maybe he thought she was hoping for a relationship and he was just making sure she didn’t get the wrong idea. Of course, she didn’t want that from him. She didn’t want that from any man, that was something she’d come to terms with quite some time ago.

Maybe there was just a sadness in him that she wasn’t given permission to access.

Familiar, no?

Yeah. I’m hardly one to talk. People tried to make her open up all the time; her father, her teachers, the counsellor the school brought in after her mother died. Even Takane. Whenever this happens, she smiles as wide as she can, and hits them with something as cheery as rainbows. Even the fact that they’d notice something was up makes her heart sink, she can’t even do that right.

All she wants to do is make people happy. But lying is… like trying to halt a flood with a plank of wood. She’s only putting them in more danger when the tide that is her rotten, true feelings burst through.

It hasn’t happened yet, but something is ready to break.

Goodness. Maybe Shintarou keeps silent on their walks to help her get in touch with her feelings. It’s true, there’s not much to do on these lazy walks home, not on days like this. The sky is fading out, a roaring amber glow taking the place of the bright summer sky.

But things aren’t all bad. Besides, things have been so much better since we met Takane and Haruka!

Haruka is just like her, she thinks. Well, maybe not quite. It’s like he knows exactly how to lighten the mood without even trying at all!

Takane is… like Shintarou. As much as I adore her. Shintarou in a sweeter casing. But she cares for me so much more…

Ayano remembered the chocolates they’d made for study one day. She could recall every second, she had so much fun! The genuine sound of surprise as Takane pulled out the first batch, exclaiming ‘I didn’t know it was even possible to burn chocolate!’. Her mouth twisted in a perfect ‘o’ of disbelief.

She’d expected anger from someone so like Shintarou - but the girl had squealed with a genuine confusion that kept Ayano’s thoughts light for days.

Occasionally, breathlessly, she remembers Takane standing behind her and reaching up to grab the second batch of raw chocolate. The closeness of a girl, perhaps any girl, had made something swell in her chest, then shoot down to pool in that spot above her belly.

Checking her surroundings, checking that Shintarou remained oblivious, she closed her eyes and felt the weight of Takane’s body pressed against her own.

Is that something shameful, that the simple touch makes me so happy?

But there was more.

She’d noticed the way her cheeks flushed red, the way her voice got sweeterenever Takane joined them to study. Recently, she was looking to only Takane for help with schoolwork, choosing her less impressive intellect over Shintarou’s perfect test scores. Embarrassing as it is, the way she had risen out of her seat to defend her over something as trivial as homework had made her unendingly happy. There was a warmth in Takane, something in the way she spoke so passionately that made her heart flutter. A passion that had ignited the warmth in herself.  She felt like nothing could stop this warm feeling inside her, even with lakes of unspoken emotion pouring through her veins. This is an emotion that will not go unspoken.

The silence is broken as Shintarou turns to cross the road.

“Oh. You’re not walking home?”

No. I’ve got something special to do.

============

Schools are special in a way. Thousands upon thousands of souls trapped inside the walls, each one a unique expression of thousands of people during the most changeable period in their lives. Most of these identities are long gone, both to the school and the person that left them behind. The walls inhale these memories and exhale them the only way buildings can, through flowers and weeds and moss. Most will die without proper maintenance, but some manage to survive.

Rather like those souls.

This school in particular neglects these plants growing in the walls. With the headmaster that insists they ‘add character’ and a staff that knows the school lacks the cash and the will to remove them. The flowers will die on their own, or they’ll stay there forever.

Flowers can have so much character, though.

On this school, among the assorted leaves and vines, the foxglove grows. A flower with purple, bell shaped petals – it stands out for its narrow stem and a hearty ability to stand upright on a wall. It’s heavy plant that survives on rain water­ and drain water. Some of the students will pick the lower flowers and weave them into crowns or chains or stick them behind their ears.

Takane was familiar with this tradition, without too much of a care. No more than a passing glance is given to the flowers that border the buildings doors, they’re just another thing for her to ignore in the fog of the morning.

God, I hate mornings.

Half asleep, she hadn’t had a single thought worth noting since she’d woken up. Her ritual in the morning is absolute garbage; waking up at 8:25, leaving at 8:32, arriving at 8:41. It should be more important to her, really.

But she’s here now - out of the fog, into the classroom.

“He isn’t even here yet?” she hears herself whine, making the first words of the day a noisy complaint.

Huh?

Where’s my response? She rubs her eyes and forces herself awake to see what’s keeping Haruka from responding. Takane follows his eyeline and walks towards the unusual sight on her desk.

A simple paper cup. In the paper cup, six yellow tulips paired with a dainty yellow bow. A thousand thoughts immediately fly into her head. Who? What? Haruka? No. What’s this meant to mean? Is this a holiday I’ve forgotten about? Is it my birthday, did I forget that? Am I in trouble, somehow?

Takane reaches a hand out to touch the petals, gingerly, as if they might disappear in her fingers. In what she senses is a deliberate move, the ribbon isn’t quite the same shade as the petals – it’s darker and more vibrant, more matching the jumper she’s wearing than the sprouting blossoms at the tip of the stem.

“I didn’t read the note! I swear!”

“There’s note?!”

That comes out louder and higher pitched than she expects. But he’s right, there is a note, a tiny piece of card folded up and tucked inside the ribbon. Side-eyeing Haruka and sitting down at the desk, she unfolds the words.

‘They reminded me of you, and then they reminded me of me! These are for you, Takane. I’ve been wanting to tell you for too long, x’

A lightness wells up inside her chest. This was a love confession? It’s vague but… that’s how I’d word it. She reads the note again, feeling something far more intense than she’d prepared herself for today, and quickly folds it up to tuck into her bag.

As she gazes at the flowers some more, Takane notices a dumb grin spread across her face. They’re so… pretty. Gah! What’s happening to me?

They were for her. That was the most unbelievable thing, beautiful flowers for my brash exterior. From someone who didn’t know her well enough to know this didn’t suit her… or someone who knew her so well they knew this would make her heart melt.

Someone that liked her so much they’d wake up early and put these on her desk before anybody else arrived. Is that really true? Her face twists in confusion and she finds it pointing in Haruka’s direction. Suppose it was him. How would she know? We have been closer lately… I guess? But the handwriting on the note was strikingly presentable

There was something telling her it wasn’t him. Not now anyway. Last year, she’d found herself enamoured by the carefree boy – this year, she knew this was desperate clinging to a heterosexual lifeboat, finding the closest guy and forcing romantic thoughts into her head. And he knew this.

Yeah.

He was far more likely to be an accomplice.

But for who?

She’d have to think about it later. Tateyama just walked in. That wouldn’t usually deter her but thinking about this was making her brain hurt and her knees shake.

Teach sits down at his desk, unprofessional in every conceivable way. Takane suddenly has the thought to hide the flowers but it’s too late, he’s seen them. A taunting grin stretches over his idiotic face – God, who let this guy teach?

“Takane, I didn’t know those were for you.”

[ainmunaqadh]

memory log 0.5

Ain’s P.O.V (point of view)

Ishtar Academy. The research facility thats well known throughout the solar system. Here today, me and my batch of students from my school will be going to a trip there. Only the 12th grade year of students of my school had the privilege to go there due to some odd...reasons we students don’t know. Probably because they knew we were all training to become Guardians. Whatever reasons, we certainly didnt want to miss out this chance. Though some parents didn’t really approve of this trip, but after some explanation they seemed pretty okay with it soon after including my strict father. The trip was just a few days trip and just a day at the Ishtar Academy to not make the protective parents worry as it will be our first time into space. It felt like a dream to head to Ishtar Academy. They discovered plenty of things over there. I really liked researching and this could a chance to sharpen my skills for my dream job. A researcher. This was just a day trip and literally everyone was feeling anxious including myself. My father fortunately had a few days off before he go back to his work with Mr. Bray. My father did some lecturers about life choices. Those parent-child talks. You know the thing. He’s a protective dad after all.

Soon enough, the day came and all of us went into the space ship that looked like sci-fi space trains from Mass Effect. Almost like the Normandy but bigger. Once on board, we all took ourselves to our rooms and shared rooms with some friends of the same gender for safety reasons.

“Hehe, I’d be glad if I managed to catch an attention of a fellow researcher. It’d be awesome to do their work!” My friend Lidwina exclaimed as she rises from her bed.”To think to become a guardian and research at the same time, oh wait that’s a Warlock thing.”

Charmaine, one of my friends, looked toward me as she was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed,”Ain you want to be a Hunter actually right?”

I was on my bed, sketching on my sketchbook. I was sketching out myself as a guardian with my own Ghost(which I’ll soon have). Thinking, saving lives and doing good deeds to achieve great sense of honor and nobility.”Yeah, my mentor is a Hunter so I’ll be a Hunter. But being a Warlock doesn’t seem bad either it is?” I chuckle to myself, thinking myself as a Warlock instead of a Hunter.

“Boo. Warlocks are space wizards and nerds. Look Goh, Hakimi, Wong and the others. Nerds and they fit the Warlock stereotype.” Lidwina crossed her arms and did a pouty face hearing my last sentence. All three of us are going to be official Hunters some day. When that day arrives, we’ll all make it worth for us , our mentors and everyone else in our lives.

“Oh please, not all Warlocks are like that. Same goes for Titans and Hunters. Like what if a Warlock can do well with knifes? What if a Hunter wants to float like a Warlock? What if a Titan fights more like a Hunter?” I finished up the final touch ups in my sketch as I indeed looked awesome in my cloak with my mentor Brendan by my side.”In fact, let’s make a bet. If one of us attains both classes, be it Hunter-Warlock or so on combination, the other two losses. ”Don’t jinx it if it happens to me especially. Chances are high if you’re keen on it. Up to the Traveller really.”

Lidwina and Charmaine looked at each other with slight hesitation. I rarely make bets but when I do, I would win no doubt as the probabilities of my winning were like...99.9%. Even so, they nodded and agreed.”Fine.”

Days passed, we finally reach to Venus and there stood the famous Ishtar Academy. I could’ve swear some of us would like to go continue our studies there once we graduated out of high school. We were greeted by some of the professors there and were much welcomed. We were taken around the place and it was huge. Bigger than any university we’ve been to. The professors even asked what job we’d like be to part of aside from being Guardians. They were happy to hear some of us like to continue their higher education here at Ishtar Academy.

“Alright students, I’m sure you all got your piece of papers we just handed out to you. Listen, those lucky enough will have a name written on their paper. If you get a name, you will be spending time with that person who is a fellow researcher here.”

Everyone looked at their folded piece of paper in their hands. Some crossed their fingers and hoped they get a name.

“Alright kids open your paper!”

Everyone then unfolded their papers before a lot of groans and cheering was heard all around. The groans were probably from those who got a blank page and the cheering was from those who got a name. I just stood there in silent. I got a name. Dr Maya Sundaresh. She sounds like a prestigious person from the sound of her name. Her name even sounds pretty.

“Ain you got a name? Wah lucky you!” Lidwina showed her blank paper as she looked quite upset but calmed herself anyway.

“You lucked out Ain. I didn’t get a name either. I heard Goh did. As expected from the top student of our batch.”Charmaine shrugs as she held out her blank page before putting it back into her pocket,”Those who didn’t get a name will go around the Academy with the staff members to the projection room. We’re going on in a 3D simulation project to test our skills as guardians.”

“Ah that sounds grand. Wish I could join but of course I’m going to be with Dr Maya. A real experience.I ‘ll see you both later.” I walked off according to the directions showed on the map to Dr Maya’s lab office.

Once arriving there, I knocked on the door to let her know I was coming in.”Hello? Dr Maya?”

Exo’s P.O.V or Cayde

Still an average day for a fixture like me. Like usual day. I just stood there close by the door way while watching over Dr Maya who was as usual focusing on her research. I still haven’t felt anything. Just this ache in my cold husk that gave up to the ice long ago. Maya will never see me other than a fixture. Nothing else. Because I’m not a living being in the flesh. I was just metal. With not much memories from when I was human, that doesn’t matter. I’ll just remain like this anyway. Unless someone with a good and pure heart came into my life. Chances are pretty grim.

But then I heard a knock and voice outside the door.

”Hello? Dr Maya?”

The door slowly opened as apparently I was the first thing that greeted her. She just looks at me for a moment before she smiled. Smiled. The first time...someone actually saw me as an actual being and not some kind of nutcracker statue or anything that’s usual ignored. Her hair was a soft ebony black and slightly wavy. Her skin a fair colour and her eyes a dark brown like the soil from Earth. She reminded me of Snow White somehow. Her smile...bright as a star that I felt something in me. Maybe my wish was heard.

Dr Maya immediately looked back from her work once the girl entered the room. The girl wore a school uniform. White blouse and a long sky blue skirt. Simple but it definitely looked cute on her. Her wavy hair was long as it was tied up into a ponytail. It definitely added something to her appearance.

“You’re a student from that school are you not? You got my name?” As always, Maya sounded serious but this time she sounded friendly to not scare the girl.”Dr Maya Sundaresh but you probably know my name already.””

“Yep!” She held out the paper with Maya’s name on it,”I’m Ain! Honoured to meet a researcher like you!”

Ain....that was quite a name. Pretty in fact. Short but pretty. Like herself. Her voice was something else too. Feminine but had a leadership sense to it. This Ain girl seemed like something grand in the near future perhaps.

Dr Maya and Ain immediately got back to what Maya was doing but starting with the basics. Maya told Ain about their research on the Vex and Ain had pointed out a few facts. She was a real smart kiddo. Brilliant like Maya but more...brilliant than Maya. Sure she was nervous and stuttered a few times but it actually made Maya chuckled. Have I never saw her chuckle or even smile before. Ain had that cheerful and happy go lucky aura. Ain even told Maya about her becoming a Guardian soon. A Hunter in fact. Nice choice. Her skills will be fantastic to say from her description of results in her training. It was harsh but important. Maya prepared a lab coat her size. She looked like a mini professor to be honest. Her giggles were really something too. All I could do was just watch even during Maya taking a picture of Ain in her lab coat. I was just a fixture. In the background. Nothing important than metal. At least just to Maya anyway. Ain smiled at me. Maybe she thinks of me differently.

Hours passed and apparently it was time for Ain to  gather up with the other students to head back to Earth. I was feeling sad to see her leave. Sad? I actually feel an emotion? That’s a progress. To think a girl like her made me feel this way, may be she’s the actual person I need to see myself better. To put up myself as an individual and not a fixture.

“Thank you Dr Maya. For the tips and everything. Hope that I’ll pass the final exam!” She turns around to walk back to the door way with her own ID card in her pocket. The ID card will give her access to any part of the place, if she plans to return to which I hope so. She then stops for a moment before looking over to me. Her dark brown eyes meeting my aqua blue optics. She smiled at me once more.”It was nice meeting you too.”She then resumed to walk out of the room and Maya just straight went back to her work without gazing at me or whatsoever. Ain was the only that noticed me as an actual person.

Ain is....quite an interesting person to say. Interesting I mean....I could’ve swore...I could have a crush on her. Probably. It was hopeless anyway. I won’t see her again.

Or maybe I will. When I do, I won’t take her for granted.

Ain’s P.O.V

As much as it was interesting to be with Dr Maya, that blue Exo looked intriguing as well. Despite not speaking or all, he just made sure we would be both safe from harm. He was the security officer after all. I see in his optics. Widening whenever I smiled or look at him for a moment. I could’t tell if he felt anything. Dad didn’t specifically say if Exos could feel anything or not. Still, I’d just smiled just in case so he would’t feel left out. He was quite tail. Normal for a male exo to be that tall. I only reached up to his shoulders. Yes I am indeed small.’

Receiving the ID card from Maya, I put it in my pocket before heading out to the others at the entrance as it was time to head back home. Just then, I stopped to look to the Exo once more.

I smiled,”It was nice meeting you too.” Of course, his optics widen slightly to which I chuckled softly while walking out of the room. He surely was quite of an Exo. Almost good looking. Okay I will admit that. He is rather a good looking Exo but that doesn’t mean I like him...maybe.

Back at the entrance, we took a lot of group photos and even with the professors that were gonna say their goodbyes to us. Everyone else also got an ID card. Just in case we plan to return. Once we got onto the ship, we all got the windows and waved to the professors.

That night, all of us were back in our rooms. Talking about what we did at the Academy. Of course, Lidwina and Charmaine asked me plenty of questions

.“Anything else”

I sigh to Lidwina’s question,”well there was this Exo who is the security officer. He was quite interesting too. He didnt speak but he was always surprised whenever I smiled at him.” I chuckled once more, remembering those moments.

“Ohhhh....an Exo hmm? Never practically saw one myself.” Charmaine crossed her arms and smirked,”Surprised to see you smile at him? That sounds obvious.”

I then punched Charmaine’s, but not too rough,”Oh no no. It‘s not like that. Honestly. I felt his pain of just being in the background. I wanted to make him to feel like an individual. Exos have a mind of their own after all." But I never told them that Exos were actually once humans.”So I did. By smiling at him and actually paying attention to him.”

Lidwina snickered quietly,”awww how sweet of you. Caring for a robot” To which she earned a pillow hit right in her face.

“Anyhow, we should head to sleep. It’s getting practically late.” I was right somehow. It was almost midnight and we were supposed to wake up early tomorrow. And yes I used this as an excuse to get away from more questions.

Lidwina did the pouty face once more before crossing her arms,”Uh fine. But you better tell us more tomorrow. The whole class.”

Charmaine giggled softly hearing this,”presentation. Goh and those who got names will tell their stories as well.” She lies down on her bed before yawning softly with Lidwina yawning as well.

I lied down on my bed with my head on my pillow and my blanket covering myself. We were all indeed exhausted from going here and there.” Will do. Good night you two.”

“Good night..”

I snapped my fingers as the lights automatically switched off with all of us going into dreamland or just a deep sleep.

To be honest, that Exo was more interesting than I thought. I sure hope I can spend more time with him. Or maybe talk to him to hear his voice.

I’ll definitely won’t miss chance.

[simplemlmsponsoring]

New Post has been published on http://simplemlmsponsoring.com/attraction-marketing-formula/pinterest-marketing/3-tailwind-tools-i-use-to-automate-my-pinterest/

3 Tailwind Tools I Use To Automate My Pinterest

Doing social media is super time consuming and boring. Luckily Tailwind for Pinterest has our backs and has made a set of tools that help to automate the whole process with just a wee bit of work!

Here are my favorites, most practical to the most amazing freaking thing ever (with actual results shown)!

This is not a promoted post from Tailwind, I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this service. I have included my affiliate link in case you want to sign up and get going!

Posting Other People’s Stuff

One of the hardest things about social media marketing in general is figuring out a good mix of sharing your posts or products and other people’s content.

I have heard as high as sharing 20% of your own posts or products and 80% of other people’s but that seems really high to me. YES! I want to be a good friend, but on the other hand I really need to get views and make sales for my businesses.

I tend to share about 40/60… half mine and half-ish other peoples.

Now this really depends on how much variety you have of your own content. If you have a new blog or Etsy store and only have 20 or so different posts or products to share, then you are going to have to fill in with other people’s until you get to a critical mass.

I have been blogging for a long time so I have LOTS that I can share!

Tailwind Scheduler

I use the Tailwind scheduler feature to post other people’s content! It is a super cool way to “set it and forget it” for a while.

Functionally, you set a “schedule” that shows how many posts you want to go out each day.Here are three types of times that I have in my Scheduler…

Solid Green – Are times that Tailwind recommended and I confirmed Outlined Green – Are times that Tailwind is suggesting that I could send posts out but I don’t Gray – Is a time that I put in myself Colorful ones are part of the LOOPING that we will talk about later

So I have 25 pins set to go out today, 9 of which are other peoples. Now, I could use those recommended times to send out even more pins, but I like to keep my pins to around 25-30 per day.

Seeing what is going on two ways….

On the first review side of the Tailwind Scheduler you can do all different kinds of editing, deleting, changing descriptions, etc.

The three kinds of pins here are:

Lock – these are ones that I have hard coded to go out on a specific date at a specific time. This is great if you have an event coming up or a big sale that you want to promote on a certain date. Pushpin – these are the other people’s scheduled posts. Arrows – these are the looped pins that go out regularly from my site (more later)

If you are a control freak, this is your spot! You can see everything that is scheduled to post and make any changes you want.

Tailwinds Visual Scheduler

The second way to see your pins is by what is coming up visually. While you can’t really make changes to the pins you can SHUFFLE the queue if you see that you have a lot of other people’s pins in a weird order.

For example, my assistant does all the other people’s pins a couple of days a month and sometimes she pulls a few from the same website and they get all “bunched up”. A simple hit of the shuffle key rearranges them and no one is the wiser!

Sharing Your Stuff With The Tribes

The second cool tool Tailwind has is Tribes which allows you to share your content with other Tailwind users that have the same kinds of boards you do!

For example, here is a partial list of the Tribes I belong to…

As you can see, some are for blogging, some are for my Author posts and some are good for my Etsy posts!

Sharing Their Content

Most of the Tribes have “rules” about how much you can share your content. Many are 1 for 1, so if you share one other post, you can add yours to the mix of that Tribe.

Here is a great example, I added this post about SEO to my Great Marketing & Infographics board. It is win win because that is one less post I have to go out and find to share AND that same Tribe is sharing my posts at the same time on their boards!

But wait, there’s more!

Not having to go hunting all over the internet for stuff to share is great, but the best part is they share your posts too!

Here is a pin I shared on Tribes yesterday. 5 people from this Tribe shared it and it has over 41 repins already.

Now, there are some big Pinterest accounts out there who can get 41 repins overnight (heck they can get 4100 repins overnight) but I am not that popular on Pinterest.

Having access to some of these big pinners who can share your content is a Godsend for little Pinterest accounts like mine!

Looping (Automating Your Posts)

Okay, now we are down to the WICKED COOL, brand new, amazing new feature from Tailwind… LOOPING!

All those colorful arrows above are “Looped Posts” that will go out over and over again without me doing anything but scheduling them once… wah wah!

Why is this such a big deal?

Well there are bloggers and Etsy sellers out there with HUGE spreadsheets and way more time and attention than I have who are dedicated to posting their old stuff regularly. BUT THAT’S NOT ME!

I have occasionally posted old blog posts or products and gotten a wee bit of interest but I have always been focused on doing the hamster wheel… make new content, make new pins, post them out, rinse and repeat.

Looping let’s my old posts get a new audience and more love from Pinterest.

I thought I would show you the IMMEDIATE difference it made in traffic to my website (I KNOW, caring about repins should be my thing, but because I am a blogger and Etsy seller, I care WAY more about views than I do repins!)

My sessions (people who came to my website) went up 21.53% and my pageviews increased 24.12%… are you freaking kidding me?!?!

So how does Looping work?

Loops – you set up loops for your types of pins. I have Etsy, time management, real estate agents and general marketing that I talk about. Pins – you add pins to the loop and select the specific boards you want them to go out on. Sorting – you can use the sorting to see which pins are getting the most repins and attention.

Honestly I found setting up the loops a bit kerfuffly, BUT after making one and taking it down and then making it again I got the hang of it and did all those Loops in about a day and half.

So now, ALL my old pins are out there churning for years and years to come without me ever having to lift a finger again!!!

Tailwind FAQs

You said “automate” but don’t you have to schedule pins?

There are two ways you have to schedule pins… other people’s and your own when you write a new blog post or list a new product. My strategy for my new blog posts or products is to post them and then put them into some kind of scheduler to go out again. I use MeetEdgar for Facebook & Twitter and used to use the scheduler in Tailwind, now I just add it to a loop! For other people’s pins you can just batch this once or twice a month, loading it up and letting it run.

What’s the cost?

Each feature has it’s own cost which is awesome since not everyone needs them all. For example if you are a blogger, it is great to share your posts with the Tribes but if you are an Etsy seller then Looping your products might get you the best return on investment instead. I use all the tools since my business is internet based. Here is the price list for Tailwinds.

Is Looping good for Etsy sellers?

YES! I think bloggers are the ones who found out about Tailwind first and use it the most, but I can think of a bunch of handmade and supply sellers off the top of my head who could use this and up their shop views dramatically! (I don’t think this would be great for OOAK or Vintage sellers because you would be looping products that might have sold.. but you could use Tribes and get more views)

Doesn’t it take a LONG time to schedule other people’s pins?

If you are struggling to find other people’s content to post I recommend you join the Tribes. Instead of spending hours on the internet looking for great posts and then realizing they don’t have a Pinterest pin she can use, my assistant just goes into the Tribes and finds great content with pretty pins and does it in a few a hours a month!

Is it hard to set up?

I have to admit, it was a wee bit overwhelming at first. Tailwind does a LOT of great things, but seeing them all in one place can be a bit intimidating. What I suggest is get the plain old scheduler working and then figure out which of the addons would work best for your business! If you have any personal questions about this email me and I can help! tara (at) marketingartfully.com

Didn’t some other company just get shut down for “looping” Pinterest pins?

Yes, they did! The problem was that they weren’t working with Pinterest and were doing it in a way that was not approved. Tailwind is an approved partner and worked closely with Pinterest to make sure all the tools they provide are according to the terms of service!

The post 3 Tailwind Tools I Use To Automate My Pinterest appeared first on Marketing Artfully.

Read more: marketingartfully.com

[12-little-roosters]

The Eleven Little Roosters Episode 7 Summary + Haywood Files 31 -35

Tats here with another update!

WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW!

CANADA NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sobs hysterically

So while the sexy fight was amazing, it saddens me that CAL is gone ;n;

And WOW JOSH WOW. You sneaky little bastard. I knew the fake gun for a real gun was going to be used at some point in time

And now! On to the files!

Haywood File # 31

So for this file, you just got to translate the ASL between Blaine and Ashley.

Pretty easy, the sign out 2 e j x o 3 d between them.

In this file, we learn that it’s getting down to the wire. Only 3 left. The Mole, The One Who Will Die, and the Hero (Survivor).

It also leads us to the last of the SSB videos for the next file, Reunion in the UK

Link to File

Haywood File # 32

Okay. Please bear with me as I try to explain this because it skips around a bit. Im sorry for blurry photo’s too.

 Basically, we see a lot of shirts off the bat, but it doesn’t come into play until the start of the show. We know, just like every other code, it starts with a 2. So find the guy with the 2 on her shirt. In his hands is a blue glow stick. 

This is important because he passes it to the next digit shirt. So watching him pass it, it goes to a shirt with d on it.

Now she will pass it on to the next shirt bearer, but he changes out the blue glow stick with a red one, which we will now follow.

He will pass the red glow stick to a shirt bearer of 0.

Who very quickly passes it to a Y.

While this is happening, two others shirts are passing a yellow glow stick between each other, seen above, the w and h.

After they pass each other the glow stick, Y comes up and passes the Red glow stick to w, who then switches it for another yellow.

So the final code is 2 d Z 0 Y w h .

In this file, we learn that the Germans (SSB) are not the victim, but they COULD be the killer.

Link to File

Haywood File #33

This file is allllllll the blue digits from past episodes that we’ve been collecting. 

The final, blue 7 is found here! (Thanks Bex!) 

So the final code is 2 e Q X E m 7

This may look like a normal file BUT IT IS A FAKE!!!!!!!! You can see the moles symbol in the top corner. 

But fear not, all is not lost. We have the real 33 code in the bottom left.

Link to File

Haywood File #33 FOR REAL

Here ya go. The code, as  seen above, is  2f6sszG

In this file, we learn that Australia (WAH) is definitely involved. 

Link to File

Haywood File #34

This is a bit tricky to find, but if you look at the SSB concert in the video (not the prologue video) we can find it there. First is the shirt with a 2 that sticks out very obviously. Next, it goes to a piano being played, the keys are e a f in that order. Then finally, a sign is being held up, with v Q Q on it. All together the code is 2 e a f v Q Q.

In this file, we learn that MI6 is not the victim, but they don’t say anything about the killer.

Link to File

Haywood File #35

So, I’m sure a lot of you, like me, like to stare at Ryan’s face. This week, there’s something different about it! (Also I’m sorry to that anon that pointed this out earlier, I was thinking last week’s batch cause I was answering late asks, my bad!)

Each file, excluding the fake, has bits of the next code in them!

2eQ

Y1

Nv

All together we get  2 e Q Y 1 N v

In this file, we learn that the SSB are NOT the killer.

Link to File

All in all? The SSB are out of the equation this week, not the killer or victim. WAH is definitely being killed, and since they are “one of the two” organizations this week, that means MI6 is in play as well, but since they cannot be the victim, they are killing WAH.

MI6 kills WAH.

♥ Tats

[itsyaboybigc-blog]

Post Mortem

Introduction

After about 9 weeks of recording and mixing, all I can say is, never again. I swore in my post mortem I’d never spend as much time in lab 2 again, but I think I doubled it this trimester. That being said, I think creatively I really achieved what I was hoping to, whether or not I achieved what I wanted in terms of my mixing remains to be seen. As usual, I will reflect on each song individually and compare to what I believe is a similar work, so here’s my reflection on “Warp”.

Prelude

It’s worth noting that due to me swamping between DAW’s that have different fade functions, I messed up the fades on Pro-tools doing my final batch fades and parts that are meant to be faded out are now audible and very obvious, including a guitar jack getting pulled out, so thank you Pro-tools for that.

Darkest Carnival

Certainly the heaviest and most “traditional” song on the EP. It begun with the intro guitar riffs which i thought had quite a sinister undertone to it and I thought it would be a good song to start the album off with and  build it up. I’m quite happy with the clean guitar tones I recorded for this track and the helix FX I used I think sound really nice, my only change to them is I’d like to maybe make the tone a bit warmer from the amp instead of having to EQ it in. Then the heavy guitars came in and my problems started. The initial tones I captured from the amp were okay but definitely had to much highs and I found the sounds too piercing, the only way I was able to salvage them was to record anther take using the Helix amps sims so I’d have complete control over the tone I was capturing, however I’m still not to thrilled with how it sounds and will likely re do it at a later date. I initially had a synth solo that would kind of transition the song into the more electronic direction the EP was heading but it honestly sounded terrible and I decided the best option was to do a super 80s heavy metal guitar solo, I regret not using a wah-pedal on it and going full Kirk Hammett but I quite like the tone I used. I used electronic drums for the intro and Battery sampled drums for the heavier parts, both were fairly easy to mix but getting Battery to sound like a real drum kit was a bit of a challenge. My Idea for this songs vocals comes from Katatonia’s song “Inside the City of Glass” where it has no singing but whispers that eeire play out in the quieter parts of the song. As I wanted to keep all the vocals for this song kind of different to the usual I had a whisper track run through a delay, two reverse delays delaying at different rates, a reverse reverb and a regular reverb. I think the result of this made a vocal track that really fit the sinister vibe of the song as few words are distinguishable but it’s still obviously someones voice which i really like. If I was to compare this to an existing track I’d compare it to “The Darkness Within” by Machinehead, the tones are crushing and defined yet not to piercing with the higher frequencies which I was really trying to do, but certainly did not achieve. I think the distorted guitar tones used in this track is what I was going for Over all I find this song to be the most lacklustre but I am quite happy with the cleans and the vocal parts.

The Forlorn

This song is where the album takes more of a turn towards the more obscure electronic/metal fusion. It starts out with a droney synth, electronic drums and lo-fi vocals and I’m really happy with how this turned out, except for the vocals which are most likely place holders for now. I was going for a sound similar to Nine Inch Nails’ new EP “Add Violence” and I think i got that vibe with out it being a ripoff. The song Then suddenly takes of into a heavy saw/square wave synth that I wanted to sound like the synth equivalent of a distorted guitar, form there guitars and lead synths are added to create a sort of build up. I was hoping to replace a vocal part with a lead synth that would kind of solo through out the whole song and I quite like how it sounded when it all came together. The guitars for this track took a bit of time and a second recording session but I think i managed to achieve my goal of having a heavy but dull sounding tone the chugs along in the background, but I’m not 100% happy with the lead tone and I’m not sure what I don’t like about it. Out of all four songs I think this one was the easiest to mix and I’m fairly happy with how it turned out.

Agony

This song was the first one I wrote earlier this year and kind of what started the idea for this project. the whole song was based around the two music box riffs and the creepy lead synth I think sound sort of like a human voice doing some sort of wailing. The crunching tone that plays through out most the song is actually a bass hitting power chords because I wanted to experiment with a bass taking more of a guitar roll and I think i’ll do it more often in metal as bass power chords sound very brutal. This is kind of similar to the previous song in the sense that it slowly builds up focusing around a lead vocal replacing synth, but was much harder to mix as I found it hard making a place for everything to be heard. As per what seemes to be the theme for this EP, the guitars caused me issues and were re-recorded. I wanted them to sit in the background and not stick out to much but finding the middle ground between typical guitar levels and not being heard at all took almost all the time I spent mixing this track. The drums were a simple 4 piece electronic kit and I’m really happy with how they sound, especially the crash which sounds like someone dropping a metal sheet in a massive cave or something. I wanted the vocals for this song to be as if its another instrument instead of the usual use of vocals being the focal point for the song, so I recorded some low pitched growling vocals with heavy reverb to sort of echo out in the middle of the mix just to really create the climax of the build up. I tried thinking of a song to compare this to but it’s probably the weirdest song I’ve every written and I’m not actually sure what it sounds like, probably more comparable to came sounds tracks where its just repetition with things being added and taken away to create and evolving song. 

Malevolencia

The final song and probably the song I spent the most time on. I wanted to finish the EP on a more mellow note as most metal albums have one song that’s more calm or acoustic than the rest. I was lucky enough to be able to work with my friend Tim Mead from Treehouses on this track and I am very happy with his spoken word parts. We got it all done in about an hour and he had so much lyrical content prepared I was able to pick and chose which lines I wanted. Tim is really professional in is approach to music and recording and  really puts a lot of emotion into his writing, I hope to work with him again soon in some other musical project. This First section of this song was really enjoyable to mix, the clean guitars came through really nice and worked well with the organs, it’s my first time working with an organ I think they sound great. The EQ sweep into the 8 strings it probably my favourite parts as it bring a rather mellow song into a heavier, dronier song. Also my first time working with an 8 string guitar and I look forward to working with them more as I found it really easy to mix them to sound heavy without actually needing to gain the amp that much, which removes all the high-end that gives me headaches. The second half of this song however was a right pain in the ass and as expected, was re-recorded. All the tones had so much high-end and it was painful to listen to, only on the last day did i realise I couldn’t actually hear the organs and brought all the guitars down to make the organs audible, this really saved the song for me as I was close to scrapping the whole end as it sounded awful.

Concluding Statement

I think this semester has been the most full on in terms of skills I’ve had to learn. recording and mixing guitars is certainly no walk in the park and I’m going to have to do a lot of research over the break before undertaking my final major project of a heavy metal album mixed in surround sound with lots of synths and string sections, I believe this semester’s project has prepared me well for this. I realise that this EP doesn’t really fit in anywhere and the songs are all quite different, but I’m happy with how it turned out and I like to think they all feel linked somehow in terms of the dark feel to the whole EP. I look forward to releasing Warp along with Eco on Bandcamp, however for now they will remain on soundcloud as the graphic artist has not yet finished the album artwork and I want to do more one more final mix on each track.