#it's still insane it didn't get the WR at the time

[harocat]

Just felt like rewatching my favorite men's competitive skate of all time; Nathan Chen's Phillip Glass Selections at 2021 Worlds, where he won his third world title.

(Linking this version because it's almost commentary free. They pretty much just name the jumps.)

[24hlevi]

omg could i request for ‘how you first met + when does he start liking you’ kind of hcs with nagumo and seba, but its set in jcc so the reader is also a student there?

thank you for the sakamoto days crumbs btw 🫶😭

ah i love this so much! thank you for requesting 🫶

and of course! i love this manga so much and need more people to read it

— how you met + when he started liking you

sakamoto days charas (nagumo & seba) x gn!reader

Nagumo -

• nagumo first met you at the jcc through rion who was close friends with you and decided to introduce you to him

• from that moment on nagumo knew he wanted to be with you just off first glance, then you spoke and he calls it love at first sight

• at first nagumo was just curious about you, how you were able to fight so excellently, he wanted to know everything about you, so he asked rion a few times before she told him to just suck it up and ask you all the questions

• nagumo started liking you after he saw you take down a guy twice your size with ease, he knew from that point on that he wanted you to be his, and he wouldn't stop for nothing

• he started with subtle flirting, occasionally touching your shoulder or waist to move you aside or for him to get past, a lot of compliments that rion and sakamoto wanted to throw up over, and him being genuine with you

• nagumo is incredibly obvious that he has feelings for you, if you notice, then he'll ask you out on the spot, if you don't, he'll play the game a little longer

• if you realize quickly that he has feelings for you, confronting him will not work, he won't admit it cause he wants the confession to be perfect, so he'll make up some lie on the spot which leaves you confused

• though, rion likely told you first after getting annoyed that you were all nagumo talked about, telling you to please tell him if you have feelings too or not cause she can't stand him ranting about you 24/7

• so when you confront him for a second time, nagumo pouts knowing rion told you and confesses his feelings, lowkey annoyed that it was ruined but still happy nonetheless when you say you like him as well

• he hugged you so tightly when you said you liked him back, saying that even though the confession was ruined he'll make sure the first date is one you'll remember forever

Seba Natsuki -

• natsuki doesn't have a whole lot of friends, but when he accidentally walked into you because he wasn't paying attention and you immediately strike up a conversation with him, he starts to think maybe having a friend wouldn't be so bad

• so he agreed to be your friend and you two were from then on always around each other as friends, roaming the halls together and skipping classes

• natsuki didn't talk a whole lot to you, but he was glad he had somebody around to cure him of his boredom at the jcc

• natsuki started to like you when he was ranting about how his invisibility worked before realizing he was talking too much, going quiet when you told him, "it's okay, i like hearing you talk"

• he had never liked anyone before you, so he was unfortunately clueless on how to work the situation, he couldn't tell if you had feelings for him as well, and he didn't want to ruin the one and only friendship he had, so he kept quiet about it for a while

• but it was obvious with the lingering gazes he sent towards you, the hint of jealousy he showed when other guys flirted with you in front of him, and the protectiveness that grew the more he knew be liked you and didn't want you to get hurt

• if you notice these things, you'll have to confront him on it cause he won't admit it himself he would rather die than do that, if you don't notice he might go insane and force himself to tell you his feelings

• when he confesses his feelings to you, he looked up what were good ideas beforehand and resulted in him coming to you with a hand-written letter and a bouquet of flowers he remembered you liked, handing them to you and patiently letting you read the letter, worried that it would go wrong

• but when you smiled and told him you liked him too, he was dumbstruck, frozen in his spot as he tried to process what you said to him before a small smile formed on his face and he hugged you tightly, mumbling quietly how he's thankful you didn't hate him for liking you

• natsuki opened up to you a lot more after that, feeling comfortable with you unlike anyone else, and he was happy to be with you, he didn't think you liked him back, but he's very happy that you do

[whetstonefires]

So like, I'm pretty darn sure Mo Xuanyu did not actually make a pass at Jin Guangyao.

For several reasons, like for one thing hitting on your own actual brother who is also your boss is genuinely insane behavior, in a way nothing else we know about the guy actually matches, other than his reputation for being crazy which mostly seems to originate from the same point as the sexual harassment allegations. which tracks because even with rampant societal homophobia, that's such a crazy thing to do people would question it if it didn't come paired with the information that he's insane.

Then there's the fact that if that had actually happened, there's basically no way master spin artist jgy would have let it get out, because actually experiencing that would trigger his sense-of-uncleanliness issues so hard.

But what we see is that somehow Everyone Knows that it happened, but also that Jin Guangyao totally didn't tell anyone, because he's too merciful and kind and respectable. It just mysteriously leaked somehow that this private scandal happened.

(Also, to step up a meta level, the gay goth kid who was never quite accepted into his own family and wound up self-destructing was in fact guilty of the homophobic allegations spread by the powerful man who manipulates reputation for personal advantage? This is not the kind of story where that would be true. The thematic dissonance is too much.)

The only way it's believable that mxy made a move on jgy is if jgy spent a long time maneuvering him into it, hinting and deniably flirting and just generally being maximum skeeze, just a huge elaborate incestuous honeypot, just to bait a 'ruined reputation' trap. Which makes no sense at all.

I don't think jgy is necessarily above that kind of creepy grooming behavior but I do think he would hate it, and definitely wouldn't resort to it when sowing rumors would work just as well. and expose him to less risk.

So Mo Xuanyu didn't do it.

So what we've got is that Jin Guangyao systematically obliterated this kid's credibility.

No one would listen to anything he said after being expelled in that sort of context, especially anything against Jin Guangyao, whom he now has obvious motive to smear. This was a preemptive strike against some kind of leak.

It's exactly the kind of thing jgy would do--it targets individual vulnerability, leverages the weak points in Mo Xuanyu's reputation into gaping chasms, in a way that associates jgy with scandal but makes him personally look better. also shows signs of jgy projecting his own issues onto others. The MO fits.

And his motive is easy to construct: Mo Xuanyu had had access to his secrets, such as Wei Wuxian's manuscripts and probably a lot of the other ugly shit. And Jin Guangyao needed him silenced, due to some thing or other, but as with SiSi didn't want to have to kill him.

(A fascinating thing about jgy as a villain is the moments where he yields to sentiment pretty consistently contribute to his destruction.)

But then we come around to: so why didn't Mo Xuanyu sic Wei Wuxian on Jin Guangyao, then?

In cql wwx does have a curse cut for jgy, to keep him in the plot and create an additional open storyline to resolve, since viewers are gonna be denied romantic catharsis, but in cql the homophobia plotline isn't there because all the gay is censored, and mxy allegedly hit on qin su instead. which is less utterly unhinged to do though still big wtf.

In the book, mxy summoned the Yiling Patriarch just to kill the Mos. (Which he didn't even do lmao.)

So I've always been sort of poking at that, like if you're destroying your own soul to get revenge, why spare the person who deliberately ruined your life?

Even if he had done the thing, it was weird! Maybe even weirder; if you're in a headspace where making sexual advances anyone should be able to predict are unwelcome seems like a good idea in the first place, there's a pretty good chance getting punished for them isn't going to make you think you were in the wrong. Otoh there is a zone where he could have done it, gotten the backlash, cleared his head a bit, realized it was fucked up to do, and therefore not held a grudge in that particular direction, but it's still weird. (And also he definitely didn't do the thing.)

But if he was so angry, why was he not angry at Jin Guangyao? Who definitely kicked him out of the Sect, all else aside?

And then I looked at the passage in Jin sect where we swap to Jin Ling's pov and he tells us one of the few first-hand things we hear about Mo Xuanyu: He thought Jin Guangyao was the most amazing person in the whole world. He adored him.

And being betrayed and rejected by him didn't turn that into resentment. Even though he resented the other side of his family enough to want them gratuitously murdered.

So you know what I think happened?

I think Mo Xuanyu thinks it was an honest misunderstanding. That Jin Guangyao, his idol, falsely concluded that his gay little brother was creeping on him based on a misinterpretation of his admiring behavior, and was appropriately revolted. And that Mo Xuanyu doesn't blame him for it. He blames himself.

He went back to his mother's family to rot genuinely feeling like the ruination of his life was his own fault for being creepy. And died like that.

Because of that, to a considerable extent. How can you bend any of your will to saving yourself, to getting out of an abusive situation and seeking a better one, when you don't think you deserve to be saved?

Fucks me up.

[kitorin]

5:40 pm - Isagi Yoichi

You're Yoichi's first.

The first person he's ever confessed to, his first relationship, the first person he's ever loved.

It's no surprise. On Valentines day he didn't receive anything, each year he passively listens to his teammates plan out and discuss how to reciprocate on White Day, unable to relate. Whenever his classmates brought up the discussion of crushes and who'd be the best to date, his name was never brought up.

Yoichi genuinely did not care. He's not interested in pursuing romance, and would much rather prioritise and focus on the relentless journey to achieve his dream of becoming number one. In fact, he perceived the lack of dating in his life as something to be proud of, he has more time to dedicate to his objectives as an athlete.

Yet here he finds himself, holding your hand in secret, skin drenched in sweat and face dusted with pink.

17 years of being ignored by love, the streak broken by you.

It all started when coach introduced you as the new manager, he didn't think much of you at first, just someone to appreciate for their help and time.

But before he knew it "Good morning" became a silent thought of "How do you look so pretty?". "I'll see you tomorrow!" turned into Yoichi changing his route home so he could be with you for a bit longer, even if he got home a lot later. The connection of manager and athlete was rewoven into lovers, by a bashful and stuttering confession from Yoichi.

And that was the initiation of his first relationship.

It's kept secret. At least for now. Not until Yoichi's ready, the concept of a relationship has always been so foreign for him. You're patient, you understand that it's all new and overwhelming for him.

His lack of experience never took anything away from the relationship. It's adorable despite his oblivion to what love is like. Behind the image of good friends hid sweet nothings uttered while no one was watching. Manager and athlete concealed the awkward yet sweet attempts to hold your hand. This 'friendship' of yours disguised the unfathomable love and adoration you possessed for each other.

"If I could share this little kindness, even a normal day like this will become a fantastic day."

The soft rattling of the bus accompanies the music, filtering out a bit of the noise from the rest of the soccer team.

He can hear his own heart beat too.

Even after getting together, something as simple as sharing earbuds with you is enough to make him blush.

He averts his attention from watching Bachira stealing stuff from Kunigami to his right, to you. And gosh, he swears his heart skipped a beat.

You're gazing out the window, he doesn't even have a full view of your face, yet he's so enamored with he's seeing. All of it's flawless, the sinking sun in the distance, pink hues mingling with yellow; the way the sky's remaining sunlight engulfs you, highlighting your features, cloaking you with radiance.

He's yours and you're his, it's been like that for the past month yet it still feels thoroughly unreal.

His hand reaches out to you, a gentle poke followed by an equally gentle pinch. It's an act of affection he learnt from you, after you begged to touch his cheeks after commenting how soft and 'squishy' they looked. Initially, he found it confusing, but didn't mind because of your satisfied reaction.

The action makes you turn towards him, slightly confused yet curious what he was doing, and it drives him insane how you're able to make him feel this way without doing anything at all.

"Just a bit more, just a bit more." The music continues in his ear.

"Yoichi? What's wr-"

Yoichi's lips replace his fingers, softly planting a kiss on your cheek. It leaves you dumbfounded, staring at him in disbelief. He's always been so shy, even holding hands was a big deal to him. Your fingers inch closer to where he kissed. "Wow..."

"Your lips are really moist."

He's caught off guard. "Shit, sorry, is that bad?" He tries to wipe his lips with his sleeve, but your hand catches his wrist.

"No, not at all." Yoichi's embarrassed at how you're laughing at his assumption, but he barely notices it, because the way you laugh is so pretty, everything is; but something about your laughter that makes him feel weak in the knees. "I liked it." The rosy colour appearing on your cheeks give him a sense of pride, though his face was probably a bright scarlet now.

"It'll be your lips next time." It's a mumble barely loud enough for you to hear, but his embarrassment is evident as he whispers out a flustered 'oh god'.

"I'll be looking forward to it." It's so unfair how your mere existence and words can fluster him so effortlessly. "Why all of a sudden though?" It wasn't too much of a risky move since everyone else was too preoccupied with their phones or each other, but it still piqued your curiosity.

"The music was really nice. And the sky was pretty. You were as well-, I mean you always have been and are-, yeah. It seemed perfect..."

"Oh god Yoichi, you always have and always will be perfect to me." As if your sweet words weren't enough, you rest your head against his shoulder, and his face somehow manages to heat up even more. "Oh we've arrived at the station, c'mon let's get home." Yoichi's not even sure if he's brave enough to venture out in public in such a flustered state.

The two of you patiently wait for everyone to catch their respective trains, after getting off the bus.

"Bye everyone, see you at practice."

"See ya." Bachira's always been a cheerful person, but this time his grin somehow entails more joy than usual. "Congratulations Isagi, thanks for the money."

"Huh? Money?"

Before either of you can ask for clarification, Bachira jumps onto Kunigami. "Hand over 1k! We win~!"

"You all owe us. Don't even try to hide from us I have a checklist." Nagi mumbles, and half of the team groan as they pull out their wallets.

"Um, Reo? Please clarify?" The soccer team was indeed odd, but this was inexplainable.

"They bet money on whether you were dating or not." Ah.

"Did you win?"

A smug smirk appears on his face. "Of course I did, I'm not an idiot." Why would winning a bet even matter to him when his family was the richest in Japan? "Isagi using too much lip balm?"

"Honestly I couldn't imagine Isagi pulling." Kunigami comments, the silent gasp and the look on Yoichi's face is absolutely priceless.

"Oi Kunigami, c'here." Yoichi almost pounces on Kunigami, who flees immediately. "And screw you Reo." He exclaims before chasing Kunigami.

"You owe me too, Kunigamikinnikun." Chigiri calls out. "I'll see you tomorrow, hope he doesn't give you a hard time." And soon he's off to sprint after Kunigami.

Well, there goes your 'secret'.

tagging. @kiyumiya

© kitorin : do not repost, plagiarize, change, or translate

[reorientation]

zyn anon. sorry again for the long ass updates I shall stop unless I get pregnant lmao.

speaking of, have more faith in me 😭 Ive been playing it mostly safe. kinda. I don't have to stop smoking and i dont want to 😒 and all this is mostly reversible unless he gets me pregnant, so I'm a lil more cautious. and im not pregnant i checked a few days ago, not because of a pregnancy scare but just paranoia lol im definitely a dumb whore tho. we've discovered he has a breeding kink. LMAO. lol. im so fucked

anyway so, as it turns out I was right about lacking self control.

he went on a camping trip for a few days, and i was really pent uppp and so was he lol. and when i came over to his place, almost immediately horny brain took over. we just started kissing on the couch, and took it to his room. thankfully his roommates still on holiday. i got so desperate and pathetic, i begged him to fuck me even though no iud yet. he was definitely enthusiastic lol. he only took his pants off enough to take his cock out. he also ripped my panties 😒 he went to grab a condom from the night stand,

he was like "gotta play it safe now aha" and i was like

"no. go bare. 🗿"

he didn't even question it, i was so wet and i felt how easily his cock slid on me before entering.

he only ever went raw a handful of times even before my failed vow of celibacy. since he thought it was dumb for me to get plan B even if he swore he didn't cum at all in me. other than that one time. he'd tell me when he's close, and immediately pull out to finish on me.

but this time it was so primal, being skin to skin and that bare and close was insane. he had a hand on my hip, and he'd basically pull me back down on his cock but fuck lol it just felt so strong. we stopped at one point, i was still all the way on his cock and on top of his lap but no riding. is that cockwarming?

idk but I want to do it again. i felt his dick like. move inside of me during that. all we did was make out but it was way too hot.

anyway, he pushed me on my back and told me he was close, as predicted, I told him to cum in me. he asked if I was sure and not only did i beg him to cum in me.

i told him to get me pregnant 😭

i wasn't thinking properly and I got scared immediately after saying it. i was worried it was gonna put him out of the mood but it did the opposite 😭😭 he asked smth like "oh, you wanna have my kids?" and omfg he kept mumbling about it. telling me to take it all deep, telling me hes gonna get me pregnant.

i came so hard, and only with penetration. it was such a weird feeling, and before i could become rational and tell him its just a prank. pull out. it was over, he came in me while mumbling about knocking me up 😭😭 i was short circuiting lol. and it was different than last time. it felt more shakey, and he kept doing these small thrusts after I think most of his cum was already pressed deep, and then he just settled all in me. he was soft by the time he pulled out, i was way too hazed out ngl

he came a lot. some started to drip down when he pulled out, and i felt him finger it back in me.

he said he didnt nut the whole trip, and was saving his cum for me. he knew id be too horny and impulsive to make good decisions. 😒.

as it turns out, he has a big thing for breeding, but was scared to tell me incase i took it a bad way.

im terrified of having a partner who gets off on the idea of getting me pregnant but I can't stay away.

i complained that id have to wake up so early to run out and get plan B, and buying it will be expensive.

so he told me to just not get it then. and I'm like .. well .. I'm not on any birth control and im full of cum .. like maybe risking it be a bad idea. ironically, like you had once suggested, he suggested I leave it up to chance.

I did take plan B after. twice lol. im still really anxious, but incredibly horny and I didn't know both could exist at once

he's arrogant now too. ill go over after work and when we're about to fuck, ill ask him to wrap it. and he's like "nah, don't feel like it tonight". he also threw out his condoms. but even if i bring my own he doesn't use them 😒

my birthcontrol method was to start riding him when he's about to get close, and pull off before he's about to cum. but he caught on and now just grinds me down on him as he's cumming

i told him about my detrans kink and he leans heavyy in it. or he probably is just an actual straight man. he reminds me daily that he can't believe i ever thought i was a boy. he doesnt even say it in a kinky way like he just means it. lol :/

im pretty much always thinking about it. everytime he finishes in me, im stuck dripping his cum for two days, and im still paranoid that ill be carrying more than just his cum from this blip up lol. and also, you taught me more about post nut clarity right. he told me to risk it maybe half an hour after he came. surely hed have post nut clarity and not actually want a baby, right?its weird to feel fear and horny at the same time.

(Previously)

have more faith in me 😭

-

I told him to cum in me. he asked if I was sure and not only did i beg him to cum in me. i told him to get me pregnant 😭

Oh, I certainly have faith in you, Anon. I know you're going to do just what you're supposed to. 🖤

Come on, sweetheart. Do you really expect to make it out of this without him putting a baby in you? You begged for him to knock you up, took a week's worth of his cum in your unprotected pussy, and then just lay there blissed out and hazy while he made sure every drop ended up inside you.

Sure, you took Plan B afterwards. But now he knows what kind of girl you are, and that you won't stop him from keeping you full of his cum. Sooner or later, you'll be ovulating, and you'll conceive for him.

And that makes you dripping wet, doesn't it? Knowing that your straight boyfriend, who never thought of you as anything except a girl, is doing his damnedest to give you a baby bump. That you already came off T for him, and now you're taking his load in your fertile pussy whenever he tells you to.

When the day of your IUD appointment comes, I hope he just holds you down and fucks his cum into you, instead of letting you go. Clearly, he'd be justified: you can't possibly claim to be a reliable source on what you really want.

You thought you wanted to be a boy, but you eagerly turned back into a girl the minute a straight man got his cock into you. You thought you wanted to be safe, and then you begged for him to knock you up. Hell, you thought Zyns were worth whoring yourself out for, and you don't even like them. Why should he think that not wanting to have his babies is the one way you really know your mind?

[honeybee2807]

I have this silly fic idea. Could go crack or serious.

So in this au, Ginny is more strict about the no sweet rule. She informs the prefects and head students to not allow her kids to eat even dessert.

James and Lily have friends who think Ginny is crazy so snuggles them sweets. The gryff prefects kind of turn a blind eye to it cuz they are both popular.

Poor Albus on the other hand, has incredibly strict prefects who don't like him much. In this au, he doesn't meet Scorp until they are adults(Scorp is homeschooled/goes to beaubatons).

Everytime he sneaks a plate of pumpkin pasty, the pumpkin pasty gets confiscated. He begs James and Lily for sweets but they are too possessive of them to give him one. He never experienced sweets/deserts except one time when he was six and he cherishes that memory. Two weeks after he burns the hogsmeade permission slip, he apologizes to his dad and gets another slip. Yayyy!!!!

Except..... Strict prefect follows him and doesn't allow him to buy a single sweet(this prefect is a goody two shoes who is kind of a snitch).

During his fourth year, he made it his ambition to experience the taste of sweets(and recollect the good memory of when he was six) somehow. So when he hears two muggleborns joking about the meme "Welcome to the dark side. We have cookies", Albus takes it seriously(Canonically, he's not exactly familiar with the concept of tattoos so obvi he wouldn't understand pop culture references). And vows to be a dark lord. He researches the history of dark lords and their strengths and weaknesses. He's a Slytherin. Surely he has the evil required to pull this off.

When he was in his fifth year, during the whole career discussion meeting with his head of house, he reveals that he plans to be a dark lord(His head of house is Slytherin. Surely she'll guide him to be evil).

The Slytherin head is incredibly concerned(despite what Albus thinks, Slytherin does NOT mean evil) but decides to amuse him and asks "And what's your agenda?"

Albus(having a shocked pickachu face): Dark Lords have agendas???

So Slytherin head doesn't take him seriously and doesn't inform his parents(which is a big mistake)

Over the summer, dude ends up making up an agenda: Take over the ministry and make it illegal to ban sweets for kids. And also give out unlimited sweets.

Albus is slightly insane in this fic due to having a lot of issues like bullying, Harry saying he wished Albus wasn't his son(in this fic no time travel, so their issues didn't get resolved) and the sweet ban did nothing to help those issues. He fixates a lot on sweets tho and lowkey despises Ginny.

Two ways this fic could go:

1. He anonymously terrorizes everyone(doesn't actually murder or torture anyone cuz Albus still has morals) making threats and being an overall troll.

If this is a crack fic, he "kidnaps" people(takes them to a grand place with tvs and the victims get to contact their loved ones in secret) and "tortures" them by giving them spicy food(buldak 2x spicy ramen to be specific) and no relief except water(that means no milk or ice cream which is way more effective). In the end, his victims kind of pity him and think Ginny went too far with the sugar ban(some think the dark lord idea is brill and pledge to him)

If this is a serious fic, he blackmails and makes death threats.

Ultimately, Harry and Co find out that Albus caused this huge mess and find out the reason why. Harry has this huge realization that parents shouldn't go banning sweets. Ron and Hermione finds Albus disturbing and mentally ill and thinks Ginny exaberated this. Ginny feels very guilty and they all hug it out.

2. This is purely a crack idea. He does all the cracky steps above but Harry and Co don't find him until it's too late. He meets Scorp and Scorp is a sweet addict so he likes the agenda. Albus adores Scorp a lot so Scorp becomes Albus' right hand man. They end up conquering the ministry and implement the rules. Everyone ends up getting diabetes.

I plan on writing a one shot on this. You think I should go on idea one or two? Should I go serious or crack?

If it's serious, it would be focused on mental health issues and eating disorders(if idea 2 happens Albus would start bingeing on sweets). If it's crack it would focus a lot on the humor.

Crack is much easier to write but serious seems very interesting imo.

[furryprovocateur]

okay. i now have the time to talk about this monster of a chapter. hopefully i don't need to pastebin it.

if you have never played battle before dawn on hhm, forget EVERYTHING you think you know about it as a chapter.

jaffar is unkillable? Wrong, he gets 3HKO'd by swordreaver fighters and usually if he gets hit by two of them, a mage or hero can finish him off. you can reach him somewhat quickly if you're lucky, but you have no say over when he uses his elixirs (already kind of a funds mald), nor do you control his aggression, so he can potentially suicide-rush a handful of units and you likely won't be able to stop it. it's not that he takes damage, because you can reach him with a physic by probably turn 4 or 5. it's that he aggros such a large amount of units that it's a diceroll on whether he'll live to that point. it's very funny that he's an in-universe killing machine but can die to unpromoted units fairly easily, but also aggravating at times. one of my biggest issues with my attempts is that i'd get stuck on a seed where jaffar would just kill himself over and over again and i couldn't do a thing about it. and the funny thing is: i don't recall ever having this issue on past HHM attempts of this chapter. it's really down to how much the RNG likes you, unfortunately, and RNG advancing will unfortunately be your only recourse if it doesn't.

zephiel is easy to save? Wrong, his AI is stupid and will run off of the pillar tiles that give +1 defense and +20 avoid if he takes too much damage, which will essentially doom him. even with WTA, iron axe fighters are coinflip hitting him on regular terrain, mages are hitting him for 5-6 damage, and archers (if they get to him, god help you) will rarely miss. it's a give-and-take situation for him and jaffar because if one gets less aggro, the other one gets more. despite what you may think, i found zephiel getting more of it to be slightly more manageable due to the enemy taking slightly longer to reach him + having established momentum in the chapter helps compared to hoping jaffar plays smart. if zephiel stays on the pillar, then the fighters are much less scary (no one with a swordreaver/slayer should reach him unless you entirely neglect defending him.). it's another situation of "healing him isn't the issue, him survving an entire enemy phase at full HP is". in my successful attempt, i actually had him crit one of the fighters, to my amusement. didn't save any time/damage because a noncrit would've killed anyway, but it was surprising.

ursula is usually a nonthreat due to not moving? Wrong, she starts moving on turn 13 and, if she still has bolting, will almost assuredly kill zephiel if not dealt with (this is actually one of the hhm changes i prefer, tbh). it's kind of gag-worthy that this also means that her AI will definitively not move even if you rush her, which makes her relatively easy to kill if you send a unit with good to even moderate resistance. for most players, this'll likely be a falcoknight, which works out well because all the mercenaries around her can be annoying without WTA and they don't have lancereavers. if you're feeling really cautious, you can send two units after her and secure the kill before she can counter, but it's not strictly necessary if your pegasus of choice is good enough. you could also do something insane like using eclipse with canas but a. eclipse is expensive, why would you use it in a ranked run and b. look i love canas, i really do, but rolling on the floor laughing @ the idea of using him at this point.

you only need one thief for this chapter? Wr- well okay you CAN make it work with one thief, but it is highly in your best interest to have two. there's good steals on the left side, and even base legault can likely steal from the thieves (both can have up to 18 speed, but base legault's is 16~18 whereas the thieves in this chapter are 14~18, so odds are more in your favor there). and this is assuming that somehow matthew didn't end up at 19 speed already, which he hits, on average, by level 14. no, you WANT to steal from the thieves because they have lockpicks and stealing their lockpicks turns them into limp-dick losers who leave the map, which is usually a good thing (shame we can't kill them, but this map is very tight on objectives, so it'd only be feasible to kill them if you really went out of your way to do so, rather than have it be incidental.). really, the absolute biggest reason by far to use two thieves is that it's less for your mounted units to do, who already need to be dealing with the swarm of enemies coming after either jaffar or zephiel. sure, i COULD use only matthew and send him to the right side then use a mounted unit to quickly send him over to the left side and then hope i get him to that luna druid in time to steal his earth seal. or i could just make life easier and drop a unit like raven, who is good but not going to do that much for me in this chapter, and field legault as well. it's peace of mind if nothing else. i'm sure you could route out a way to use only one thief and get the 4 chests + earth seal (hell, maybe even a lockpick if you're daring), and i've even probably done it, but it's just easier to do two.

at least nino's still easy to save right? Wr- okay this one is another halvsies thing because she's the least difficult spinning plate to manage and i never personally had her die, but the monk who goes after her does have a crit chance of like 1 or 2 and can crit for 15 damage. granted her full HP is 19 and she does heal herself with elixirs, so it's not that big of a deal, but i've heard people complain about the dreaded Nino Gets Crit situation play out for them, so i figured it's worth mentioning. but, other than that, nino really is the easiest part of this chapter since the monk and ursula are the only units who would go after her, and you have no reason to not be resolving nino's situation before turn like. idk. 9. no less 13.

okay well there's nothing else to worry about in this chapter right? Wrong, everyone forgets about maxime. but maxime will fuck you up. word is bond, he will FUCK you up. usually he ends up being an afterthought due to being relatively unthreatening on lower difficulties, but HHM stat increases make him skyrocket in threat level. hell, just compare his HP on HNM, which is 40, to HHM, which can be as high as 63. keep in mind his strength/skill/speed can all go as high as 24/23/21 respectively, and he's arguably one of the scarier bosses in all of HHM. the only positive about his situation is that you're dealing with him fairly early, so if he's going to troll you, he'll do it near the beginning of your attempts.

yeah tumblr's getting mad at me so i have to put the rest of this in a pastebin. ENJOY https://pastebin.com/TZT9Dxuc

[ahgaseforeternity]

Jackson’s Concert part 1

(A tad long, but worth it)

THE MUSIC WAS EUPHORIC AS YOU STOOD UNDERNEATH the stadium lights that were flashing bright. Laser beams of all different colors danced throughout the giant arena, filled with fans dancing to the insane beat. You weren't going to come tonight, but in the end, your heart couldn't help it.

You swayed along with the crowd, raising your hands high up in the air. This song, you knew it by heart.

But, of course you did. It was about you. He had written it about you.

That thought brought you back down to earth. From where you stood amongst the crowd, it was amazing that Jackson hadn't seen you yet. You were right there in front of him. You could reach your hand out and touch the stage if you wanted to. The screaming fans surrounding you seemed to be doing it.

You kept your hands to yourself though. You knew you shouldn't be here, but it had been a year since you last saw him.

Jackson and you didn't keep in contact much, if at all. Even though you thought about him everyday since. The only way you knew what was going on was through his Instagram and your family friend, Julia, who happened to be part of Team Wang. That's actually how Jackson and you met.

Julia had told you about this really amazing, funny guy she knew and thought he would be perfect for you, since you had just gotten out of a very, very bad relationship with some wannabe, washed up actor. You remember thinking 'what the heck?' You had nothing to lose.

Oh, how you had been wrong.

You pulled your phone out, trying hard to hold on to it. The girls behind you had been pushing and pushing just to get closer. had held your ground, but you did not want to accidentally drop your phone. There was no way you would get it back in one piece with everyone dancing and jumping around.

Your fingers scanned your scene and you tapped the first name on your messenger.

When he's done singing On The Rocks, meet me just outside the backstage doors. Give the guards my name, they know you'll be coming back.

You bit your lip. You felt your heart speed up. Were you really doing this? You weren't going to actually see Jackson, there was no way. That was the only reason you took the tickets Julia offered. Wasn't it? When Julia had told you Jackson would be coming to New York City for part of his world tour, you didn't know what to think.

That last time you heard from him, he'd been in China. He had been building up his company more.

The same company he had launched not too long after you broke up. You noticed that he went with your color ideas for the bright, neon beanies. Jackson loved his hats, and he looked damn good in them. He was wearing one now that was drenched from him dumping a water bottle on himself. He threw it into the raving crowd. You knew out there some fan was freaking out over being able to have something so simple as Jackson Wang's water bottle.

Where you had gotten the full thing, and still walked away. It brought fresh tears to your eyes.

You hurried and tried to squeeze your way through the swooning fans, making your way towards the backstage doors.

Cement walls with different bands and singers lined the walls as you drew up to two beefy looking security guards. You gave them your I.D and they nodded their heads in unison. You pushed through the door to utter chaos.

There were people running all which way, making sure those in the audience could have the best experience they ever possibly could. Jackson wouldn't want anything less. He'd always been that way.

Even with you.

You found a green, velvet couch and plopped yourself down so you were out of the way.

"Y/N? Y/N!"

You immediately jumped back up and awkwardly laughed as you took your friend in. Julia squealed as she wrapped her arms around you. You squeezed her back.

"Oh, Julia. I've missed you." You exclaimed into her ear. She squeezed you a little harder. "Oh, Y/N! I've missed you too! Oh my gosh, you look amazing. Jackson is going to DIE when he see's you."

You widened your eyes. "What?" Could she feel you shaking? You hoped not.

"Yeah, he has to see you! Oh, come on, Y/N, don’t give me that look. Are you telling me that the only reason you came tonight was to see me?" Julia was giving you that 'look' with her thick eyebrows lifted.

"Of course." You knew it was a lie.

Julia just shook her head at that. "Y/N, I love you and I have missed you, but there is no way I'm letting you leave tonight without your gorgeous ass being checked out by Mr. Wang himself. Besides, he asked me about you before we landed last night."

You felt your heart lurch. She couldn't be talking about Jackson. There was no way. You and him have hardly spoken. He couldn't have been asking about you.

"No, Julia there's no way. I came back here to just be with my best friend, okay? I don't need to see him. Besides, I don't want to ruin his night. He seemed to be having the time of his life out there." You stated, while Julia pulled you through the room that lead to a open hall way.

You could see the stairs that lead up to the stage. If Jackson came down them right now, he'd see you. You bit your lip against that thought. Julia tugged you into what seemed to be the refreshments room. Bottled water, fruits, yummy snacks were laid out on a long table.

"Do you want something to eat? We have plenty!" Julia asked.

There was no way you were going to be able to keep food down right now. Not with the major butterflies that were going on. You simply shook your head. Julia shrugged, picking up an apple, and bite into it.

You heard someone yelling Julia's name. She groaned in annoyance. Same ole' Julia it seemed.

She placed the apple in your hand. "Hold this for me, I'll be right back! Just stay here." She motioned with her hands. You watched her scurry out the door.

You sighed. This had been a bad idea. You might've thought coming back here had nothing to do with Jackson, but in your heart you knew you'd be kidding yourself. You wanted to see him, but what would you even say?

Hey Jackson, looking good.

Oh, Jackson, fancy meeting you back here.

Jackson, I still love you, do you still love me?

They all sounded terrifying. You placed Julia's apple on a napkin, and reached for a water bottle. It gave you something to focus on. You twisted the cap and gulped it. You lifted it from your lips to see you had drank about half. It wasn't doing anything for your nerves. You still felt like your skin was going to explode. You drank some more.

As you dropped the now empty bottle you turned to throw it in the trash that was just by the door. Just as the bottle was in the air, someone appeared just in front of it. The bottle hit them square in the chest. Thank goodness it was empty. You have always had terrible aim.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I was just throwing it—.”

"Y/N?"

You stopped.

You hadn't realized. In the dim lighting of the room, you hadn't recognized the piercing eyes, the silky hair that looked to be drenched with sweat. Jackson was staring at you like he was seeing a ghost. It had only been a year, but still. Being this close to him again, it sucked the air out of you. Jackson seemed to have that power with him. Whenever he entered a room, every eye was drawn to him.

When you were together though, he only had eyes for you.

Those very eyes were boring into yours. His rose bud lips were parted. Gosh, his perfect lips.

"What— Y/N, what are you doing here?"

His voice seemed to snap you from the trance his lips had on you. The thought made you bite your own. You watched his hands fist at his sides, holding the beanie he had been wearing.

"I um, I came to see the show. Oh, and Julia."

"Julia?" Jackson seemed to confused.

"Yes. I promise she was just here, but someone called her name, then she left, giving me her apple and told me just to stay here, so I did. I grabbed a water, I hope that's okay. Their your waters right? Gosh, I'm sorry." You were mumbling. You always mumbled when you were nervous, and right now you were a wreck.

Jackson looked down at his booted feet. He bent down and picked up the water bottle that you meant to throw away. You could see your lipstick around the rim of it. Jackson narrowed his eyes. "This water bottle?"

"Uh, yes. I meant to throw it in the garbage, but you know me, zero aiming skills." You huffed out with a nervous laugh.

Oh gosh, you were being ridiculous. This wasn't going the way you had imagined. Jackson clenched the bottle in his hand, as his eyes scanned you from top to bottom. Your face felt like it was on fire.

You could see the memories playing out in his eyes. He was thinking about all the times you laughed together. All the times you stayed in and cooked dinner together because it was better than going out. All the times you had said his name into the night, and all the times he had said yours.

You had loved each other. He had once told you he dreamed of having a love just like his parents, and you always wondered if someday you'd have that. Now, now that was all ruined. That dream had to of been flushed down the drain.

"I thought you never wanted to see me again?" Jackson stated, taking one step towards you.

You parted your lips in surprise at the words that were so close to the ones you had yelled at him a year ago. You had told him you never wanted to see him again. That whatever you had, was over. You had meant them then. You hadn't wanted to see him again. Jackson needed to focus on his career. You knew that. His manager knew that. Jackson was the only one that didn't.

That's when you made the decision. He had to focus on it, and he couldn't be tied down. That's what you were. You were a tither, keeping him from chasing his dreams. So you cut the tie.

"Yeah, those words were a little harsh huh?" You tried to laugh through your wince. His face was steel. You gripped your purse that was over your shoulder, fumbling the chain.

"You know what? I'll just go, yeah, that'd probably be best." You made your way for the door, but found yourself being stopped by a warm hand that was wrapped around your wrist. You gasped at Jackson's contact.

You barely had time to turn around as he pulled you down the hall into a different room. This room was darker, and had another couch. You saw Jackson's favorite pair of sneaks, and knew this had to be his room, or more over, the main entertainers room.

He turned around to shut the door, and you heard it click closed. Jackson locked you in with him. You felt your skin starting to prickle where his fingers still held your wrist. His eyes met yours then.

"Why, Y/N? Why the hell are you here? Are you here to just torture me? Are you here to rub your happy life in my face?" Jackson looked livid.

What was he talking about? Your happy life? You weren't happy. You hadn't been this whole year.

"What are you talking about Jackson? I didn't come here to rub anything in your face. I just came to see a friend, that's it." You lied. You had to lie. You knew the odds were high of running into him here, but you weren't here to rub anything in his face, you only just had to see him. Possibly one last time.

He gripped your shoulders roughly, and pushed you back, until you were against the far wall. You gasped in surprise, as your feet stumbled. He was so close, you could smell him. He didn’t smell like sweat. He smelled like home.

You watched his eyes soften as he stared at you.

"A friend? I used to be your friend too, remember."

Of course you remembered. He was your best friend. He knew you better than you knew yourself. He was always there, even on those days he was so busy, he still made time for you.

That's why you had to end things.

"Of course. You'll always be my friend Jackson." You uttered. It wasn't a complete lie. Jackson would always matter to you, but you didn't want to just be his friend. You never have.

His eyes hardened again. "We've barely even talked, Y/N. It's been a year. A year, and I hear nothing, nothing from you."

You could feel your skin burning. "Well, what would you have wanted me to say Jacks? That I hope you're doing well? Asking how China is, or your sister? I didn't want to know those things."

"Why?"

"Because Jackson..." You groaned.

"Because why?!" He gripped your shoulders harder.

"Because I missed you enough already, okay!" You shouted against him. His eyes widened at your outburst. You melted against the wall in defeat.

"I didn't ever reach out to you because I didn't want to know. I didn't want to know how well things were going. I know that's selfish. I know it's selfish for me to even come here, but I had to Jackson. I had to see you just at least once." Your voice was full of desperation. You didn't care.

"You looked amazing up there. They love you, Jackson. It's everything you ever wanted."

His eyes were hazy as they bore into yours. "Not everything."

You sighed at his words. His eyes drifted to your lips then. His stare sent bolts of lightning through your veins. It was making you shiver.

A knock sounded at the door, causing you both to jump.

"Jackson! The cars ready for you." Someone stated through the door.

"Okay, thanks," was all Jackson said back. You both listened as the feet retreated. He stumbled away from you, lifting his burning touch from your shoulders. You missed that touch.

"Where are you staying?"

He met your eyes again. He looked torn. You didn't blame him. Talking to him was opening up wounds for you too. Cuts that never truly healed.

"The Hyatt Centric in Times." He exclaimed. You simply nodded your head.

"Well, I'm sure you and your team are exhausted. I'll get going." You realized that your purse had fallen to the floor. It must've been when Jackson had knocked you backwards. You bent down to pick it up, and made for the door.

He didn't stop you this time. You almost wish he had. You felt so pathetic. You showed up to what? Bare your heart and soul to a man that didn't need you anymore? He had fans that adored him. He didn't need you to adore him. You let the tears fall freely, as you held your hand out and called for a taxi.