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dee-writes-anime · 4 months ago

Note

Hi! I love your works so far, I haven’t been following your blog for long but I am already sucked in😭 I thought I may as well request. Would you be open to writing a slowburn or semi-slowburn bkdk fic? You can choose if you would like to add smut and age-up, but I’d love to see you write their characters.🤍

THE STRIKE ZONE

FEATURING Katsuki Bakugo x Izuku Midoriya

SUMMARY Katsuki Bakugo is a world renowned picture at the top of his game. Izuku Midoriya is an up-and-coming sports analyst who got lucky enough to find himself in a long-term position analyzing and interviewing Bakugo. The two of them have unresolved history from their childhood and Izuku could have never expected that the spark was still just as fierce as the last time they talked.

CONTENT WARNINGS slight angst, slow burn, no romance just yet, Bakugo being Bakugo

AUTHORS NOTE this is not the beast I promised because I decided I hated how I wrote it originally. I still haven't decided whether or not I even like what I wrote for the second time, but if you like it and maybe want to see this become a series, let me know! Hope you enjoy! <3

The afternoon sun hung low over the stadium, casting long shadows across the diamond as Katsuki Bakugo stepped onto the mound. His presence was a force of nature—a sharp contrast to the chatter and chaos of the crowd. His signature glare was locked in, focusing on the batter standing in his way. Everything else faded into the background. The only thing that mattered was the ball in his hand and the next strike.

From the press box, Izuku Midoriya could see the tension in Bakugo's shoulders, the fierce determination burning behind his eyes. It was unmistakable. He had seen it before, during countless games growing up, but now, this close to the action, it felt different. Personal.

“Bakugo’s been on fire this season,” he muttered, typing furiously on his tablet, his thoughts spinning into a series of detailed notes for his upcoming article. "Fastest recorded pitch in the league, unpredictable breaking balls... He's impossible to read.”

A flash of movement caught his eye as Bakugo reared back and fired another fastball. The sound of the bat slicing through the air echoed around the stadium—a clean miss. A strike.

Midoriya's heart raced.

This was his first live game as an official sports analyst, and of all the players, it had to be Bakugo Katsuki—the same Bakugo he’d known for years, ever since they were kids. They had grown apart after high school, their paths diverging sharply, but somehow, they were always drawn back into each other’s orbit. Like now.

Bakugo had made it to the top of the league, his explosive talent making him one of the most feared pitchers in Major League Baseball. Meanwhile, Midoriya had worked his way up through the ranks of sports journalism, his obsessive attention to detail and deep understanding of the game earning him respect as an analyst. Today was his debut covering the league’s biggest star, and he wasn’t sure if that was a coincidence—or a twist of fate.

As the game progressed, Midoriya found himself watching more than just the stats. He noticed the way Bakugo moved, the precision in his throws, the way his expression never wavered. Yet, there was something else beneath the surface—a crack in the mask that Bakugo wore so well. Maybe it was the exhaustion from a long season or the pressure of the spotlight, but Midoriya saw it. He always did.

Bakugo struck out another batter, ending the inning with a triumphant snarl, and as he walked off the mound, his eyes flickered briefly toward the press box. Their gazes met for a split second, and Midoriya froze. Did Bakugo recognize him? It had been years since they last spoke, but that brief connection sent a jolt through him, stirring memories of a rivalry long left behind.

Midoriya shook his head, pushing the thought away. He had a job to do, and he wasn’t here to dredge up the past. Yet, as Bakugo disappeared into the dugout, that old feeling of competition—of something unresolved—lingered in the back of his mind.

The rest of the game blurred by in a flurry of fastballs, curves, and strikeouts, with Bakugo dominating the mound like he always did. Midoriya couldn’t help but admire his former classmate’s skill—even if Bakugo had been insufferable back in the day. There was something mesmerizing about the way he commanded the game. Every move was calculated, every pitch perfectly placed, as if he had memorized every weak spot of every batter he faced.

Yet, as Bakugo continued to dominate, Midoriya’s mind wandered back to the years they spent growing up together—well, more like growing up beside each other. Their rivalry had been anything but friendly, always one-upping each other in everything from schoolwork to sports. And now, even though they hadn’t spoken in years, that tension was still there. Bakugo had made it to the top, and Midoriya couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still trying to catch up, even as a reporter.

The post-game buzz hummed through the stadium, and Midoriya gathered his notes, preparing for the real challenge: the locker room interview. He had to face Bakugo. Professionally, of course. They weren’t kids anymore, and Midoriya wasn’t about to let the past cloud his judgment. He took a steadying breath as he made his way to the locker room.

The atmosphere inside was intense, the heat of the game still palpable in the air. Players moved about, their voices low as they cooled down from the adrenaline rush. Midoriya scanned the room, catching sight of Bakugo in the back, sitting alone, as usual. His head was down, towel draped over his neck, muscles tense with post-game strain.

This was it.

Midoriya approached, his footsteps echoing louder than they should have in the silence between them. He hesitated for a split second before standing a few feet away from Bakugo. The air between them felt thick, charged with something unsaid.

“Bakugo,” Midoriya started, keeping his tone neutral, professional, though his voice felt a little too small for the moment. “Can I ask you a few questions?”

Bakugo didn’t look up at first. He wiped the sweat from his face, then slowly lifted his eyes to meet Midoriya’s. And there it was—that flash of recognition. Sharp and unyielding, like a gust of wind hitting a flame.

“Deku?” Bakugo’s voice was low, rough from the game, but the familiar edge was still there, as if he hadn’t forgotten their history. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Midoriya straightened, doing his best to ignore the nickname. He wasn’t the same kid who used to cower under Bakugo’s sharp tongue. “I’m here as a reporter,” he replied evenly, holding his ground. “I wanted to talk about your game today.”

Bakugo let out a short, humorless laugh, tossing the towel aside. “Of course you are.” He leaned back against the locker, arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrowing in that calculating way that always made Midoriya feel like he was being sized up. “Go ahead. Ask your damn questions.”

Midoriya steadied himself, forcing the tension out of his voice. “Your curveball was nearly untouchable today. What’s been your approach this season to refining your pitch? It seems like you’ve found new ways to stay unpredictable on the mound.”

For a moment, Bakugo didn’t respond. He just stared, as if debating whether to give a serious answer or brush Midoriya off like he used to. But then something shifted in his gaze, and he shrugged.

“Gotta stay ahead of the game,” Bakugo said, his voice casual, but there was an edge beneath it. “Everyone’s always watching, waiting for you to slip up. I don’t give them the chance.”

Midoriya nodded, scribbling down the response, though his focus wasn’t entirely on the words. There was something more going on here, something that went beyond the standard post-game interview. It wasn’t just the tension between them; it was the way Bakugo answered, like there was a wall between them that had only gotten thicker with time.

“And your fastball,” Midoriya continued, his tone carefully measured. “It’s faster than it’s ever been. What’s changed?”

Bakugo snorted, leaning forward slightly, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “None of your business, Deku.”

The name stung, as it always did, but Midoriya swallowed it down. He was here to do his job. “It’s my job to ask, Bakugo. You know that.”

Bakugo’s eyes flickered with something—maybe frustration, maybe something deeper that Midoriya couldn’t quite place. “Yeah, I know,” Bakugo muttered, his voice softer now, almost resigned. He ran a hand through his hair, still damp from the game. “Look, you wanna know why I’m pitching better? Fine. It’s because I’m not thinking about anyone else but myself. That’s what it takes.”

Midoriya frowned slightly. “No one else? Not even your team?”

Bakugo’s jaw clenched, and for a moment, Midoriya thought he had gone too far. But then Bakugo stood, his posture towering and tense, the fire in his eyes blazing hotter than before.

“I don’t need anyone slowing me down,” Bakugo shot back, his voice rising just enough to make the rest of the locker room glance their way. “I’m the best, and I don’t need to prove it to anyone—not to you, not to them. Got it?”

The intensity in the air was unmistakable, crackling between them as if the years apart hadn’t dulled their connection at all. Midoriya was no longer the boy who would shrink beneath Bakugo’s glare, but that fire was still there, burning just as fiercely in the spaces between words.

Bakugo stood in front of him, arms crossed, muscles taut with frustration, his expression daring Midoriya to keep pressing, to say something that would make him lose control. But Midoriya knew better now. He’d learned to handle the sharp edges of Bakugo’s personality—he had to, if he was going to make it through this interview unscathed.

“Is that why you’ve been isolating yourself lately?” Midoriya asked, his voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through him. “I’ve noticed you’re not interacting with your teammates as much. Is this part of your strategy too?”

Bakugo’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, the room felt too small, too confined for the tension building between them. Midoriya could feel the weight of Bakugo’s stare, like a storm gathering on the horizon, ready to break at any moment.

“You’re really digging, huh, Deku?” Bakugo muttered, voice low, dangerous. He stepped closer, and Midoriya had to resist the urge to step back. “You think you know everything about me just because we used to go to the same school? Because we grew up in the same shitty town?”

Midoriya’s breath hitched, but he didn’t flinch. He met Bakugo’s stare head-on, refusing to let him push him away. “I’m not trying to dig up the past, Bakugo. I’m just asking about your approach. You’ve always played with that chip on your shoulder, but now it seems like it’s weighing you down more than ever.”

The locker room had gone quiet, the tension thick enough to suffocate. Bakugo’s fists clenched at his sides, and for a second, Midoriya wondered if this was it—if Bakugo was finally going to snap. But instead, Bakugo’s lips twisted into a tight, bitter smile.

“You think you know me, Deku?” Bakugo said, his voice soft but cutting. “You don’t know a damn thing. You never did.”

Midoriya’s heart pounded in his chest, a mixture of frustration and something deeper—something he wasn’t sure he could name yet—building inside him. This wasn’t how he expected the interview to go, but it was Bakugo. He should have known better than to think it would be simple.

“Then tell me,” Midoriya said quietly. “Tell me what I don’t know.”

For a moment, the challenge hung in the air between them, neither one willing to back down. Bakugo’s eyes blazed, his jaw tight, but just as quickly, the fire in his gaze dimmed, replaced by something Midoriya hadn’t seen before—something that looked a lot like weariness.

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” Bakugo muttered, turning away. “This interview’s over.”

Before Midoriya could respond, Bakugo stormed past him, his shoulder brushing against Midoriya’s just hard enough to send a jolt through him. Midoriya stood frozen for a moment, watching Bakugo’s retreating form, the locker room door slamming shut behind him.

Midoriya’s fingers tightened around his tablet. He had gotten the bare minimum out of Bakugo—certainly not the in-depth analysis he had hoped for. But even more frustrating was the way that familiar, unresolved feeling gnawed at him. There was still something there, something unfinished between them, and it was bigger than just an interview or a rivalry.

It was personal.

As Midoriya packed up his things, he couldn’t shake the sense that this was far from over. Bakugo wasn’t the type to let things lie, and now that they had crossed paths again, that old fire was burning brighter than ever.

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olomaya · 2 years ago

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Voidcritters (Afterschool Activities+)

18 August: This mod has been updated. Please refer to this post for more information before downloading.

6 May Update:

This is just a small update. Apparently the Store Tablet (which the Simtendo Twitch is cloned from) gets routinely purged from inactive Sims' inventory. So I updated it to stop it from happening. You just need to redownload the MAIN file to get this fix.

19 March Mod Fixes/Tweaks:

Mod should now run for players without Script Utility (thanks to the Anon for bringing this to my attention!)

Included a fix where Sims without cards asking others about their favorite voidcritters produced an error

Fixed an issue where the "Ask to Join Voidcritters Club" option was still available even after the target joins the club

Sims can now sit while playing Voidcritters Go! on their phone

Please also note that you need CCLoader in order for the custom comic books to show up.

This is a TS3 version of Voidcritters which came in one of the TS4 packs and the second in my Afterschool Activities+ series of mods. I haven’t actually played with Voidcritters in TS4 but I really liked the concept and the worldbuilding and effort they put into it. Technically anyone can play but I made it for children and teens in mind. Sims can collect, trade, train and battle Voidcritters cards and play with their friends at the Voidcritters club. I didn’t want to go through the trouble of converting that bulky battle station and was planning to put it on the computer but then saw ATS3 had created a Nintendo Switch system based off the Store tablet and that was perfect.

For more information about the Voidcritters, you can read the handy guide here.

The card and packs are by me converted from TS4. The Switch is from Around the Sims 3 and is based on the Store tablet so you will need the tablet for the animations. Thanks as always to Sandy at https://aroundthesims.tumblr.com/ for her amazing cc and her generous use policy! Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out how to edit the video effect for gaming so it’s off completely and I just added some gaming sound to it. If anyone knows, please give me some tips!

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out except for the Read Stats interaction on the card. The card sticks through the Sim's hand. I tried for hours to fix it but alas, animation is not my forte. I was going to just remove it but it's the only place where I included the cute little descriptions for each Voidcritter so I'm leaving it in. Aside from the descriptions, all the information on each of your cards can be found either in the skill journal or by hovering over each card.

You need NRaas Career for the custom afterschool club, the Store tablet for the Twitch and Generations and University for other gameplay or animations.

Let me know if you have any issues! More details after the cut.

Download (8 files) here

How to Play

Voidcritter cards can be purchased in Entertainment/Hobbies&Skills or Kids Room/Toys. They come in packs: Starter Packs (§75) which have Common cards, Booster Packs (§90) which have Uncommon cards, and Battle Packs (§105) which have Rare cards. The cards you get are random each time you open a pack.

Common cards are §25 each, Uncommon are §45 each and Rare cards are §105. The values of the cards will depreciate over time but also can increase depending on their rarity and power level so you can sell them to make a some profit after training them up.

You train up your Voidcritters on the “Simtendo Twitch” handheld (Electronics/Misc; §500) and then battle them against other Sims that also have Voidcritters which will boost the power level of your Voidcritters and your Voidcritter skill.

Using the Twitch, you can battle with anyone who has a VC card online or anyone who has at least one card and a Twitch in person. Battles are decided based on the players’ VC skill, the power levels of the Voidcritters that are battling and if they have an elemental advantage (i.e. Water Voidcritters have an advantage over Fire ones).

You can also play a mobile version ("Voidcritters Go!") on your smartphone. However, this will only increase your VC skill. You can't battle with cards on it.

Voidcritter Skill

The Voidcritter Skill is for children and teens. There are 10 levels for this skill. Once you max out the skill, you will get a Limited Edition card.

There are two skill challenges: Battle Master and Top Trainer. A Battle Master is a Sim who has won 20 battles. They will earn extra battle points when in a battle. A Top Trainer is a Sim who has at least 5 Voidcritters with 100 power level each. (I know the photo above says different because I took it before I made the change after realizing how difficult that challenge would be.) After achieving this challenge, you will be able to train your Voidcritters much faster.

Uncommon, Rare and Limited Edition cards are skill-gated meaning that you have to reach certain skill levels (4, 8 and 10, respectively) in order to train or battle with them.

Gameplay Interactions

Aside from buying cards, you can also trade cards with other VC players to fill out your collection or get rid of duplicate cards. You can also give cards away. If other Sims have cards, there are specific interactions that will appear like asking about their favorite Voidcritter. Children and teens can also beg their parents or grandparents for a Simtendo Twitch. If you have a bad relationship with someone and they have cards, you can beat them up and steal a card from them.

Voidcritters Club

Voidcritter enthusiasts can join the Voidcritters Club afterschool activity where they will gain VC and video gaming skill and can battle with other club members. There’s also a chance they may find a card while at the club. Sims can invite their friends to join the club as well.

Other Nerd Actions

Sims can read one of the 8 Voidcritter Comics you can purchase at the bookstore. There’s a 25% chance that you find a card in the comic book.

Finally, what is a proper nerd without some fanfic? I added the option for Sims with Level 5+ Voidcritter Skill and Level 1+ writing skill to write Voidcritter fanfiction. You can also read fanfic if someone else has written it and if you are the writer, you can read reviews of your fic. Playing Voidcritters and everything VC related also builds the Nerd Influence skill.

#sims3cc #sims 3 mods #s3cc download #s3cc #sims 3 cc #download #voidcritters

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miz-orque · 11 months ago

Text

Long Post

Sooo here's my silly little Monsoon concept in the Cyberpunk universe. This took some time, but I had a lot of fun doing it. You'll find a few things repeated on paper as my thought process was a little all over the place. The notes and layout on the pages may be a little unorganised. What's written on paper is reflected in the text, plus extra.

Yeah, this is longer than I thought lol so it's really appreciated if you do take the time to read it. I think I went a little ham 👀;

Apologies for image quality. I still have yet to get a scanner.

Cyberpunk!Monsoon.

General info

Typically, I would fashion him in: an Edgerunner's jacket (which is generally a mix of military armour and pedestrian materials woven together (this jacket is the Valentinos dual-weave Edgerunner)), simple black yoros and yoru no samurai kicks - the last two items being reminiscent of his ninja design in his canon universe. His utility belt and sais are also kept the same, tho the end of the sai's pommel glows when in use for combat.

He has a multitude of implants and cybernetics which include:

Memory boost - optimises sync between the brain and cyberware. An additional neuro chip implanted in his frontal lobe allows him full control of his unique cybernetic arms, including detaching and reattaching his arms, and control of his hands if they are several metres away when detached.

Self-ice - prevents him from getting a neuro virus.

Kerenzikov boost system - essentially a reflex booster

Custom Kiroshi optics: the Oracle (more details of this later)

(outdated) magnetic segmented cybernetic arms where each segment has a neuro link for full control (more details of this later)

Second heart - if his current heart stops beating, the second one activates.

Adrenal boosters - helps body maintain performance under pressure (in game stats detail less stamina usage when engaging in melee)

Micro rotors - increases attack speed

Adreno-trigger - increases attack speed for several seconds whe entering combat

Synaptic accelerator - a neuroprocessor that regulates hormonal balance during threatening situations (in game time is perceived slower for a few seconds when in combat. This implant can be used repeatedly after a 60 second cool down, but he's not looking to have a fight for longer than a minute)

Sub-dermal armour - exactly as it sounds - armour beneath the skin. He has this installed on his neck, torso, back and legs (before they were replaced)

Proxi-shield - the closer an attacking enemy is, the less damage they deal

Bionic joints (eventually replaced) - support of joints. He had this in his legs.

Dense marrow (eventually replaced) - increased power behind melee attacks. He had this in his legs

Dermal implant of a Tyger Claw tattoo - This implant directly links the user's optical implant to the weapon's system, offering real-time data-tracking of the weapon info - he only has this because he was a member of Tyger Claws for a few years, but he decided to keep it as he found it useful and for sentimental reasons

Fortified ankles (eventually replaced) - allows for greater distance covered when jumping

Iron lungs - is able to take in and utilise more oxygen. This was useful when he had his organic legs. This cybernetic has become rather redundant to him now that he's more metal than meat, tho he finds it useful for when he's smoking, he doesn't cough, however they're due for a cleaning from his habit.

Blood pump - supplies body's cells quickly and efficiently with oxygen - again no longer required. He eventually gets this removed

Further info

In this canon, Monsoon has albinism. His original eyes were replaced at a young age due to his poor vision and he received dermal implants to protect his sensitive skin from UV radiation.

Originally, his cyber optics were designed after his real eyes. These were standard optics that allowed him to see as the average person. The eyes were later replaced with Kiroshi the Oracle optics when he was recognised as a competent attack dog. These new eyes, however, were again based on his real eyes. He did not obtain his custom black and red optics until he joined Tyger Claws

The Oracle line allows the user to detect enemies (even under cover) within 17 m, turrets and cameras within 35 m and explosives and traps within 26 m, as well as 10x optical zoom in. He later got these functions upgraded when he opted to change their appearance. They were eye wateringly expensive.

The cyber threading on his face (the lines) are based on the veins surrounding his eyes in his original MGR concept art.

Likewise, the barcode on his forehead from his original concept, has been repurposed as evidence of being an unfortunate victim of human trafficking. Human trafficking exists across the globe in the Cyberpunk (CP) universe. The barcode that was tattooed on his forehead as a child was produced for the underground market to audit their stock. These markets are also owned by corporations who donate some of the profit made to charities (to look good to the general public), to law makers (for manipulation) and to crime syndicates (as pay).

As previously stated, Monsoon obtained custom black and red Kiroshi optics when he joined Tyger Claws. He thought they looked intimidating and cool. He was 15. And he still stands by this decision in his 40s. The black and red are also based on his MGR concept art.

For the record, Monsoon's unique eyes and visor in his original MGR concept design are some of my favourite things about him. Respectfully, these were omitted as I felt they didn't completely suit the environment I placed him in for this au. Sure, visors exist in CP, and of course there are characters like the Maelstrom group and even River (2077) that have robust optics, however:

Monsoon in this canon doesn't work as a corpo cyborg based in Denver with henchborgs under him; he is the henchborg and he's really fucking good at it

His visor holds his electromagnetic generator. In this canon, he doesn't have the ability to separate his entire body, just his arms. It would be redundant for him to have it unless he wears it for the aesthetics. I'm on team Practical Monsoon here so...

Maelstrom essentially believe in transhumanism. Monsoon does not believe in this (him becoming a cyborg in MGR is a consequence of him not wanting to die) and the glowing eyes would give his position away if he's being stealthy.

I think River's too broke to get a better looking eye lol. Monsoon may not be rolling in it, but at least he can afford eyes that provide wider perioral vision and allows him to blink his eyelids.

I just wanted to show off the emotions in his eyes. Can't do that if he's looking like: ⚫👃⚫ "I luv u"

I've designed him bulbous eyeball connecting visors that help increase his field of vision to act as his CP au visor. (A little on the fence with this)

Regarding his arms, their design is outdated. Further information will be provided later in the post, tho I thought I'd keep this here as this was used as reference for myself.

Ken doll Mons and his bs (backstory obvs)

Born in 2031 in Cambodia, Monsoon grew up in poverty. He was abducted as a young child and sold in the black market to an organised crime syndicate. Originally, he was going to be used as an actor for the growing extreme braindance (XBD) market, however, due to his aggressive and tenacious nature, he was taken to be trained as an attack dog instead.

Mention of a several years' mission is present, but this will be touched upon later. The two images are of Monsoon before and after this mission.

Pre-mission:

Most of his body is organic, tho he has a number of internal implants (as mentioned previously)

As stated, unlike his original canon design, the additional segments are omitted. Due to CP lore, and considering Monsoon's upbringing, he would have succumb to cyberpsychosis ages ago (would have gone on a spree like James Norris in Edgerunners). A super bog standard definition of cyberpsychos is a condition where the person dissociates from society when they have too many implants and not a great support system (if they even have one). (It's a theory that David's support system is the reason why his tolerance for something as extreme as his sandevistan was high). If the chassis was kept, I would have had to abide by this rule; Monsoon at this point would have been a slender version of Adam Smasher. (Not a bad idea, but that's literally what he is in MGR but with MG lore in place). Omitting his chassis meant that there was more freedom to explore the world of CP with Monsoon. Also I wanted to see him in sneakers.

Also, his design wouldn't suit the Night City (NC) environment. In his original canon, he's the only WoD member that isn't wearing a coat. In NC, he would need to be naked to fully utilise his abilities. Not to mention, the city itself being so busy, I feel as if his magnetism would cause some damage to certain technology, if his segments don't catch onto a vehicle or a building or a fellow cyborg's butt. If anything, reference of his original design (torso and legs) would be for cosmetic purposes.

Post-mission:

He lost his pelvis and legs during the mission

As he was out in the desert at the time of this incident, his legs were replaced with robust mechanical legs provided by a nomad ripperdoc.

His legs were later replaced with a sleeker and more modern design. He also got that Mr Studd installed 😉

His cyber legs also include reinforced tendons (can literally double jump/jump great heights), Jenkin's tendons (accelerates sprinting for a few seconds - recovery time is just as quick when he's not sprinting), fortified ankles (jump great distances) and lynx paws (quiet footsteps). These are to mimic some of the attributes he has in his original canon.

His cyber arms are eventually replaced with an upgraded and custom pair.

He has cyberpsychosis. Treatment includes therapy, medication and being around his support system regularly. Of course, due to the nature of his work, slaughter does help relieve the aggression he gets from his psychosis.

After being sold to an organised crime syndicate to become an XBD actor, his aggressive nature had them think he would be better suited as a protector. He was repurposed to become an attack dog. For fun, he was given a pair of sais to train with, tho his mentor was compassionate enough to train him well. Tho he was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood there, he was migrated to Japan after being sold. He spent the rest of his childhood serving the Yakuza as their favoured attack dog. From 15, he was stationed at Night City, being a body guard for a high ranking Yakuza member, but he decided to join Tyger Claws instead.

Additional notes:

The crime syndicates involved are primarily a mix of Triad and Yakuza members, smaller groups and groups outside of Asia are also involved, taking advantage of the state of Cambodia (it's not great). Particular corps are also involved and it's rumoured the Khmer Rouge may also be poking their noses into this black market (they exist in the CP universe. Like in our real world history, they did have their influence, however they were expelled from Cambodia and ended up ruling over Laos in the turn of the 21st century) in hind sight, Monsoon was pretty lucky

He was sold at the age of five.

The XBD market involves things like murder, torture, sexual assault - basically any instance that involves very extreme negative emotions (and is obvs very illegal). Monsoon would have likely been put up for murder and maybe even have cyberpsychosis induced on him

The Yakuza viewed Monsoon as disposable, but thought to have him at least trained in fighting. When his teacher taught him how to use the sai (which he picked up quickly), the members he often interacted with saw his potential. On the field, Monsoon was aggressive.

He was named Monsoon because he was purchased during the season. The name stuck because of his extreme behaviours: eerily calm when he's not in a fight, frightfully violent when he is.

His first implant were his eyes. The following cybernetics were implanted on him without his knowledge ie he woke up one day with his hand replaced with a cybernetic one lol. He freaked

When he arrived in Night City, he offed the Yakuza member he was meant to protect and joined Tyger Claws swiftly after. It was rumoured that this particular was to be disposed of once a negotiation with affiliate groups was made. Monsoon didn't care and killed him anyway. He's never forgiven them for what they did to him.

Because of his upbringing, he speaks Japanese fluently. Being the favoured attack dog, he wasn't required to learn any additional languages, especially with the advent of the translator, however, he did take up learning English when he learned he was going to visit California for an unknown amount of time. Much to his chagrin of learning the common conversational sentences English, when he arrived at Night City, particularly Japantown, he was disappointed that everyone around him was speaking Japanese. That didn't stop him from actively learning tho. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember much Khmer if at all.

The crummy tattoo dermal implant on his back depicts Reahu, the demon king in Cambodian mythology. It's described to be a head without a body and devours the sun and moon, but because of its lack of body (and therefore stomach), it's a perpetual cycle of devouring these celestial bodies.

His stoic and serious nature proved him to be a valuable member to the Tyger Claw gang, getting some recognition from high ranking members, including a glance or two from the up-and-coming fixer, Wakako Okada. He was given a few private jobs, one of which awarded him his extraordinarily unique magnetic arms at around the age of 18. Tho his peers didn't care for the attention he received, a small group of Tyger Claws grew jealous of him, even denouncing him as a member for being an outsider.

During a mission out, the small group turned on him, disabling his arms and taking advantage of his shock. He did defend himself to the best of his abilities, however, he was outnumbered and beaten to near death. Before completely blacking out, he called Wakako.

Once recovered and his arms repaired, he left Tyger Claws and sought vengeance on those that tried to kill him. No longer a member, he happily attacks any member that so much as looks at him funny.

Additional notes:

His position in the gang would have been pretty much the same in his original canon. He did participate in some drug dealing and trafficking, however he enjoyed fighting the most.

He was out cold for a couple days when he was picked up by Wakako and taken care of by a doctor of her choosing

Monsoon was growing tired of the gang anyway and thought he would be successful if he left. The group that attacked him provided him a really good reason to leave

He wanted to remove the Tyger Claws tattoo on his back, but decided against it as he gave it a new meaning: continuously devouring the clan

It's an exaggeration to say that he attacks any TC member if they look at him funny. He attacks them if they touch him in any way, shape or form.

Despite the fact he was a member for about five years, he has never crossed paths with Jimmy. Jimmy was locked away being a cringe teenager editing edgy braindances and wearing black eyeliner.

Ze arms

Gifted his magnetic arms at 18, adapting to fully cybernetic arms was a challenge, especially with the unique ability to desegment at will. Tho they are rumoured to be of Arasaka make, his provider advised it was from an underground yet promising corporation.

Previous arms

Neural connection between brain, arms and segments.

Powerful electromagnetism, however best performed away from the busier parts of Night City

Electromagnetic generator located in shoulder joint.

Silicone connection inside and outside of elbow.

Upper half of arm matches skin tone. Forearms and hands are black (right) and red (left).

Palm and fingertips padded; sensors are quite sensitive

Range began at 10 metres, but increased to 15 when his arms were repaired

New and current arms

Possess the same elements as the previous arms, but with a sleek design

Arms are completely black apart from the left forearm and hand being red.

Generator hidden in shoulder

Fingertips have highly sensitive sensors

Edge of segments glow red when in use (when he gets his magnet on)

Carbon fibre material

Faster movement

Range is about 30 metres max.

Additional notes:

The arms are quite expensive. He has to visit a reputable doctor that is well educated in electromagnetics and whatever the fuck else his arms possess because they're pretty insane

It took him a good month to get used to using fully cybernetic arms and even long to actually master the use of its magnetic abilities. He would say about a year.

The underground corporation used both Arasaka and Militech to craft the arms. Monsoon's unknowingly a guinea pig, however he does eventually meet the people behind these.

Said people provided him with the new arms

He exclusively uses his magnetic abilities in combat. At least, that's what he says. Monsoon has used his abilities to get something out of reach, get something from another room, and trip Jimmy (when he didn't like him) - now he uses them to pull Jimmy towards him

Sundowner

Monsoon became a solo mercenary after he left Tyger Claws. Mainly working with Wakako, he would sometimes do gigs with other solos. More often than not, he would find himself working alongside this heavyweight merc, Sundowner. At first, he found him to be rather loud and obnoxious, but eventually he found him to be a worthy and competent ally to the point he's glad to see him in his group of mercs.

Additional notes:

They met for the first time during a meeting with a fixer at Tom's Diner. Monsoon mistook him for a patron as Sundowner was chowing down on a burger and commenting loudly about the music. He wasn't particularly excited to learn that he would be working alongside him for this mission

They only ever hang out at bars or eating establishments, and the occasional visit to a braindance club.

Okay, maybe sometimes they visit Dogtown for the thrill and chaos

Monsoon's been to Sundowner's humble abode once for bbq. It's in the Badlands

They once infiltrated a Scavs base because Sundowner thought one of them stole his keys to his truck. They killed them all. They did not find his keys because he suddenly remembered where they were kept.

They once got into a random scuffle with Sixth Street

And the Voodoo Boys

And the Valentinos

And the Animals

And Tyger Claws (Monsoon enjoyed that one)

All started by Sundowner.

Sundowner is gun heavy in this universe, only using Bloodlust when he wants to get messy, but keep his hands clean.

Of course, Sundowner has the Gorilla Arms cybernetic that grants him immense strength as well as the Reinforced Tendons implants

Coming from Alabama, Monsoon's not quite familiar with the terms Sundowner uses that isn't Night City lingo. Sometimes he uses his translator which isn't the most reliable due to Sundowner's accent. He did eventually grow accustomed to his way of speaking

Sundowner most definitely did partake in the Corporate War of 2069.

Sun became a fan of Jimmy's unnecessarily violent XBD edits

The above drawings are of them in their twenties

Legs and mission

The mission

At around 25 years old, Monsoon with Sundowner was given a secret gig by their mysterious fixer. Like most gigs, survival was not guaranteed, however, the payout for this gig was huge if they did survive. This gig involved them and a small group of other mercs, techies and netrunners to travel outside Night City across the country. The mission was so secretive, contact outside anything that did not revolve around the mission was forbidden, this meant that kin were left in the dark about the whereabouts of their loved ones.

The gig proved challenging; some members lost their lives. Monsoon almost lost his life being involved in an incident that had him lose the lower half of his body. He carried out the rest of the mission in a set of robust cybernetic legs that included storage for his stoma bags. The difficulty of this mission did solidify and strengthen his friendship with Sundowner.

After the mission, which ended up lasting five years, and of course receiving his massive payout, Monsoon got himself a new set of legs, a built in bladder, rectum and a Mr Studd (with Jimmy's assistance). He also developed cyberpsychosis which is handled by his medication, therapy sessions and time spent with loved ones.

Additional notes:

The payout was six digits

The mission itself was arduous. Flat lining tended to be the bulk of the mission, tho the men would argue it felt like an underground war. Really, it was corpo shit trying to keep governments outside of their business. Infiltration and assassination proved more difficult than initially thought, especially when theft of technologies was involved

Monsoon did find it difficult to not get in contact with the people he cared about during his gig. He obviously worried about Jimmy the most because he's a danger magnet. He forced him to get the Shock-n-Awe implant as a means of defence, but he also told Jimmy not to wait for him.

Monsoon's lower body was crushed by a massive structure that collapsed after a bomb went off.

He often wrapped cloth tightly around his abdomen to keep his storma attachments extra secure. The last time he didn't have that security, he dookied on Sundowner when he tried to parkour. They still laugh about it.

He lost his legs about two years into the mission

His psychosis developed rather quickly when his legs were swiftly replaced with robust cybernetic legs.

He was fully prepared for Jimmy to have moved on. Much to his surprise, he waited for him and started gaining immense success in his work.

He also learned he became a cat dad

Ze legs and pelvis

His replacement legs right after the accident were standard metal robotic legs that helped him get around, tho it hindered his athletic abilities. He was happy to have them finally replaced with a more competent model. These legs include:

Matching skin tone

Sensors included that allows him to detect pressure, temperature changes and pain

A faux butt with padding

A Mr Studd that acts similarly to a natural penis - of course he misses his real one, but he's glad he can pee out of this one and relieve sexual need. Special sensors in the phallus connected to a specific neural link allows him to feel aroused when stimulated and lead to an eventual climax, of course it's not the same as it once was. His sex drive is also quite low.

Faux testes included for aesthetic purposes - they look and feel almost like the real thing! 😃 A TRT device was considered to be included in his pair, but he opted to take injections whenever he wanted to. He doesn't think the lack of testosterone hinders his abilities to carry out his duties as a merc. Before he changed his legs, he wasn't on testosterone regularly.

Reinforced tendons, Jenkin's tendons and Lynx paws installed

Height increased from 6'2" to 6'5" - he had a high calorie and nutritional diet due to being trained as a fighter, however, that isn't to say he didn't receive painful procedures to increase his height to appear more intimidating

Has replacement organs with sensors

Artificial butthole works fine 👍 (don't lie, you were curious)

He takes rather strong immunoblockers

Additional notes:

Jimmy paid for some of the costs. He insisted.

Recovery was relatively quick, tho he had to take the time to get used to his new legs and make sure sensors worked well.

Jimmy's aware of Monsoon's cyberpsychosis. It kinda turns him on. And he loves to admit it.

....yeah Jimmy did select the junk to be Monsoon's replacement sausage

Khamsin

During a few of his gigs, he had Khamsin as his "wheels guy". His chatter and loud music gets on Monsoon's gears, but Sundowner like Khamsin, plus he's an excellent driver. Most of the time, Monsoon zones out when he's around Khamsin, but with enough drinks, he'll chuckle at a joke or two.

Additional notes:

Khamsin's truck looks better than how I drew it. I'm just bad at drawing vehicles

Khammy also has cybernetic legs

Mons doesn't hate him, but he wouldn't invite him to his place

Sometimes he gets taunt ideas from Khamsin

Mistral

Monsoon has been a well established solo when he met the young and snarky woman who goes by Mistral. Tho she's solo, she also dabbles in netrunning, proving her versatility. At first the two didn't get on so well. She taunted him about being an old fogie, and he retorted her about being a naïve and obnoxious little girl with pink hair, even tho their age difference is approximately 15 years.

Sundowner kept wanting her on the team despite the bickering as the group worked well together and he enjoyed her accent. When the group finally did decide to hang out together at a bar, Monsoon and Mistral bonded over their annoyance with Khamsin and their love for Jimmy. As the two got closer, Mistral gifted Monsoon a couple of sakura hair clips she won at a fair. He invited her to his place to see his cat.

Additional notes

Mistral's married to Courtney lol. Courtney's a corpo, but they hardy spend time together due to their work

Mistral's a fan of Jimmy's XBDs.

She's visited their place multiple times and has designated herself as their cat's aunt

Monsoon loves the hair clips, even tho he doesn't express this out loud

She's a gun user - I'm basing this off her time as a soldier, plus I'm not sure where her lance fits in the CP universe. The geckos would be more like her and Courtney's freak children than her tools

Monsoon does not like her freak children

Weirdly, her and Jimmy became good friends. They text each other on a regular basis

She also hangs out with the two if Courtney's busy with work

She playfully throws things at Monsoon. Monsoon draws on her face when she's netrunning

She came to Night City directly from Algeria. She misses the food there

Fighting

Monsoon's fighting style is more or less identical to the original canon moveset, save for his lack of magnetic segmented legs and torso. When he had his natural legs, he utilised reflex implants to boost speeds and force behind his kicks. Now that he has his cybernetic legs, he's even more dangerous in a fight. He has implants that increase his resistance to hacking. His arms can be disassembled by skilled hackers, a hell of a disadvantage if he's using his sais to attack from a distance. He carries a multitude of grenades with him which includes explosives, EMPs and smoke grenades.

Outfit

Monsoon dresses in kitsch style clothing. His wardrobe consists mainly of vests and short sleeves, and perhaps five pairs of bottoms. As he's often doing gig work (and beating up Tyger Claws), he favours no sleeves for their practically and ease of wear. He does own at least a handful of long sleeve shirts, bombers and hoodies which he wears on special occasions, such as when he doesn't want to use his magnetic abilities.

Additional notes

He owns a couple neokitsch style clothing (clothing that only the wealthy can afford) because Jimmy likes to spoil him. He only ever wears them when he's visiting Embers

Jimmy likes stealing his jackets and hoodies.

Monsoon on occasion wears Jimmy's jacket to feel like a villain - Jimmy doesn't take offence to this.

Monsoon wears his clothes until they fall apart. It annoys Jimmy because he knows he can afford new clothes.

He also hates going clothes shopping with Jimmy

Apartment

His apartment is located in Japantown, Westbrook of Night City. He keeps the apartment clean and free of clutter, the only decorations he has are books/magazines and a dragon statue that holds incense (came with the apartment). Eventually, his apartment transformed into a lively little abode when Jimmy entered his life. After becoming accustomed to the company, the apartment now includes horror movie posters, memory chips dotted everywhere, cute little momentos, cans of Spunky Monkey in the fridge, an additional toothbrush, additional clothes in the wardrobe, sex toys and numerous Polaroid photographs of the two.

Additional notes:

Sometimes they use each other's toothbrush by mistake

He has a plethora of plants. He likes nature. Jimmy's a little freaked out by the plants especially when they touch him

He doesn't smoke in the apartment

#Okay I think I'm done #I have been on this from the first page to the last bit of text for maybe a week and a half/couple of weeks?#I'm not quite sure how to even tag this if I even HAVE a specific tag for this #I'll use my usual tags for now #IT'S A LOOONG post of alt universe fan nonsense. I might even rejig some of the info later down the road if I'm still fixated #I advise you grab a snack #My art #cyberpunk au #mgr monsoon #mgr sundowner #mgr mistral #Mgr Khamsin #cyberpunk 2077 #I'm so tired #👁️👁️#nerd shit

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rozeliyawashereyall · 7 months ago

Text

★Korey 'Hathai' Adiel★

New post to use as a ref yippeeee @aspenm00n

+the stats are inspired by @willowve01 old ref for Raine

Basics first~

Full name: Korey 'Hathai' Adiel.

Pronouns: She/They, but mostly goes by She/Her.

Realm: Al'terra

Home town: Aakhan

Ethnicity and race: Thai/Korean human.

Birthday: 28th of October

Age: 19 years old

Height: 5'4

Weight: 132 lbs

Sexuality: Bisexual

Gender: Demigiri

Disorders: prosopagnosia and borderline personality disorder.

Job occupation: (formally) Dazinite recruit. (Current) Aakhan hunter

MBTI: ENFP-A

Affinities: lightning and fire

Family members

Korey was born in Aakhan in a lavish yet unloving home. Spending most of her life trying to get her parents attention. The Adiel parents were very neglectful and emotionally abusive, to purposefully triggering Korey's episodes to guilt tripping Esra for leaving.

Korey has two brothers. The oldest is Esra, at 25 years old. The youngest is Noah, at 14 years old. They all get along greatly and have a very strong bond.

-Esra has already cut off his parents by now, and he absolutely refuses to see them again. He has a job and a loving wife and kid. He's not about to let them ruin it. He's always cool, calm, and collected, it's very difficult to really get under his skin. He graduated Thessla, the magic academy for mages, affinities being mind and water.

-Noah is kind of like a golden child, but also not really? He gets treated decently by their parents, unlike how his older siblings were treated, and he is very aware of it. He's very anxious and quiet, but can be brave. He has some big potential to use magic, but until he leaves the Adiel household, it's staying hidden.

Achara Hathai, the mother. She comes from a very strict family with a lot of traditions and rules to follow. She's the 5th of 6 daughters, she barely got any care from her parents, only by the maids. She was married off the day she turned 18 years old to Haneul Adiel. She's cold hearted, cruel, and is more than willing to manipulate others for her own advantage. She's a follower of Leo.

Haneul Adiel, the father. This man came from a very spoiled and entitled home. Raised by "loving" parents, who never once taught him punishment. His parents were the ones who watched over the kids. He was married to 18 year old Achara when he was 24 years old. He isn't a caring man, but a sadistic one. He's the one who'd torture Korey and Esra the most. Despite his spoiled unskilled appearance, he's a very talented mage, his affinities being lightning and mind. He's a follower of Daz.

-Their marriage was a loveless one, only conceiving children to keep the family line going. They both have no respect for each other, getting into arguments almost every day.

Little more about them here.

Important backstory events.

I. At 3 years old, Korey was pushed fell and sustained a pretty hard hit to her head— but thankfully, was found by a munite, they called themselves "Amaal". She was quickly healed by them, but too late as the right fusiform gyrus (for those who don't know it's a fold in the brain that coordinates the neural system that controls facial perception and memory) had already been too damaged, developing prosopagnosia due to the head injury.

After the munite told her parents found out about this injury, they... didn't care. Which of course caused Amaal to be even more concerned, that they made up an excuse to keep Korey at the temple for a little longer, just to make sure she doesn't have any more injuries they don't know about.

From then on, Amaal would visit Korey and her brothers in disguise, making sure they were okay and still alive. Even giving Esra a few healing spells to practice, and teaching Korey to mentally note vocal mannerisms and physical build so she can be able to identify them without relying on facial features.

II. At 8 years old, Korey meets Jay. I wouldn't get into too much detail about their relationship here, since I already did it in a different post.

Jay's family is very, very close to the Adiels <- them and the Akeins have a long history together. They were visiting the Adiels with his family before seeing Korey in the yard, playing by herself. So he approached her. And his obsession started a year later from there. She actually did not like Jay at all when they were younger, but Korey was basically forced to be nice to him as kids by her parents, and it unfortunately grew into a habit that developed into whatever they have going on because it's definitely not a friendship.

More about Jay and Korey and some other important things here

III. At 9 years old, Korey of course still couldn't understand why she couldn't see her parents, and why they wouldn't look at her. So, she had tried to gouge out her eyes with a pair of scissors to give them to her parents so they'd use them to look at her. As in her mind at the time, they didn't have eyes to use, to see.

Don't worry though! Esra found her before she actually gouged out her eye. Though she can still see, some serious damage was done to her right eye, he tried to heal it with what spells Amaal taught him, but unfortunately made it worse since healing was not his speciality, like at all. He ended up using a different spell on accident, causing the blood to flow in it drastically faster, turning it red.

Like I said— she can still see, but in her right eye, it's all tinted red and it hurt like hell. When Amaal visited again, they tried to heal Korey's eye, but unfortunately the damage from Esra's spell was almost irreversible, all they can do is relieve the pain in it.

IV. At 12 years old, Korey accidentally killed two boys who were about 3 years older than her at the time. The boys were bullying and hitting her badly, saying some pretty fucked up stuff, it was until one of the boys reached for her clothes was when snapped. Punching the boy off of her, before starting to slam his head on a rock over and over.

The other boy, too scared to intervene, but before he could run away, she ended up throwing a pretty hefty rock at his head. Killing both of them, and severely mentally scarring her. Thankfully for Korey, the murder wasn't pointed at her, but a violent halfblood who was roaming the woods. But still, even to this day the guilt still eats her from the inside.

Korey only told Amaal about what she's done, and safe to say they were not happy. They put her on community service duty for the rest of the year, while a very lenient punishment to killing two kids, they understood it was in self defense...also she was 12—

V. At 14 years old, Jay was brutally killed by a violent tiger halfblood, getting their guts ripped out as Korey could only helplessly watch. After it was done with Jay, Korey was also attacked by it, slitting her neck with its claws. But thankfully, she was saved by a hunter nearby called...'Warren'. influencing her enough that she decided to join the hunters. But of course, she was still too young to join. So for now she can only train.

Oh boy, were her brothers and Amaal very worried when they found out what had happened to Korey and her "friend".

Amaal, as a way to get her to stop from getting into so many dangerous activities, suggested they become a Dazinite recruit. Her entire family are ones, excluding Esra and Achara. So, she did, and it worked quite well. She stopped getting into too many fights, but was still quite the menace– pretty fitting for a stormchaser. And Amaal didn't have to worry as much about Korey getting severely injured, so it's a win-win situation!

VI. At 16 years old, she was quite literally struck down by lightning. Out of pity, the divine of Weather, Daz. Helped and gifted her a bottle with thunder inside of it..catch is, it was in liquid state. Essentially making her a muse. So far, only Esra and Amaal know about this.

Esra was very worried at first, but he'll warm up to it, eventually. Amaal was a little proud? I mean, their daughter figure just got gifted by a divine. But they were a little concerned about the potential repercussions and consequences..oh and her getting hit by a damn lightning bolt.

Noah has some suspicions of Korey being.. different. But of course he trusts his siblings too much to let his suspicions get in the way of their bond.

VII. At 18 years old, Korey finally meets Cersei. She's old enough to go on hunts now, but of course the older authority figures need to make sure she's ready-ready. And that authority figure happened to be mistress Fain herself.

The conversation was... something. Definitely not a normal interaction you have with someone. Lady Fain seemed to have been a bit suspicious of her being different per-say. But in the end, she was surprisingly very thoughtful of her and others, or at least she acted like that.

Circei had that motherly affect on Korey, but it felt so wrong seeing her as one.

Facts about her

—Korey's the type of person that would stab you as a warning.

—she is so ADHD and Autism coded it's not even funny.

—has a scrapbook with all the bugs and boys drawn in it so she won't forget what they look like and she will actually start sobbing if she ever lost it.

—she can speak Thai, English, and a lil bit of Korean.

— her episodes can either be violent (mainly to herself) or emotional. Her coping mechanism is finding an abandoned building and destroying it by taking her anger out on the things there. There are rare occasions where she talks about her feelings instead of bottling it up for so long it turns into an episode.

—she can barely remember what her parents faces look like, of course Korey pretty much relied on the person's voice to know who's who, but since her parents barely ever spoke to her, it takes her a while to recognise them.

—her grandparents, while mostly nice, were really possessive of her and her siblings. Never approving of her actions and choices, preferring for her to be more feminine and hide her scars. Korey kinda developed body dysmorphia from this, it was especially bad when she was younger

—she kinda had a grudge against halfbloods since she was attacked by one, but it was really only towards the more apex predators type of halfbloods. It was kinda resolved when she met the boys, but can be a bit suspicious if not paranoid meeting other halfbloods.

Of course she doesn't agree with the whole enslaving thing, but does agree that some halfbloods are too dangerous to be left alone, that some need to be put on a watch list by the hunters from how violent they can be. But, never drugged, enslaved and forced to fight.

—has very mixed feelings about Cersei. She understands where she's coming from. Her town got burned down, her family killed, and ended up having a miscarriage after trying to escape. All of that caused by a dragon halfblood.

Korey is an advocate for revenge, don't get me wrong! But she does think that Cersei's ideology went a little too far.

—she is very oblivious to more emotional feelings and weirdly observant to her opponents reactions. she was often mistaken as apathetic or heartless by the village people.

—best way to cheer her up? Cinnamon rolls. Or bibimbap! It's her favourite dish! Her grandparents used to make it for her before passing away

—don't let her anywhere near the kitchen though. She can help cut up the vegetables, but actually cooking? Yeah the place is getting burned down.

Her sense of direction is even worse than her cooking.

—she's both exciting and worrying to be around. Exciting because there will never be a dull moment with all the adventures and quests she comes up with. Worrying because she's a thrill seeker and will most likely purposefully put herself in danger just for the adrenaline.

—she's annoyingly good at fighting with insanely fast reflexes. One could argue because she's a muse, or because she's put herself in so many dangerous situations she learned it from experience. But either way, thanks to her risky endeavours, she's very agile and fast,

—but! While very reckless and careless of her self preservation. She always makes sure the others are okay, especially when they seem exhausted after a day out together. She knows not everyone can keep up with her energy.

—crimes include: arson, second degree murder, child endangerment, implied underage drinking, trespassing, vandalism, and–

Korey's stats before Silverben +after becoming a muse

Strength: 6/5

Speed: 7/5

Attack: 5.5/5

Agility: 7/5

Reflex: 7/5

Combat intel: 5/5

Defense: 5.5/5

Durability: 6/5

Stamina: 7/5

Korey's stats after Silverben

Strength: 4/5

Speed: 4.5/5

Attack: 3.5/5

Agility: 4/5

Reflex: 6/5

Combat intel: 5/5

Defense: 4/5

Durability: 5/5

Stamina: 4/5

Relationships family wise

Esra Adiel—ISFJ-A

Relationship: 9/10

he's her older brother, of course she has a good relationship with him! Even when he ran away to go live happily with his wife, Diana. He'd still come back on the weekends to check up on her and Noah, bringing all sorts of trinkets for them. He was the one who first encouraged her to join the academy when she reached 18 years old and not become a hunter instead.. but he understood her choices.

She did kinda hold the fact that he left them to marry a girl he just met against him. But he's made it up to her and Noah!

Esra is very quiet, always looking for ways to gain more knowledge, and stopping at nothing to protect his family.

Noah Adiel—ESFJ-T

Relationship: 10/10

Just like with Esra~ she has a very good relationship with him! Was very saddened when she couldn't be there for him as much. But she tries to visit him as much as possible! Taking every opportunity to go check up on him. She'd occasionally take him on her silly little adventures, just to spend time with him.

Noah is quite the anxious kid, preferring to stay silent then speak up his thoughts. But is brave when the situation calls for it, especially if it's to protect his siblings.

Diana Clair—ISFJ-A

Relationship: 8/10 only because she doesn't know her a lot

She never got to see her a lot, but she treasures her dearly! Along with her daughter, Ayla! Especially since she's her brother's wife. Was wary of her at first, but warmed up quickly!

Miss Clair is a very kind woman, eager to help anyone in need. Even if she's mute, she's more than willing to defend others!

Jay Akein—ENTP-T

Relationship: 0/10

...yeah I'm not getting into this one.

Achara and Haneul—ENTJ-A/T

Relationship: 0/10

Also no.

Relationships canon characters wise, also before Timmy was taken

Bodie Willowroot.

Relationship: 9/10

She was very, very suspicious of him when they first met. But warmed up to him quite quickly. She first started considering trusting him at the end of episode 1...and fully trusted him at the end of episode 3.

The reason why she even told him the truth about why she came here was because the guilt was eating her alive. Especially after the third episode-

Thinks he's pretty cool, gator halfbloods are quite rare these days. She tries to help him with the cooking but stays at the cutting duty– it's for the best. Likes how understanding and caring he is, he's almost like a father figure to her.

He reminds her a lot of Amaal and Esra combined.

Timothy Wheat.

Relationship: 10/10

Wasn't that suspicious of him tbh, she just assumed since he was also a gator, he'd know and be close to Bodie, and she was right!

She thinks he's... unique. Was suspicious of the white scales constantly growing on him, but let it go after the albino excuse before finding out he was half an ice dragon— but either way she really likes him!

Thinks his little obsession with crystals and cool rocks is pretty cute, she likes shiny things too, so that's one thing they can bond over! They'll even sometimes go search for some pretty rocks and ingredients for Bodie together. Most likely teasing each other on the way, Korey is often the winner of these silly fights.

Honestly, she really only prefers his company over the others because he's closer to her age. And because she thinks he's pretty and cool.

Marco Palustris Cydarki.

Relationship: 7.5/10

Was pretty salty on the fact he almost crushed her when they first met– but the sketch he gave definitely made it up. She thinks he's also very unique, probably more than Timmy. Is very curious on where he keeps disappearing and travelling off to.

Definitely won her trust by the end of their first meeting. But, her trust did kinda get rocky when she saw him at the arena, but it was resolved after he explained himself.

She still doesn't have much of an opinion on him, but she likes him.

Rolden Willowroot bonus tehe

Relationship: 5(?)/10 cuz she barely knows the guy

Boy was she terrified—

Okay not terrified per say, just very intimidated by him. But she does think his appearance is pretty cool.

And..uh..she uh...likes his determination to get his family out? My way of saying she doesn't have much of an opinion on him

And I think that's all!~ will be updating this post as the series progresses.

Headers are by @saradika btw, full credit to them!

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grouptale-bits · 1 year ago

Note

so I've noticed that the items of the six have changed slightly from the canon game. Would there be any differences I mean in fights? (Like would they have the same effects, like stained apron for example or the cowboy hat)

Yes! Things like lumens glasses or harpers hat don’t really add any real defense to they’re person. Just neat character details

But that doesn’t mean the characters don’t have stats at all!

——

Frisk

Age:8

Soul: determination

Item:

Sturdy stick +2 atk

(Sturdy for a twig)

—

Minette

Age:7

Soul: patience

Items:

Bright bow

( monsters surely won’t attack someone this cute)

Toy knife +2 Atk

(Some where in a orphanage home, a toy set is missing a knife.)

——

Lumen

Age: 10

Soul: perseverance

Items:

Glasses

( well taken care of)

Worn notebook book +5 def

(A thick note book you’ve had since you entered the orphanage. It’s seen better days)

—-

Fin

Age:10

Soul: bravery

Items:

Tough gloves +7 atk

(Couldn’t afford boxing gloves so these were the next best thing)

Mandanna

(A bandanna with abs cheaply printed on)

—-

Adien

Age:11

Soul: kindness

Items:

Burnt pan +9 def

heals +4 more when an item is cooked in it

(An old pan you found. Makes for a great shield )

Stained apron heals +2 def

( durable armor in the world of culinary arts)

—-

Harper

Age: 13

Soul: justice

Items:

Toy revolver +11 atk

(The bullets may be rubber but they sure do sting)

Cowboy hat

( a item you’ve had for a long time)

—-

Caleb

Age: 12

Soul: integrity

Items:

Tutu +5 fluff +5 df

(It’s surprisingly comfortable)

Ballet shoes +7 atk

(Worn from the constant practice.)

—- -

86 notes · View notes

saintsenara · 2 years ago

Note

Can you elaborate on some of the deranged fan theories you mentioned you believe? ex. Ron is a latent Seer

thank you for the ask, @thesilverstarling - based on this post in which i mention some of the unhinged and deranged fan theories i believe.

these are:

ron is a latent seer

ron spends the earlier books of the series as a very specific children's literature archetype. he is the insider to the world of the story [whereas harry - the everyman protagonist who is also the reader's point-of-view - is not] and he fills in all the context that harry and the reader need to know in order for the plot to advance.

that's why early ron [regrettably, his conformity to genre-type gets nerfed in the later books in favour of hermione knowing everything - as per her archetype within the series' transition to a folkloric narrative, the helper - although he's undoubtedly the most street-smart of the trio even in deathly hallows] knows all sorts of baffling-but-useful information.

such as, in philosopher's stone:

"But it’s against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks’ Convention of 1709, everyone knows that."

which amps up the stakes of the norbert plot line, starting up the narrative arc which ends with harry encountering quirrellmort in the forbidden forest.

but beyond his knowledge of facts and stats, ron also has a tendency - especially, again, in the early books - to advance the plot by mentioning as an incidental detail something which will then turn out to be absolutely crucial later in the narrative. his best example of this is this, from chamber of secrets:

"I wish I knew why someone did try to chuck it," said Harry. "I wouldn’t mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts either." "Could’ve been anything," said Ron. "Maybe he got thirty O.W.L.s or saved a teacher from the giant squid. Maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would’ve done everyone a favour..."

i have always liked the idea that ron knows these things because he has some latent talent in divination, sadly unnourished by the fact that he thinks it's a bullshit subject and doesn't try hard at it.

ron is time-travelling dumbledore

this one had fans in a chokehold in the pre-half-blood prince era, after it was posted on a now-defunct forum, which can be found thanks to the magic of the wayback machine here.

the justification is beautifully deranged - the bit about ron not appreciating all the socks he has, dumbledore's sincerest desire, sends me into orbit - and i think we should all endeavour to make this theory have a comeback in 2024.

crookshanks was the potter family cat mentioned by lily in her letter to sirius

in prisoner of azkaban, hermione tells us that her new pet has spent a long time in the magical menagerie:

"Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he’d been in there for ages; no one wanted him."

maybe he's been waiting for years. maybe he's been waiting for twelve years?

after all, we know that crookshanks:

hates scabbers, whom he recognises as noted wrong 'un peter pettigrew long before he meets sirius.

loves and adores sirius - who was presumably around him a lot when he lived with the potters, seeing as he was james' best friend - to the extent that he throws himself in front of harry's wand when he thinks he's going to hurt sirius. as sirius says, the marauders' code was that they would rather die than betray their friends. crookshanks heard it while he dozed on the sofa in a godric's hollow living room as the boys were chatting shit in the kitchen.

is often shown being affectionate to harry in his time of need.

after careful vetting, very much approves of ginny. perhaps when he sees harry and ginny together he remembers his old owners. perhaps harry isn't beating the oedipus complex allegations...

all of which is to say, crookshanks is the trio's fourth marauder. no wonder sirius had him booked and busy for a full year.

george weasley is willy wonka

is a stupid bit of whimsy, outlined here.

stan shunpike is a genuine death eater

this is a fan theory in so much as i'm a fan and i believe it, but i do think it's quite convincing...

throughout the series, harry has an extremely black-and-white, emotionally-driven view of the world. in particular, he tends to assume that anyone he likes is good and anyone he dislikes is bad, and that his read on people is automatically correct. he takes against most of the villains [draco malfoy, dolores umbridge] or quasi-villains [gilderoy lockhart] on sight, and his judgement in this decision is almost always correct.

almost always.

it backfires on him a couple of times in the series - for example, in his immediate trust in the tom riddle of chamber of secrets, who he thinks must be on his side because he's an orphan, looks a bit like him, and isn't pureblood - even before we come to the big twin revelations of deathly hallows: that snape, whom he's always loathed, and dumbledore, whom he's always trusted, are more complicated than his usual way of seeing the world can allow.

but, in general, harry gets away with forming snap judgements on the basis of personal like or dislike. indeed, outside of three examples above, his instinctive response to someone usually ends up being justified.

the reader is, then, clearly supposed to take the same view as harry when it comes to stan shunpike's doings in half-blood prince and deathly hallows: that stan isn't a real death eater; that his arrest is illegitimate; and that, if he's implicated in any wrongdoing, it's because he's under the imperius curse.

but, i'm afraid to say, harry is dead wrong. stan - who, like so many other wayward youths who find themselves in lord voldemort’s orbit, longs for power - is a fully paid-up and sincere member of that organisation. he gets off scot free at the end of the war when harry vouches for him and spends the rest of his life chuckling.

delphini's existence is entirely plausible

this is a reference to a theory from a really odd little piece of fan-fiction called harry potter and the cursed child, which has as a central plot line the baffling idea that lord voldemort knocked up bellatrix, didn't immediately murder her the second he found out he'd done so, and became the reluctant father to a daughter with an even worse name than albus severus.

i should say that i've never actually seen cursed child, but it sounds like a scream. complete dogshit, obviously, but in an entertaining way...

i should also say that i am a delphini truther. i think she makes perfect sense as an arc in bellamort's weird relationship.

very few people seem to agree - delphini features in my fic one year in every ten as literally nothing more than a cipher for her father's neuroses, and the eye-rolling in the comments whenever she's mentioned is still going to detach a few retinas - but that sign won't stop me because i can't read.

i don't, i should say, think that she's planned. i think somebody was daydreaming about horcruxes when he should have been paying attention in slughorn's sex-ed lessons, and she's an accident. i like the idea of lord voldemort fucking around and finding out that even he isn't resistant to human biology. i like the idea that bellatrix - who, canonically, tells him to his face to stop being a dick and realise that snape's a spy - simply ignores him when he demands she terminates the pregnancy. i like the idea that, since he knows deep down that bellatrix wants a part of him that's fully hers - since he a) won't ever commit to her in the way she wants, and b) won't ever tell her that she has a piece of his soul in her bank account - he begrudgingly relents. after all - and i'll die on this hill - he does love her, in his own very strange little way.

as well as being a great tool for a bit of bellamort insight, delphini is a great next-gen blank slate for all sorts of people's character development. the resurrected voldemort of one year in every ten is in shambles over how much she looks like him when he was young. the harry and ginny of everlasting ink are learning through her that bellatrix wasn't just a deranged sadist, but was also quite a lot like their beloved andromeda and tonks. the narcissa of ecclesiastes three is debating telling her estranged sister that she has a niece. the merope of the shack at the end of the lane is discussing baby names and reflecting on falling in love with unsuitable men with the closest thing she'll ever have to a daughter-in-law.

i also think delphini provides a much more interesting example of the cycle of the series repeating itself after the war ends than teddy. both tonks and lupin dying at the battle of hogwarts, leaving their son an orphan - like gasp! harry - always feels so tacked on to me. but both tom riddles ending up with children they didn't really want and have no idea how to relate to, whose mothers are both dead, and who grow up simmering with resentment over being abandoned? inject it.

and then, of course, the final and most serious deranged fan theory i believe

hagrid is a death eater.

#asks answered #hagrid is a death eater #ron is time travelling dumbledore #i am a delphini stan account

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littlefoxwithadagger · 1 year ago

Text

Zee's 2023 Reads

Stats:

Books read ˋ°•*⁀➷ 62

Books DNFed ˋ°•*⁀➷ 9

Five-star reads ˋ°•*⁀➷ 23

Note: ☆ counts as a half star, since there isn’t a half star emoji

I tried not to tag any books I didn’t like because I don’t like to hate on books in their fandom tags, so if I accidentally tagged something I have a bad review, please tell me 😭

This list is chaos and I defintely ripped into some of these books because I hated them. Be warned. (I’m sorry ACOTAR fans. Maybe don’t read this if that’s your favorite book series. I didn’t hate them, but I certainly had quite a few criticisms.)

Also, if you see the reviews start to get way longer in October, that’s because I started this post in October, so everything I read after that was reviewed immediately after reading.

↳ March (2)

Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard

March 3rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this by request of my aunt (it's her favorite book series) and honestly it was just kinda boring and not my taste...not to mention the ending REALLY pissed me off. The whole powers thing was kinda cool, but the dystopian main plot was kind of generic? Which is fine, but this was kind of bland for a first book. Will not be finishing the series.

Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard

March 10th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️, DNF

This is the sequel to Red Queen, and frankly I think I read about three chapters of it before I DNFed. The main reason I DNFed this was because of the ending of the first book. I won’t go into detail about it because it spoils the end of the first book, but after my favorite character was taken away from me, I couldn’t finish this series.

Overall, I think this series had great potential but bad execution. I may try to read it again in the new year just to give the entire series a proper, full review, but at the time that I read this, I wasn’t into reading much at all and therefore couldn’t read a book just to say I’d read it.

↳ May (7)

Les Misérables - Victor Hugo

May 5th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

By far my favorite classic thanks to my mom encouraging me to read it. Loads of beautiful prose and a compelling plot line. I especially liked how he wove a bunch of stories that seemed not at all connected into one. Jean Valjean was a very complicated character, and I enjoyed following his story as it progressed. It felt very full-circle, even if the ending was a bit sad. The author took us all over France, and I felt very immersed in the world even though there was no visual for it. I also appreciated seeing the side characters grow over the length of the story. There were quite a few side characters who got a full arc despite not needing it. I'll probably reread this someday, just not now.

Flip the Script - Lyla Lee

May 20th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a cute sapphic love story between two teenage actresses starring together in a Korean drama. Fun fact - I didn't realize it was sapphic for a good while and was confused why sexuality was a hot topic in the book. Whoops! Cute anyways, and the plotline kept me interested.

The Selection - Kiera Cass

May 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This was my first reread of the year! I read this book back in 2021 originally by request of a friend. Rereading it was a bit of a let-down. I found the main girl annoying at times and overall the plot just kinda felt...meh. I will say that I was a bit disappointed that Maxon was the main guy at first because I really loved Aspen, but I think Maxon grew on me quite a bit more towards the end of this book. It was also easier for me to love him on the reread because I’d followed the full story already, so I think I appreciated his character more on this read than I did on the first read. I'm also not huge into dystopian, so that did kill my enjoyment of this a bit.

The Elite - Kiera Cass

May 27th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To continue my Selection reread, I read this. This book was better than the first one, though some of it was just very boring if I'm remembering correctly. It was nice to have a smaller group of girls and get to see them getting to know each other better, and this alone made the book more enjoyable than the last. I think the political tension upped a bit in this book, which I didn’t really like, but it did lead to quite a few great scenes between America and Maxon.

The One - Kiera Cass

May 28th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To complete the Selection reread, I read this. This was by far the best book in the trilogy. It was fun and full of action, and Maxon and America finally got themselves together. There was a great love confession from Maxon at the very end which will forever have my heart. Five stars just for making me swoon honestly. There were a few things that frustrated me in this book, such as the fact that America and Maxon still didn’t seem to trust each other for a lot of this book, but that’s their problem, not mine. I definitely enjoyed the scene where America saw Maxon’s scars for the first time. It was a very sweet scene, and I love emotional vulnerability between characters. 💔

Honorable mention - The Heir - Kiera Cass

May 29th, ⭐️⭐️, DNF

This book sucked to put it frankly. I recall enjoying it the first time I read it, but upon reread I found the main character entirely unbearable (making America look like a saint) and I think I made it about ten pages before deciding it wasn't worth the reread. I wish I didn't own this book.

The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood

May 29th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was what really got me back into reading, and I'd been wanting to read it for months after hearing about it all over the internet. I gave it four stars at the time because I cringed a bit at the number of times the main girl referred to the main guy as "big" or something of the sort but overall found it enjoyable. Honestly, I'd probably rate this lower if I re-read it, but I'm not going to bother testing that theory. It got me back into picking up books, and that's what matters.

↳ June (9)

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

June 10th, ⭐️⭐️☆, DNF

This book...was disappointing. This was the first book I bought from the store without reading it first because the internet had me so convinced I'd enjoy it. I didn't. I found myself so bored I didn't bother reading past page 100 before I returned the book to the store. I don't really have much to say about it other than it was boring, honestly. Feyre also annoyed me a decent bit.

The Romantics - Leah Konen

June 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️, DNF

This book had the same problem as ACOTAR, only far worse. This book felt like it had absolutely no substance, and I read at least half of it. The entire book was narrated by the entity of Love, and all of the characters we got introduced to were only ever surface-level. I felt like I was watching a bunch of strangers interact with each other. Perhaps it was just that young teenage romance isn’t really my cup of tea, but I found the plot entirely uninteresting.

Once Upon a Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber

June 19th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My babyyyyyyyyyy <3 My bread and butter, the reason I got into fantasy books. Definitely not as compelling as the second book, but compelling nonetheless. Jacks and Evangeline have insane tension and it was overall just great. I absolutely loved the whole kisses deal, though I’ll admit this book was NOT what I thought it was. When I picked it up, I was expecting Jacks to be an actual prince, and I was quite surprised to find that he was more of a demigod. Either way, it was a great book, and if you love romantacy, I’d recommend this for SURELY. (I’m biased, can’t you tell? This is a OUBAH blog, after all.)

The Ballad of Never After - Stephanie Garber

June 20th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'd give this book six stars if I could. This entire book was just pining and drama, and I live for it. Not to mention...the Hollow? Yes. Yes, yes yes. Everything about this book, yes. The curses in this book were completely crazy, and I felt like we got a lot more world building in this book. The entire world felt a lot more complete in this book, and we really got to start to piece together Jacks’s backstory. Lovely.

One True Loves - Elise Bryant

June 21st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm pretty sure I actually read this book last year, but it got put into my book tracker in July so I'm leaving it here. This was a cutsey little romance about a girl who goes on a cruise in Europe. I don't remember much about it, but I remember loving the two main characters and the realtionship they had with each other.

Happily Ever Afters - Elise Bryant

June 21st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pretty sure this is the book before One True Loves? They're in the same series, I know that. This was a cutsey little book about a baker guy and a writer girl who ended up at the same high school. Absolutely loved the character growth the main character had over the course of the book.

In Order to Live - Yeonmi Park

June 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a biography written by a woman who escaped North Korea. It was truly an amazing read, and this is the one book I cried while reading this year! I would definitely recommend this to anyone because it is extremely informative while also being very immersive.

Caraval - Stephanie Garber

June 27th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Back to Stephaine Garber! Honestly, I started reading this series for Jacks, but the first book is something entirely on its own. I absolutely loved Julian and Scarlett, and I'll be rereading this again soon. The book very much immersed the reader, and I felt like I was a player in Caraval myself. There was so much fun to be had in this book, and honestly it could just be read as a stand-alone.

Legendary - Stephanie Garber

June 31st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I drove all the way to the other side of town to get this book, that's how good the first one was. This book was less enjoyable than the first, but the plot was extremely compelling. Sadly, I’m not a huge fan of Tella, so I struggled to immerse myself in this book the way I got immersed in Caraval.

↳ July (11)

(Was I ok in July? How many books is this, Zee?)

Finale - Stephanie Garber

July 1st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jacks. That's about all I have to say about this book.

Sugar, Spice, and Can’t Play Nice - Annika Sharma

July 2nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not sure why, but I decided to dump $16? $17? on this when I went to Barnes and Noble with a friend, so I had to finish it. There was a tad too much sexual tension and not enough romance between the main characters for my taste, but it was a good book. I especially enjoyed that the author did so much with her own culture in the book. Both of the characters learned the importance of truly connecting with someone over the course of the book, and I thought it was lovely.

The Spanish Love Deception - Elena Armas

July 2nd, ⭐️⭐️, DNF

This book was...something. I - yet again - purchased a book without reading it first. Learned my lesson this time. I have honestly no idea what this book is about because I read only fifty pages of it and there was...too much of her referring to him as "big" and "tall". I get it. He's tall and wide. Can we please discuss why you hate him? I'd love to know, really. Perhaps this book is for you if you like extreme sexualization of tall, buff men, but it’s not for me.

The Inheritance Games - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

July 6th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Queen. Puzzles and drama galore, and I love the boys. That's really all I have to say about this. I LOVE puzzles so this book was a big hit with me. Avery is a little genius and I appreciate it, and I also loved getting to see her adapt to her new life.

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

July 9th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This read is courtesy of my bestie. She had not finished the series when she recommended it. Still hasn't. (Nani, this is a plea for you to finish it.) I don't recall much of the book, honestly, but the plot was good enough for me to rate it four and a half stars, so...?

The Wicked King - Holly Black

July 11th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

Cardan and Jude...on the couch...with- ahem. I mean what. What was this book about? Also I love the way Cardan speaks. He’s very formally-spoken and I love that for him.

The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black

July 11th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

yESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. This entire book. The ENDING??? Insane. How do I not remember any of the plot of these books besides the end of this one? We'll never know.

Skin of the Sea - Natasha Bowen

July 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆, DNF

This book was probably pretty great. I personally found the introduction to the plot a bit dragging and it lost my interest because of this, but it sounded like it would eventually be a good and intriguing plot. I may eventually pick this back up, but currently there are other books I am actually excited to read, so for now this will be only a DNF.

These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong

July 17th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️, DNF

Ahem...this was actually a great book, despite the DNF and star rating. I DNFed this book because it was too gorey, but I'm currently attempting to finish it. The writing is beautiful and the characters are very compelling. The tension between the main characters is lovely. I'm hoping to give this five stars when I finally finish it.

Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

July 18th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Delicious. A heist, six morally grey characters, lots of fighting and tension - both romantic and plot-wise. Absolutely ate up the characters' backstories. I love a good trauamtic backstory. I was reading fanfics about this book before I even finished reading it, that's how good the character building was. (Sadly I got a ton of the plot spoiled for me between this book and the next because I decided to join the online fandom before finishing the books. I will NOT make that mistake again.)

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories - Holly Black

July 19th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A goofy short read about Cardan. I love him. That's it.

(Zee said no reading during birthday month apparently? Was I spending too much time being lovesick over my coworker? We'll never know.)

↳ September (6)

The Forgetting - Sharon Cameron

September 1st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book surprised me. I had no idea what it was about going into it, and I was entirely surprised. Apparently it's dystopian? Sci-fi? Who knew? (not me) Anyways, I loved the two main characters, and the plot was extremely creative. This is definitely going to be a re-read next year. Sadly, the sequel was not about this pair of characters, so I didn’t end up reading it.

Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

September 15th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well, this is a funny story. I put in a request at the library for this book in July, having about zero clue what it was about beyond dragons. I was intrigued, of course, because I LOVE dragons. By the time I got my hands on the book, I'd heard many reviews about how awful the book was. I was convinced I'd hate it, but of course, I had to read it because I waited TWO MONTHS for it. It took a few pages for me to be interested, but it was a VERY good book. I love Xaden. I will kiss him on the head. This got four stars because those smut scenes GAGGED me (and not in a good way), but I have since read worse smut, so perhaps this will be a five-star someday. The smut was truly something, though. I sat on the couch and sobbed from laughter while reading them.

The Stolen Heir - Holly Black

September 16th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was...gorey, honestly. But other than that, a great read. Both main characters are very compelling, and I adore Oak. Sweetest boy. I can't wait to read the second book. It really took us a lot farther into the world of Elfhame, and I appreciated the book for that.

Lightlark - Alex Aster

September 16th, ☆, DNF

I truly wish I could just say "No." and move on with this list, but this book was probably the worst book I've ever read. I read three pages and was so extremely confused that I couldn't continue. To confuse me that awfully in the first three pages of a book is a feat, I'll give her that. I would not recommend this book to anyone, and generally I believe that everything has an audience. I'm sorry if you're a fan of this book, but I just...can't.

Fireworks - Alice Lin

September 20th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cute book about a girl and her childhood best friend turned Kpop star when they finally reunite at age 18. Soooo much romantic tension, and I loved how the book dealt with mental health. I hope these two live happily ever after.

Reread - Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

September 25th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yes, I reread it a week after I read it. Sue me. It was a good book. I’ll be rereading it again when my holiday edition shows up.

↳ October (8)

Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli

October 5th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is going on the list of cutesy sapphic books that make me cry. Absolutely loved the way the realtionship between the two main characters developed, and I thought it did a good job about commenting on what it means to be queer. Also, arguably the best college friend group ever in this book. I'm jealous.

When You Wish Upon a Lantern - Gloria Chao

October 6th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was ok. It was cute, but I found it slightly boring. I will say it was very good for a first-person dual POV book, which I usually hate and refuse to read.

Assistant to the Villain - Hannah Nicole Maehrer

October 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a funny read, because I expected to hate read it, but it had me kicking and screaming, especially the ending. I was so insanely upset when I realized it was a trilogy (mostly because the ending was absolutely jarring and I didn’t expect it to end on a cliffhanger), but at the same time I'm glad this isn't the last we'll see of these characters. I love books where the villains are villains because they felt like that was all they could be. I love. Beyond all of this, I simply enjoyed to see all the characters interact with each other, and I felt like the author did a good job of humanizing all the characters. Not to mention Kingsley. He’s arguably my favorite character despite having no real lines in the book.

The Hawthorne Legacy - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

October 15th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Puzzles, Hawthorne boys, and...strip bowling (I forgot about this scene until a coworker told me she didn't read the book because there was stripping in it. I laughed.) Anyways I loved Jameson and Avery in this book and that's about all I have to say.

The Final Gambit - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

October 18th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ok I’m going to be completely honest this book was one huge blur and it almost felt disconnected from the rest of the series. Don’t get me wrong, it was GREAT, but it was like complete whiplash while simultaneously tying up all the loose ends we had in the last two books. Also *spoilers* but JamesonAvery endgame YAYYYYYY.

Reread - Once Upon a Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber

October 19th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I reread this in preparation for the third book and it took me a month to read. Idk man.

Reread - The Ballad of Never After - Stephanie Garber

October 23rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good soup. Send me to the Hollow, please.

A Curse for True Love - Stephanie Garber

October 24th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*ahem* drum roll please… 🥁🥁🥁 …LOVELY!! Evajacks kiss. This is all I wanted. Also his dimples. And Archer. And- Ok enough about that. To actually review this book, I think it was a great wrap-up of the series. The book had an amazing vibe, and I loved how the first half of the book felt shrouded in mystery since we spent the majority of the time in Evangeline’s head. I read this entire book in one five-hour sitting, completely skipping all the homework I had to do that night just so I could read this IMMEDIATELY. It was totally worth it. I also just loved seeing Jacks as the tortured man I always knew he was. Yes bby be so tortured. Now kiss.

↳ November (8)

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas

November 3rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was...a book. It had potential to be a great book in the first 100 pages, but somewhere along the way it got kind of insane. Honestly, I feel like it should've been two books. It was over 600 pages and yet I found most of the scenes were a bit too short. Also, there were too many location changes, and this book is where the bad smut truly is. I couldn't even read the smut scenes...I can usually tolerate them. (Is it clear I don't like smut?). The first half of the book set up this lovely dynamic between Rhys and Feyre that I loved and showed me this new, fun world of the Night Court. I only wish that I’d enjoyed the second half of the book as much as I did the first. The second half didn’t get enough development and kind of just all ran together, which sucked. I would’ve given this four stars if the second half had had better pacing.

Honorable mention - The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black

November 8th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*cough* *cough* ahem. I reread like half this book for the scenes between Cardan and Jude…especially a specific scene in chapter 21 (if you know you know) and also the ending <3 yes queen get your ma-

Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros

November 12th , ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

(I just finished this book right before I started typing this so excuse my screaming) BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. HANDS DOWN. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING ENDING AND I LOVE YOU REBECCA YARROS. If you like fantasy, I’d recommend this book. (Also rep for the messed up joints girlies 🙏🏼) I love Xaden and Violet sm.

These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong

November 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was very good. Great prose, amazing characters, original plot. I only didn’t give it five stars because I personally felt just a bit disconnected from the story. I didn’t really feel all that stressed by the plot, though this may have been because I only had four hours to read the book. Overall, it was a great book and I’ll be reading the sequel when I have time. (Also, coming off the Iron Flame high does make this book a bit less fascinating.)

Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo

November 15th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After four months, I finally bring myself to finish this. A masterpiece. I didn’t want to leave this world, and yet I finally had to. The entire crew has my heart, and that ending broke me. I wanted so badly to simply not read it and make sure it didn’t happen, but here we are. Our gang all got their not-quite-happily-ever-after, and this may or may not have been the only book to make me cry ever. (That’s not true, but I can’t remember which other book I cried at. Perhaps it was my own.) Five stars. I will be returning to this duology someday to reabsorb the masterpiece that it is.

Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things - Maya Prasad

November 22nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was pretty good. The sisters had a cute relationship and the inn was fun. The book was split into four parts - one for each sister - and personally I enjoyed the first two the best. The third one was also pretty cute, but the last one…I didn’t connect with the character as well, and her plot seemed to drag. I actually stopped reading like 3 pages before the end because the plot was basically over like 20 pages before and it was just focusing on side characters. I think I’m just not a huge fan of slice of life in book form, so if you like that, then this book is for you. I have the sequel sitting on my shelf, but I might just take it back to the library at this point.

A Court of Wings and Ruin - Sarah J. Maas

November 23rd, ⭐️⭐️

This book was way too long, to put it bluntly. I considered DNFing it a number of times, and the plot just seemed to drag on. I don’t understand what Maas has against question marks, either. I can’t tell you how many times I read a question in here that ended with a period. I’m not sure whether it was supposed to emphasize tone or what she was trying to do, but it was extremely irritating and distracting. I didn’t notice this happening in the other two books, but maybe I just missed it. The only reason I finished this book was so that I could read ACOSF with full context because I do love Cassian and Nesta, but otherwise I probably would’ve DNFed about 2/3 of the way in. The fandom wasn’t kidding when they said ACOMAF was the best book in the series. I’m only glad I finished this because of the Nessian scene we got at the end 💔 my heart cried.

A Court of Silver Flames - Sarah J. Maas

November 25th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

To my surprise and delight, this book has question marks!!! Yayyy!!! To start this review off, I’ll begin by saying - Sarah finally got a decent review out of me. I really enjoyed this book except for a few small details. Now, that may just be because I love Cassian and Nesta, but I consider it a win that she wrote two characters that I LOVE.

That being said, this book made me dislike Rhysand even more than I already did. I’m not sure what it is about him, but I find him a bit intolerable. I won’t dwell on this point, but I found him especially irritating in relation to the Feyre B-plot. Oof. That in combination with the ridiculous number of smut scenes made me knock this down a star. I was fine with them at first, but then it just became too much. Google says there were only 7 smut scenes in the book, but I swear there were more. This is just a personal gripe and nothing against the book or its readers, but it certainly downgraded my enjoyment of it.

Beyond that, I really loved the tension between Cassian and Nesta, and I also enjoyed seeing the two of them work through their issues. They’re extremely sweet and I love them. One thing though - Sarah, why did you tease a mating ceremony for like three pages and then we don’t even get to see it??? Miss ma’am at the very least I wanted to see Cassian being all sweet as they consummated the mating or whatever. But instead we get another scene of someone crying over Feyre’s painting??? COME ON!!! This will probably be the only time I’ll rate an SJM book over 3 stars.

↳ December (11)

The Brothers Hawthorne - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

December 2nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To start this off, I was completely thrilled to read a book about the boys. Don’t get me wrong, I love Avery, but the three youngest Hawthorne brothers have always piqued my interest more. I honestly didn’t think a book in this series could be better than the others, but there was something about this book that was even more incredible than the trilogy. This book was even better than I thought it would be. I expected to enjoy Jameson’s part of the story even more than Grayson’s part, but I actually found myself enjoying getting to know Grayson quite a bit more. (Don’t get me wrong, I loved Jameson’s part of the story, but this book made me love Gray a lot more.). I’d give this book six stars if I could. Absolutely lovely and completely compelling read, and I love all the new characters we’re introduced to. I do hope that someday we get a book about Xander and Nash, but for now, this will quench my Hawthorne thirst. I definitely have a new favorite Hawthorne though (sorry Jameson). I will kiss Gray-

The Half-Life of Love - Brianna Bourne

December 9th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Uh so to put it simply. I hated this book (in the best way possible). I don’t know why I read this. I knew how it would end from the start, but it intrigued me enough that I read it anyways!!?? Haha. I sobbed at the ending. I never want to think about this book again. I loved the characters but I hated the plot. That’s it. (I will also say this book dealt HEAVILY with death and was very heavy so. Yeah. Be warned.) Update after a week of processing: I actually loved this book a lot, but it broke my heart. I loved the character development that Flint went through over the course of the book, and it absolutely broke me that that was the end. I may change my star rating for this before I officially post this, but for now it stays at 3 for hurting me.

Fireborne - Rosaria Munda

December 16th, ⭐️⭐️☆, DNF

This book was…odd, to say the least. It had potential, but something about the world building felt off to me. Perhaps it’s just not my vibe. My main gripe with it has to be the characters’ names. Some of them had very modern names, some of them had very old names, and some of them only went by extremely weird nicknames. The names alone took me out of the immersion of the world, because every time I’d finally get into it, I’d read a name and go oh, yeah, this is a book. It took me about a week to decide to DNF this, but after reading so many books I genuinely enjoyed, I just couldn’t force myself to finish it.

Greymist Fair - Francesca Zappia

December 16th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the season. I saw the cover at the library and was like oh, yeah, that’ll be a good read. I didn’t even read the summary. Turns out, I was so right. The book kind of has similar vibes to the tales of The Brothers Grimm, but oddly I didn’t find any of this story very creepy. It was dark and a bit gory, but I thoroughly enjoyed the progression of the story. I wouldn’t say this was a five-star read, but I really enjoyed this book. It’s a collection of stories about Greymist Fair that weave together very beautifully, and I absolutely love the atmosphere this book created. Come to find out after I read it, it’s classified as a horror book? I would’ve probably said it was more paranormal fiction, but alas. This was not a horror book to me. I should know, I hate horror. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes morally twisted fantasy books - especially classic fae stories. This book gave me similar vibes to those.

The Matzah Ball - Jean Meltzer

December 22nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was so much fun. I think I read it in 3.5 hours. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this, because honestly it’s one of the four Christmas (this book wasn’t technically Christmas but based on certain themes I think you could categorize it that way) books I impulsively rented from the library, but I loved it. The main girl had a chronic illness, and as someone who struggles physically myself, I really enjoyed reading about a main character going through the mental struggles of such a thing. This book gave silly Hallmark movie vibes, but it was completely enjoyable. The main guy was extremely sweet albeit a bumbling idiot, and I actually didn’t mind the major misunderstanding trope that carried this plot. I also really enjoyed reading a book that included lots of Jewish culture. It felt like home. There were a few aspects of this book I found a bit childish for a book about two people who were nearly thirty, but I guess different people enjoy different things. It was a fun, quick read if you’re looking for something with a holiday theme.

These Hollow Vows - Lexi Ryan

December 23rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

I’m not really sure why, but I started reading this in October and couldn’t get into it. A couple pages in and I was HOOKED. I love me a book about Fae realms. (At least, the original Fae. ACOTAR was too far from the source material for me to enjoy it, sadly.) This book has all the mystery and wonder of the Fae lands while being extremely simple to read and understand. I LOVED the plot progression, and the plot twists were predictable in a roundabout way where you could sort of guess them, but they still surprised you. The ending made me scream in both an angry and excited way. I totally saw the ending coming, but it still pissed me off!

I can’t wait to read the next book, but sadly I must wait until I return from vacation. I would DEFINITELY recommend this if you like fae books, especially if you enjoyed The Cruel Prince. The only reason I didn’t give this book five stars is that I felt the side characters were all a bit underdeveloped. I’m not sure if this was on purpose since the book is from the main character’s point of view, but I felt like I didn’t even know the love interests well enough to actually make a good judgement of either of them. I did, according to the ending, end up pegging both of their true characters correctly, but I still felt they were underdeveloped for how much time they spent in the book.

Honorable mention - The Queen of the Tearling - Erika Johansen

December 24rd, unrated, DNF

I tried to read this book about ten different times before I had to return it to the library, but it just isn’t my cup of tea. It didn’t capture my attention in the twenty pages I read, and I don’t think I can follow the character on her journey. It’s very sad, because I truly love a learned royalty plot, but I couldn’t do it. Perhaps I will pick it up again someday, but I don’t plan on it being anytime in the near future.

Defy the Night - Brigid Kemmerer

December 25th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ok, this one surprised me. I picked this book up at the library back in the summer, but I realized it was dual POV, and at that point I just couldn’t handle reading that, so I returned the book. I picked it up again on Christmas because my grandma bought me a kindle and I really wanted to try it, but the options at my library that were immediately available were limited. I’m so glad I gave it a second chance, because I loved it. This book had everything I love in a fantasy novel. There were so many twists I didn’t see coming, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book made me enjoy a wholly political plot, and I love that for it. Usually, I’m not a huge fan of political plots, but I loved the way this one developed. The romance was absolutely adorable as well, and it made me so happy I decided to give this book a second chance. As it stands, I will probably be reading the sequel tomorrow, and I am very excited, although I’m a bit upset the third book isn’t out until January! I was so happy to give another book five stars this month, because with how it was going, I didn’t think I would be.

Defend the Dawn - Brigid Kemmerer

December 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

Hah. This book. True to my word, I finished it the day after Defy the Night. I’ll be honest, this book was slightly disappointing after how amazing the first book was, but I’ll let it slide solely because we got to know a new and amazing character. Besides that, this book did BOUNDS of character work. We got to know more and more about our main characters, and they all learned to overcome their stubbornness in this book. One thing I really loved about this book is that we got to see more about how close the brothers are. I feel like I don’t read many books where boys are very close to each other, especially not in a royalty setting, so it was refreshing to read a book where two brothers rule the throne united instead of going to war over it.

I was a bit disappointed that they spent the majority of the book on a ship, but because of the development that happened in the ship both character-wise and plot-wise, I can’t necessarily complain. For one, we got away from Allisander in this book, and I really had no character in this book more than him (yet). I’m very excited to read the last book when it comes out, though I wish I could read it right now. This series is truly worth the hype it had when I first discovered it, and I can’t wait to see where the relationships go in the next book.

The Lost Sisters - Holly Black

December 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Truth be told, this was a whole lot shorter than I thought it would be. It was essentially a letter from Taryn to Jude about the events of the first book. I found it to be a very interesting character study, honestly, and it showed us a bit more about Cardan too. I would recommend reading this if you’ve read The Cruel Prince series.

These Twisted Bonds - Lexi Ryan

December 29th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh my gosh this book did more than I could’ve ever imagined it would. This book gave me all the character development the first book was lacking, and the way the plot developed was insanely amazing. I absolutely love Finn, and the way he calls Abriella Princess just absolutely melts me. The world got extremely fleshed out in this book, and I really enjoyed seeing how this author put her own twist on the world of the Fae. I also, oddly, really liked how the spice was done in this book. It was there but it mostly lacked detail and description, which is how I like my spice. I want a vague idea and nothing more! 😆 Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and it will probably be my last book of the year. I think it was a great conclusion to this year’s reading, and I’m glad I ended the year on a high note.

If you read this far, thanks for sticking around! For 2024, I will be doing monthly wrap-ups, so don’t expect another post like this…unless I decide to do a yearly wrap-up after my monthly ones are done…

If you have any recommendations to start my year off, tell me! I currently am planning on reading the Percy Jackson series, but that’s the only thing I’m really looking forward to reading

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