#barbara fan club | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

i-smoke-chapstick · 8 months ago

Text

Request: I'm already back for more. As l've already told you I love your interpretation of a reader with dwarfism and since you are okay with me requesting more, can I get multiple headcanons of Gotham!Rogues x Dwarf!reader with just either simply day to day headcanons or their first reaction to meeting/seeing them? Rogues including jervis(obv Imao), Jerome, Oswald, Victor fries, Zsasz, and ra's al ghul!

The plot can be the reader being similar to the Cheshire Cat or Nightcrawler when it comes to teleportation powers. They're friends with Barbara, Selina, and Tabitha. The rogues always see photos on them on the news, newspapers, and sometimes in person but if they even get caught staring, reader teleports themself and whoever they're with away, so they don't really get a chance to talk or know them.

Like last time, only write this if you're okay with it and I'll understand if you can't or just don't want too!

Thank you tons again! - anon

‘VOULEZ-VOUS,

-GOTHAM VILLIANS X READER-

⋆ Characters ↬ Jervis Tetch, Jerome Valeska, Oswald Cobblepot, Victor Fries, Victor Zsasz, Ra's Al Ghul

⋆ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 ; gotham villians with a cheshire cat!reader who has dwarfism!

⋆ tags/warnings. GOTHAM!villains x female reader. FLUFF! I love readers power SOSOSOSO much! Super creative <3 Also villians being whipped for reader just cuz they can. Protective Tabitha. REALLY protective Oswald. Jerome's a bit insensitive. Victor Zsasz is not immune to a pretty girls smile. Have never written for Victor Fries or Ra's, so fingers crossed their parts aren’t too bad! Ra’s and Fries parts got a little angsty

𝐽𝐸𝑅𝑉𝐼�� 𝑇𝐸𝑇𝐶𝐻

♫ “Across the room, your eyes are glowin' in the dark." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Oh, the man is completely enthralled with you. How could he not be? You're the missing piece to his wonderland puzzle.

Similarly to Alice, he believes your powers go hand and hand with each other. He rules the mind, while you have complete control of your body. His first thought when he see's you in the newspaper is simple.

He must have you.

He will do anything it takes to track you down. He finds himself becoming more and more entranced with the prospect of you working with him, partners in crime, connected body and soul. Of course those feelings of admiration become obsession.

Before you know it, the man is going lengths to find you; just like how he was with Alice. Hiring Jim Gordon as a bounty hunter? Mayhaps...

When he finally finds you at the siren's club, he can't help but be in awe. You're so small, so fragile, so unique. He wants to kiss your flattened cheekbones that look like pure porcelain. Your his doll.

"My dear, Y/N!" He's calling when he finds you, his teeth spread into a wide grin. He finds your eyes quickly turning to meet his gaze, glowing underneath the club's light. His shadow towers over you.

"You look ravishing, I must admi-" He goes to speak, just before you disappear from thin air. His mouth is open for a few moments, eyebrows scrunched.

Where did his precious little Cheshire Cat go?

Oh yeah, he's pouting. He's never been a fan of the disappearing act. But he doesn't mind. He's determined. He's played this game with Alice for far too long, he will not take no for an answer.

You'll find notes, gifts, flowers, dresses tailored to your sizing. All perfectly crafted from Gotham's most professional hypnotized seamstresses or florists.

Barbara is smirking when she finds the gifts, cackling about how sweet small little Y/N has a loony admirer. Tabitha's less than pleased, throwing out any bouquet she finds before you see them. Selina agrees, the guy's a freak.

It's up to you if you want to give him a chance <3 He would be the most devoted lover and partner if you decided too...if not a bit overly infatuated.

𝐽𝐸𝑅𝛰𝑀𝐸 𝑉𝐴𝐿𝐸𝑆𝐾𝐴

♫ “Nothing promised, no regrets." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Uh oh! Murderous clown on the loose, and he's also 100% fixated, just like a certain hatter.

Jerome brushes you off at first, don't get him wrong, he adores your work on the city. Nothing he loves more than seeing some horribles destroy Gotham! He's a fan, if you could call him that.

It takes him some time to warm up to the idea of being whipped. But once he is, you have him wrapped around your pretty little finger.

Similar to Jervis- he can't help himself. You're powerful. You're strange. You're a freak just like him and the rest of these bad boys in Gotham! You remind him of the circus, all different shapes and sizes of people around him. You belong with him. By his side. On his side. Maybe sitting in his lap... What?

Yeah, he's not sure where that came from either. But hey, he's not complaining! He likes to think he's a bachelor, a young beau waiting for his turn in the love game! Before he knows it, he's slicking his hair back, putting on his finest and most colorful suits, and making sure his face is stapled all the way. Then he's getting his cult to crash the Siren's club. Moment of silence for Tabitha who will have to clean it up after.

The place is a shit show, people in makeup dancing wildly and giggling manically. Tabitha, Barbra, Selina and you get tied up in the confusion. It's hard to fight back against a bunch of crazies when your expensive alcohol is being thrown at walls, and you four are simultaneously tied up together in one big rope. Barbra's throwing a bit of a hissy fit.

Everyone is quiet when Jerome enters, dressed to the nines, with a loud and boisterous,

"Hey gorgeous! I'm sure you've heard of me," He speaks, bending down to your level, invading your personal space. He goes to continue, until the four of you evaporate before him. Teleported away. He's left staring at the loose ropes, smile unchanged- but eyes widened in surprise.

Oh. Okay. So that's how it's gonna be. Alright.

Jerome loves a game of cat and mouse.

He craves attention. He loves the center stage, and he will not be ignored. No no no no.

He will not leave your club alone until you confront him. Yeah, sorry Babs and Tabs. Barbara will start urging you to just "sleep with the damn clown!" while Tabitha is trying desperately to not have you anywhere near that creep.

But the club isn't all he'll do, doll! No, he'll get his cult to do more and more mass murders and sprees across the city, each one broadcasted on live television. Each time, he looks into the camera, blood on his face, professing his undying love.

"This is for you, Y/N!" He's showcasing the violence around, "Call me!" He gestures, ending the broadcast abruptly.

Well, kind of hard to ignore a man when your club is in shambles, Barbara is going batshit insane, AND you have Jim Gordon trying to find you; just in order to stop these massacres around the city in your honor.

Once again, you should give the man a chance! He doesn't think he'd make a horrible boyfriend, y'know, if you're into gingers.

𝛰𝑆𝑊𝐴𝐿𝐷 𝐶𝛰𝐵𝐵𝐿𝐸𝑃𝛰𝑇

♫ “Take it now or leave it." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Ozzie's a bit harder to gauge, because I don't think he'd become infatuated with someone unless he got to meet them first. So for arguments sake, we are just going to say you two have meet previously on many occasions! Specifically when he's had some bad blood with Barbara and Tabitha.

At first, he detests you. He thinks you're a nuisance, and a powerful tool for the Siren's. You can escape from ANYONES grasp, and take them with you. His nose is scrunching up every time he thinks of just how he can get rid of you.

Well, if he can't get rid of you, he's well versed in manipulation. Perhaps he can convince you to join his team.

You're going about your day at the club, tending bar on a step stool, the usual. Oswald comes in, Victor trailing behind him. Tabitha and Barbara are instantly on alert.

"Hello." Oswald fixes his suit jacket, rolling his cane in his fingertips. He wears a faux smile, and Tabitha huffs.

"What can we help you with, Ozzie?" Barbara is smiling, just as fake as his. It's a weird Gotham crime boss stand-off.

"I was wondering if you, my dear," He speaks, suddenly nodding down to you, "Would like to accompany me for lunch tomorrow."

Yeah, everyone's jaws drop, including Oswald's at the silence. Oswald didn't necessarily intend for it to sound like he was trying to ask you on a date. He's flushing red under everyone's gaze, suddenly fidgeting. If you look closely, Victor's giving a lazy amused smirk in the back.

"Like hell-" Tabitha's about to answer for you, before you squint at the man.

"Sure." You scan him up and down, hesitantly. Before anyone has a chance to speak, Oswald's turning on his heel.

"Wonderful! 2:00 sharp. Don't be late." He's smiling, knowing he's got a one-up on the Siren's.

...Well, leave it Oz to have things never work out quite his way. One lunch turns into two, and two turns into three. He's forcing himself to remember why he's doing this; you are just a tool. This is all a charade!

Hard to focus though, when you two seem to enjoy one another's company. Like when you show him what it feels like to teleport, (He's closing his eyes in fear, only for it to feel like nothing.) Or when you two have a strangely intimate discussion about what it was like growing up not very normal.

He's opening up about his schoolyard bullies, about his mother. About the feeling of being taunted, teased for his nose or height. You tell him, you know the feeling.

He stares at you, eyes focused solely on you. He's enamored.

He turns viciously protective over you. Any snide comment made towards you by a henchman of his, or a frequent at the Siren's club, they are brutally stabbed to death, a bit impulsively, with a bottle shard.

When he realizes he's falling in love with you, similar to Jervis, he likes doing grand gestures to get your attention. If there's anything you desire, you'll get it. Which is why when he finds out you're avoiding him, he becomes sour.

What? Why are you leaving him? He doesn't understand. The intimacies you two have shared, did they mean nothing to you? He's hurt, he's angry, he's aggressive. He's more irritable than usual; and judging from the fact he's irritable ALL the time, it's pretty bad. If you don't explain yourself, this sadness will probably turn into anger. He already believes you two have some weird pseudo-romantic relationship, so he's taking this like a break-up. He's a vengeful ex.

Whenever he stops by the Siren's club, and sees you teleport away at the sight of him, it stings. It all comes to a head when he's breaking down in his mansion. You will have to be the one to confront him, because he'll be too busy sulking. He loves you. He doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. If you don't want to talk to him, he won't force you, even if he's going crazy trying to figure out why.

When he sees you, he's standing up in a hurry, fumbling over his words, sniffling. His blue-green eyes are puffy, and you'll have to sigh and talk to him.

Please, tell him why your avoiding him. Explain if you're insecure, if you're scared of loving. He'll be thankful for the explanation. He'll be angry on your behalf for anyone who made you believe you were unloved, whether for your dwarfism or your powers. He's promising to kill for you, tear down the city to avenge you.

"Okay, Oz, I'm not dead yet."

"Yet?!"

Cuties <3

𝑉𝐼𝐶𝑇𝛰𝑅 𝐹𝑅𝐼𝐸𝑆

♫ “Now is all we get." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Forgive him, he’s trying his hardest not to care, and failing miserably.

Similarly to Ozzie, I can’t see him becoming infatuated or obsessed like Jerome and Jervis so quickly, not since what happened with Nora. So, I’m imagining you’ve also met him once or twice; using your powers for the sirens, just like he and firefly have done some hitjobs for you four in the past.

He’s in love with the idea of having a family; of being accepted, of leaving this life behind. It’s made him bitter, cold; but the man will do anything for love. Anything.

And it’s hard not to notice the small woman running around on her toes in the club, parts of her body vanishing here and there. You’re gorgeous to him. Those small cheshire-like smiles you send him when he’s supposed to be working. They break his hard exterior. He doesn’t know if he loves or hates it. He loves it.

Even a small pit of jealousy fills him, whenever he sees you in the news. Or when he watches silently on the sidelines, while you talk with Barbara and Tabitha and Selina. You do it so effortlessly. How could anyone not be entranced by you?

He thinks that he’s a freak. Firefly’s a freak. Just like Jerome and Oz, he definitely finds solace in the idea you are just like him. You’re one of them; a freak. Pushed out by Gotham’s careless inhabitants, forced into this life. He remembers being driven out of town by Penguins army. He wonders if you’ve expirenced the same treatment at one point in your life. He wants to show you, he’s here for you. He loves you, every part of you. No matter how unconvential or mistreated. He just wants to take care of you.

Just like Oz, he’ll be ready to kill anyone for you. Freeze em’ to death in one single sweep. Just give him the go ahead.

Victor is terrified of hurting you, as well. Not only your tiny stature, but he’s sure he’d get ice burns from his fingertips. He imagines a life where it’s just the two of you, without the cold, back when he was just himself. He dreams of cooking for you. Owning an apartment. Even having a family. He swears, he’d be gentle. But he’s too uncertain. He isn’t good enough, and he certainly isn’t good for you.

You’ll have to be the first person to talk to him, warm up to him. He might not state it directly, other than a nonchalant nod here and there, but it makes him feel special. It’s the little interactions you two have that make him fall helmet over heels.

You two will spend hours, at the club, watching from the sidelines. Barbara and Tabitha out on business, Selina doing…Selina things. You’ll poke fun at the passerby’s to get a reaction out of him.

“Oh god, I just saw that guy kissing that girl- what’s he doing with that other chick?…Oh- they are making out. Oh, okay, he’s taking him to the back. I’ll give you $20 if Barbara kills this guy for doing it on her desk.” You’re snickering, gossiping. Every now and then you look over at him to see him already staring at you, the hint of a smile on his lips. It’s all you’ll get for now…until he responds.

“…Guess you’ll owe me $20 then.” He’s firing back, voice low. It’s the first time he’s spoken. The first time you’ve seen him do something other than brooding. It’s sweet.

These little things will become routine, and he’ll find solace in them. Eventually you’ll even play some tricks with your teleportation on the clubs costomers, scaring them, bumping into them. All the while you’re watching him in the corner, smiling, exhaling through his nose. He playfully scolds you sometimes, other times he chuckles. Either way, it’s a sight to see.

God, please don’t dissapear on this man. I don’t think he could take it. Gotham be damned, if you ever find yourself scared of him, he’d be broken. He’d think it was his fault, he’d think he lost his second chance at love. If you ran away from him, he might just up and leave Gotham.

But even if you did try to avoid him for awhile, I think he’d let you go without a fight. He’d just be more sulky than usual, more prone to picking petty fights with Firefly. You might find the room uncomfortably cold, even when he’s not occupying it. (He froze the AC to the club, he was upset. Sorry Barbara.)

I think he’s the only one on this list of characters that Barbara, Tabitha, and Selina might all actively approve of. Barbara wouldn’t mind having a henchman dating her bestie; soldifies his loyalty to them. Also, he’s good eye-candy. Tabitha doesn’t have any personal issue with the man, other than previously working with Penguin, of course. Selina will still make fun of him for being a walking freezer, but hey, what can you do. You have their blessing.

If you caught him before he decided to up and leave, explain to him why you run away, why you’ve been avoiding him. He won’t just understand, he’ll practically worship you. He’ll explain himself too, why he’s terrified of touching you. It’s not because of your dwarfism, or your powers. It’s just how he’s afraid of hurting or loosing you. Loving people is hard.

If he could cry, he would. But his tears will freeze when they touch his cheek. You’ll have to show him you aren’t fragile. He’ll believe you.

You guys can heal eachother.

𝑉𝐼𝐶𝑇𝛰𝑅 𝑍𝑆𝐴𝑆𝑍

♫ “The girl means business, so I'll offer her a drink." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

THIS Victor, on the other hand, is much more brash in his approaches to courting you.

He’s heard about you on the radio, from his boss, seen you in the newspapers, on the tv, watched you from the window in your apartment.

…What? Who said that?

He studies your every move. The man is calculated in his methods, what can he say? He’s not obsessed! (loud incorrect buzzer)

He just wants to size you up a little, see who the newest danger is in Gotham. He’ll convince himself he’s doing it for his boss, whether it be Falcone or Penguin. But it definitely goes deeper.

Unlike the other villians on this list that see your dwarfism as something to empathize with, Victor doesn’t really pay it any mind. He’s been around the block a few times- he’s been with women of all ages, heights, race, etc. The man really doesn’t have a type. What he’s attracted to is strength, independence, someone who will laugh at his dry humor with him. He’s stalked you at the club. He sees the way you banter with Tabitha and Selina, the way you make Barbara dissapear when she’s being too annoying with a flick of your wrist.

He’s incredibly attracted to a woman whose witty and good at what they do. Just like him.

Victor’s more subtle in his approach. He’ll make it casual.

So when you’re at the bar in the club, sitting around, watching the passerby’s, he’ll make his move.

“Now, what’s a girl like you doing here, alone?” He sneaks up behind you, giving you a start. You flush red at the man in front of you. Victor Zsasz. The words are spoken as he drums his fingers on the bar, cocking his head at your short frame. He towers over you, caging you in.

When you don’t speak, it doesn’t phase him. You’re about to teleport away in an instant, until he drawls your attention back to him with a lazy smile.

“So…” He whistles. ��What’s your drink of choice? Wait- Let me guess.” The man doesn’t stop talking, listing off drinks that are most definitely not your drink of choice.

He watches you all the time. He knows exactly what your favorite drink is. But he wants you to stay.

It’s a bit awkward, a bit intimidating, and strangely charming. He speaks with an inflection that borders on sarcasm and curiosity. It’s intriguing, coming from Gotham’s most dangerous hitman.

“Can I ask-“ You squeak, now nursing a drink he ordered for you. It’s a Vodka Cran, and it could be worse. “…Is there a hit on me?”

He stares at you expressionless for uncomfortably long, before it forms into something quizzical.

“…Nah,” His voice is slow. He clicks his tongue. “Just an admirer.”

There’s an awkward scilence. He shrugs.

“Y’know. I’m a big fan of this place. Like the ambience.” He sips his own drink, you don’t know what it is. Just as his words sound out, you swear you can overhear a gunshot in the distance, probably from Barbara’s meeting with some other underground boss. Somehow, the sentiment makes you laugh.

He perks up at the sound.

You aren’t used to this. Someone being so casual about you, your powers, your small stature. He’s a bit flirty from time to time, but between the alcohol and his quips, you don’t seem to mind. He seems oddly genuine in his demeanor with every compliment or joke that slips.

You two keep the banter going for the rest of the night. Mostly chatting about how tiring your respective bosses can be. He does a poor drunken impression of Penguin, and you do one of Barbara. It’s a relaxing night in comparison to what you usually expirence living in Gotham.

You think you only see him every so often. Coming by the club whenever Penguin comes, or when a job is sent out, and his target is there. He’ll always send you a wink when he leaves, blood on his face.

But he sees you every day.

Yeah, the stalking only worsens. If you find your phone in different places throughout the day, or your window reopened, he’s the reason why.

He’s fine like this. In his head, the two of you are going steady. He’s pretty committed. You’re his girl, and that’s that.

Until you start avoiding him like the plague.

Zsasz WILL find a way to confront you. He doesn’t care if you teleport away each and everytime. He’ll find a way to get the message clear, through other means.

If you find a “talk to me.” with a smiley face, written with some poor saps blood, on your mirror, I apologize. He’s gotta get the message sent somehow.

Yeah, he won’t give up. He’ll go great lengths to get you two back together. He’s also listening to disco break-up ballads to cope. He’s getting the zsaszettes to stalk you when he can’t. If you still won’t budge, yeah, Tabitha might end up with a gun pointed at her head until you talk to him.

He’s not necessarily angry, but chasing after you is certainly taking a toll on him. Give the guy some credit.

Tabitha, still with a gun pointed at her, will be barking at you to not talk to him. He’s a creep, he’s an asshole, and you shouldn’t compromise your honor! (His eye will twitch at her words, trigger finger itching.)

Up to you what you decide to do! Explain the situation, talk to him, make things official, or…bye bye Tabitha. And that still won’t stop him. He doesn’t take rejection very seriously.

When you tell him exactly why you teleport yourself away, he’s the only one on this list who might think it’s stupid. He’ll understand, don’t get me wrong, but this is Gotham! Why would you be insecure? He garuntees you he’s met at least ten other people with far worse skeletons in their closet. You’ll have to teach him that’s not the issue.

Yeah, our little sociopath has a hard time with feelings. But I think you two would maybe be good for eachother! Teach him to listen more, whip him up into shape, and reap the benefits of having Gotham’s number one hitman as your personal bodyguard and lover. He’ll take you to stakeouts, make fun of Jim Gordon, crash your place. You two can watch Netflix under the blankets. He loves your size- cuddling into you like his own personal pillow.

Tabitha’s very dissapointed.

𝑅𝐴’𝑆 𝐴𝐿 𝐺𝐻𝑈𝐿

♫ “I'm really glad you came, you know the stars, you know the game.” Voulez-Vous by ABBA

May god have mercy on your soul, reader. Ra’s is a sight to behold when he’s in love.

He heard whispers of your name all around Gotham. He sees you on the news when he’s absentmindedly listening. A girl who can teleport herself and others, to any location? Even the power to control which body parts you maneuver. Extrodinary.

He’s immeadiatley infatuated with your power. He wants to covet you. Possess you. Have you close to him. He needs to see your power for himself.

He’s similarly calculated in his response to tracking you down. He will appear at the club, slinking into the shadows, whispering a quaint,

“Hello.”

It makes you jump, and as if on instinct, you teleport yourself away. He marvels at the way in which you do so right infront of his eyes. How rare it is, for him to be so easily confounded.

He must see you again.

You’ll feel his presence every now and then. Maybe even catch a glimpse of him watching you. You’ll turn back, eyes squinted, only to find he’s not there anymore. It confuses you just the same.

Though, you eventually get used to him watching. It turns into a little game between the two of you. If he can catch you, if you can catch him. It’s strangely endearing.

He’s also becoming increasingly more attentive to your daily habits. He memorizes your schedule. He sends members of the League of Shadows to observe you, to take notes on how you use your powers.

If any member insults you, or pokes fun at your dwarfism, Ra’s will spare them no mercy. Yeah…he’s making it a big deal. He’s ruthlessly insulting them for their ignorance, before killing them without a second thought. In a way, you belong to Ra’s already. He will not stand for disrespect among his order.

Ra’s is a gentleman. Just like Ozzie and Jervis, you’ll find gifts littered around your apartment. Little notes from him, written in the most exquisite cursive, expressing his admiration of you. Beautiful, rare, and expensive jewelry, tailored to the size of your wrists and neck.

You’ll see him exiting Barbara’s office sometimes, when he needs her for the demons head. He’ll send you a smile, half-way gentle, half-way playful. He’s unsure where the lines between love and facination blur; but he’s slowly realizing he loves you. He hasn’t felt such a way in decades. He’s been alive for very very long. No human woman has made him feel so helpless. He enjoys it thoroughly.

He’ll confess, the night before Gotham is meant to be blown to the ground. He’ll turn up, before the events are set in motion. You won’t have a clue in the world what he’s up to.

“My dear.” He’ll drawl, and you’ll go to teleport away, as you always do. It’s tradition for you two at this point.

Before you get a chance, he’ll click is tongue at you.

“Wait.” He speaks, voice sounding strangely desperate. It makes you freeze. “Come with me. Leave the city. Get somewhere else. I’d like to show you my home.”

Your choice, if you choose to leave with him. He’d make for a very attentive lover, and would protect you at any cost. But if you choose to do so, you’ll leave Tabitha and Barbara and Selina to their own fate <\3

Not that it matters if you decide to reject his offer. He’ll have you, one way or another.

123 notes · View notes

senanatheskenana · 2 years ago

Text

Genshin Characters’ Voice line About you

Jean

"Oh (y/n)? They're wonderful! They just work so hard, and they're so compassionate... It almost makes me want to work even harder with how much they do to help me!... What?? Of course, I wouldn't have a crush- feelings for them! It-It would be completely unprofessional to feel something like that for a fellow knight!"

Amber

"So you've heard of them too... I'm not surprised, they're just so cool that I'm surprised they dont have as big a fan club as Barbara. I guess if they had a fan club, you could say that I'm the founder of it!"

Lisa

"Such a cutie- we've known each other since our days in the Akademiya. They were just as formidable then. Hm? If you're insinuating that I liked them back then- or now- well, that's, unfortunately for you, none of your business, traveller."

Kaeya

"I've asked them countless times to the tavern but every time they refuse- say, I dont suppose you could perhaps convince them to meet me somewhere? Every time I do it they play hard to get- they call me a flirt. Oh? You think that I should ask them to go somewhere more romantic? Hmm, I'll think about it, but while I'm doing that you ask them first. There might be a reward in it for you~"

Diluc

"W-What? No, I dont really know all that much about them. I hardly ever talk to them, so of course, I wouldn't know that. I'm not being defensive, that's ridiculous- the idea- no! I... Is this- Has Kaeya been telling you that I like them? N-No? Oh. You didn't even ask about that... I have something I must do- Goodbye, traveller."

Venti

"Ah yes, (y/n). The single most perfect thing in Mondstadt- if not Teyvat... And perhaps the only thing I can't write a song about. It's just not possible to write something that lives up to them in person. It's like drawing air, you just can't do it"

Mona

"When I first met them, it took me by surprise. I hadn't seen it. Perhaps it was better that way because I could experience it all like fate wanted me to."

Albedo

"I sometimes find myself drawing them without realising. I dont know why but even during experiments I sometimes get distracted by thoughts of them. I've made plans to see them, to try and pinpoint why these things are occurring."

Rosaria

"They're just as irritating as you- not leaving me be, following me around like a puppy... Well yes, I suppose it would be strange not having them around. And it is sort of sweet that they keep trying. Dont get any ideas, it's just that"

Eula

"Proper procedure would dictate that I begin our courtship with perhaps a bouquet or an offer of attending a social function together. Do you think that they'd prefer red or yellow roses? "

Xiao

"Why are you asking me about... them. I-I don't know much about them, I wouldn't put them in danger like that. The closest I could ever hope to get to them is always too far for them to see me. Don't be stupid, an Adeptus and a mortal could never hope to live together happily, it will always end in regret and grief."

Beidou

"When we get ready to dock, I climb into the crows' nest and can you guess what the first thing I look for is? Bingo! I could spot them from a mile away even in the fog because my heart recognises them before my eyes and tells me every time"

Ningguang

"I have a certain Qixing member I dine at Wanmin Restaurant with- all professional of course... Most of the time. You can't expect me to be a businesswoman all the time can you?"

Tartaglia

"Back in Snezhnaya, I have a childhood best friend. I also have a lover. I'm fortunate enough that they happen to be the same person. Why are you so curious about this? Are you surprised that someone can love a war machine like me? Or is it the other way around? Trust me, if you met them you'd understand how easy it is to fall in love"

Zhongli

"I haven't felt like this in hundreds of years. Every time I see them, I feel the memories crashing back and I see the future through their eyes. I sometimes feel terrified of getting close because I know they will one day pass on too. But I also remember that if I dont the only thing that changes is my happiness. "

Ganyu

"Am I really that obvious? Do... Do they know that I feel this way? Oh, so it's only you that realised- whew, that saves me a little embarrassment "

Hu Tao

"Every attempt I make to ask them out, it always ends in them backing away. Should I start asking them to go somewhere instead of coffin picking?"

Shenhe

"Of the people I've met, only one other do I remember as much as you. (Y/N) would pick herbs on the mountains and I would watch from the bottom to catch them if they fell. Sometimes I wish they would be a little more clumsy"

Yelan

"I guess you could say I know them. Pretty... Intimately if I do say so. I didn't imply anything, you're just inferring things, traveller haha~"

Ayaka

"We first met at a clan function and we hit it off right away! We would sit around the teapot and pour each other tea and pretend to be an old married couple. I suppose we still do now, but we dont have to pretend anymore"

Kazuha

"The thing I regret most about leaving my home behind is... (Y/N). There hasn't been a day where I haven't whispered 'i love you' into the wind in hopes it might one day reach them. I haven't forgotten them and I only hope they haven't forgotten me. No- it's selfish to hope that they wouldn't move on after so long."

Yoimiya

"My favourite part of fireworks shows is when (Y/N) runs over to tell me how beautiful they were. I'd throw a show every night if they were watching it each time!"

"I... I seldom find comfort in the company of mortals. I dont often find comfort in anyone's company. But I suppose if I had to look back, the one thing that really does bring me peace and happiness is (Y/N). Perhaps, this is a story best left untold for now, Traveller"

Kujo Sara

"My strict schedule hardly permits my free time. What little time I do find I usually spend escorting the shrine attendant (Y/N) around the island. 'Below my salary' you say? It's not that. I just quite enjoy being around them. Please keep this confidential... "

Kokomi

"Ah, speaking of (Y/N) could you please deliver this letter to them? I'd love to do it in person but I'm extremely busy. Thank you so much! Just dont read its contents, they are strictly for their eyes only. Strategies? Wha- oh yes! That's it. Off you go now"

Thoma

"Nervous? I-I look nervous. I... I guess I'm a little nervous to see (Y/N) again. It seems that every time I see them I get a little more schoolboyish, and I feel my face flare up. Oh, they're coming! Does my shirt have creases in it? Good!"

Itto

"How does my hair look? And my horns? What about my- What do you mean I'm panicking? Nah, I'm just trying to make sure that I impress them. An oni's got to look his best when they meet someone like (Y/N) after all"

Gorou

"Have-Have you seen (Y/N) recently? No! You dont need to go and find them, I was just wondering. I think I might have upset them... I didn't mean to but I panicked. They got a new outfit and I got really nervous because they looked so... I could feel my tail wagging and I didn't want to embarrass myself- so I ran. God, I'm such a coward. "

Yae Miko

"They're quite cute to tease, hehe~ It's so easy to make them blush and I just can't help myself when I get the chance to fluster them."

Ayato

"When Ayaka first introduced us, I was worried that they might be intimidated... But I'd trust that's not the case considering that we now share a bedroom. I have a feeling that Ayaka knew what she was doing, haha"

Tighnari

"I know I tend to ramble on and on about plants- but they said that they like it. (Y/N) says that out of anyone, they would want to listen to me do it... What? N-no, I dont think that they like me- well yes they like me- what I mean is love- I mean that would be quite nice but- oh, I'm doing it again."

Cyno

"I dont tend to get along with Scholars, more often than not I end up frustrated with their pride and arrogance. Of course, there are exceptions. Tighnari and (Y/N) are amongst the only people associated with the Akademiya that I could call...Lo... F-Friends."

Candace

"I protect Auru Village so of course, that means (Y/N). They are probably the one I keep an eye on most. I just like to make sure they are always safe. When someone encounters a rarity in the desert, they protect it with all their heart."

Nilou

"I'll never forget our first dance... it was wonderful. I was so caught up in the movement that when I stopped spinning my head kept going and I got dizzy- but the first thing I saw clearly was them. For the first time, I tripped over my feet, oh I was so embarrassed! When the crowds finally dispersed, they remained and we ended up waltzing into the night."

Scaramouche

"Dont be stupid. I dont have any sort of emotion for that mortal. They're just another annoying human. They're tenacious I'll give them that, always trying to talk to me. It's like they're asking me to hurt them... What do you mean you think I'm scared? Of what? Why... No, i dont get scared of feelings- I-I just dont have them for them!"

#genshin headcanons #genshin impact fluff #genshin imagines #genshin impact imagine #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact x gender neutral reader #genshin impact x reader #Diluc x reader #childe x reader #albedo x reader #scaramouche x reader #tighnari x reader

2K notes · View notes

animekpopsimp · 1 year ago

Text

Stalker (Diluc and Kaeya x Sister Reader)

(Y/N) sighed, glancing around the area, trying to spot a familiar face amongst the small crowd. Not spotting the person she dreaded seeing, she felt a sense of relief, the sixteen year old was hoping to make it back to Dawn Winery without any issues. Usually that wasn't a problem, but someone had been making themselves too comfortable with being around her.

Albert was well known amongst the people of Mondstat for being the proudest member of Barbara's fan club, which (Y/N) found weird, considering both she and the deaconess were the same age. However, he had recently started to notice her as well, something she wished had never happened. Because as soon as he did, he started acting the same way he did when he was around Barbara. At first, it seemed like he was just being nice, but the way (Y/N) saw it, he was being a creep.

The young girl contemplated telling either of her brothers, even if they didn't speak unless they had to, she knew there was one thing they agreed on. Keeping her safe, that included keeping creeps away from her. However she didn't want to worry them, both of them had busy lives. Diluc was either working at Angel's Share or Dawn Winery, Kaeya, being the Calvary Captain usually had something to take care of. So in (Y/N)'s mind, it was best to just try and avoid Albert all together. At first it was easy enough, but he was becoming more persistent.

"Oh, would you like some help carrying that" the familiar voice reached (Y/N)'s ears. She cringed, looking to the side, as soon as she did, she spotted Albert standing there. (Y/N) felt a shiver of disgust go up her spine, but she did her best to hide it. She plastered a smile on her face, trying to be polite.

"No thank you, I can handle it" she spoke. Without another word, (Y/N) quickly made her way back to Dawn Winery. The first person that greeted her was Adaline.

"Is everything alright (Y/N)?" The woman asked, the young woman always appreciated Adaline, she was like a mom.

"I'm fine" she tried to play things off, she was able to go inside without too many questions which she was happy about.

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

(Y/N) heard a knock on her bedroom door the next morning and when she opened it, she saw Diluc standing there. He had a serious expression on his face and his arms were crossed over his chest.

"What's going on?" He asked, (Y/N) looked up at her brother, a nervous expression on her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she spoke, trying to sound convincing.

"Adaline told me you were acting uncomfortable yesterday when you came back, is someone bothering you?" Diluc continued to question her. The young woman took a deep breath, she knew it was impossible to lie to him. She stayed quiet, but that's all Diluc needed to know he was right.

"Albert..." (Y/N) mumbled, her voice quiet. Diluc raised an eyebrow, silently telling her to speak up.

"Albert has been bothering me" she finally spoke in an audible voice. Diluc knew about Albert, and from what he had heard, he was a creep. He clenched his fist and nodded, his expression never changing.

"I see..." He spoke before turning and walking down the hallway. (Y/N) watched him walk away, looking nervous.

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

(Y/N) was back in Mondstat, and oddly enough, Albert hadn't made an appearance. Suddenly, she spotted him looking around with a terrified expression on his face. Looking around, he locked eyes with her, his eyes going wide. To (Y/N)'s surprise, instead of approaching her, he ran off without saying anything. (Y/N) watched as he disappeared from view. Still, she was relieved to be left alone. Nearby, both Diluc and Kaeya sat at a table near Good Hunter with satisfied smiles on their faces. There was one thing the two of them could always agree on, no one messed with their sister.

271 notes · View notes

idkfitememate · 3 months ago

Note

We need more boar and venti fluff

They gotta be chaotic besties

Or chaotic rivals

Like all venti sees is boar creator loving saying this:

Venti vs. Boar..?

૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა Pairings : GN! Boar Reader vs. Venti/Barbatos

૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა W.K. : 1.8k

໒꒰ྀིᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱ྀི১ Tags/CW&TW : CRACK CRACK CRACK, tiny bit of angst ???, fluff :3

Barbatos was a benevolent god.

He was the god of freedom for Archon’s sake! His entire deal was allowing these people the will and right to choose to live their lives however they pleased with no judgement from him or anyone.

And yet, here he was absolutely hating the free will of a single Boar.

Now it wasn’t like he wasn’t amazed at all the way the Boar found to terrorize his people, but the animosity came from the fact that the Boar targeted him out of everyone.

Like why??? What did he do to them??? He just fucking existed and the Boar decided he would be the perfect victim.

Which was ironic, he guessed. He, a God, was being bested by a Boar.

Venti sneezed for the one hundredth time as he combed the cat hair off his clothes and out his own hair, sighing and subsequently coughing afterwards.

All because of that damned Boar.

And Venti didn’t swear a lot so you know he means business.

Just recently the Boar had surprised him with a tree full of cats, which was awful, naturally. Why and how this Boar knew his weaknesses he would not know, but Venti was tired.

He wanted to know the Boar’s weaknesses, anything really, just to get back in some kind of way. His people loved the thing, but as time continued, he really didn’t feel too much.

Annoyance? Yeah. A tiny bit of anger? Yeah that too. But any real kind of rage?.. No.

Every time he tried to will any kind legitimate rage or true anger towards the animal, he just couldn’t. The faint memory of the Boar sleeping next to him under a tree never fully faded from his mind.

Barbara’s fan club was slowly dissipating because of them. Which was nice, amazing for her. Jean was finding more time to relax due to them taking Klee out of the city for a while to do… whatever they did, again amazing of everyone really. Everyone seemed to be benefiting by the Boar’s presence in one way or another, besides Venti.

He just couldn’t understand it! Why? What did he do in order to piss this Boar off so bad, that it would try to fight him at every given moment. He was tired of it.

Hoping down from the tree he was currently residing in, Venti slowly made his way into town, taking off his hat and ruffling his hair, plopping it back on haphazardly and yawning. As soon as the gates of Mondstadt came into view, Venti stopped and slapped his cheeks lightly, taking a deep breath and dawning his signature grin, nearly skipping into the city.

He greeted children and slowly made his way to the bar, but was stopped by shouting down an alley. Looking around and noting no one nearby, Venti leaned back and took a look. There, he found, was his enemy, The Boar. And by the looks of it, one of Barbara’s fan club members.

Venti honestly almost snickered at the sight of this full grown man down on his ass by a very angry Boar. Every attempt to rise back up was met with hooves to the face and legs - and even once the poor man’s balls R.I.P. - and all he could do was moan and groan some shit about having to go see her, a comment that would be met with a head but.

For a few minutes it was funny, watching you beat the shit out of that man, but it very quickly and very suddenly escalated. The man, despite all the pain he should’ve been in, shoved you off. You were disoriented for a second, but quickly jumped back up to beat the shit out of him, but he - the mad man he was - whipped out a switchblade.

Venti’s eyes widened, taking a step forward to help, but instead was met with a harsh gust of wind. His eyes shut from shock, only opening after putting hands in front of his eyes. You, the Boar, was blowing on the man, pressing him against the back wall of the alley.

After pressing him there for sometime, you dropped him, smoke billowing from your snout, you stepped forward and opened wide, revealing flame licking the back of your throat.

The man screamed, the blade long forgotten as he jumped up and ran, shoving past Venti and into the streets.

Venti turned to look at you, you who had your chest puffed up in pride and glee. You both stared at each other for a moment, before you scuttled away, darting out the alleyway and into the city.

Venti tugged on one of his braids, eyes glancing back over at the alley. With a new pep in his step, Venti walked back into the sun, out of the alleys.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍬🍯🍡୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Drinking was a long-time acquaintance to Venti, something he knew would never leave him even as the sands of time continued to flow.

He’d never be one to admit why he drank, and with the looks he’d get from Master Diluc and other patrons, he didn’t think he’d ever admit it. To himself, or anyone.

The bard had just been kicked out on his ass, Diluc staring worriedly yet disappointedly at the man, musing something about going home and sleeping this off. Venti shrugged with a giggle and shambled off into the darkened streets.

The tipsy man sang drunkenly, old sea shanties and bar songs bouncing off the silent streets, making it seem as though there were a thousand men singing with him. With each passing breath he grew louder, though if anyone was awake at the time, no one tried to silence him.

Venti wobbled his way closer to the entrance of Mondstadt to go off to his favorite tree to nap, cape half-hung around his shoulders and top buttons of his shirt undone.

He was stopped abruptly by a hand dragging him down another alleyway. What was with him and alleys today?? He was slammed against the back wall, a hand unceremoniously slamming over his lips, finally silencing the rambled singing.

Now he wasn’t scared, the god in a man’s body knew very well that no matter what he’d be fine. His real… concern(??) was in the fact that someone even had the gall to do something like this. Not to say Mondstadt didn’t see any crime of course it was usually just… regulated.

Venti looked up to the man who had the nerve and - yep - it was a Fatui member. The grunt was shaking, breath puffing out into the cool night air. His lips were trembling as he huffed, eyes darting between Venti and some invisible force beyond the alley. Just as Venti was about to speak up, the Fatui member beat him to it.

“Listen, we don’t have much time but I can’t risk it finding me-“ He cut himself off, flinching at the sound of something falling over, looking over to find a cat next to a fallen flower pot. He sighed and sniffled, stiffening up again to look down at Venti.

“Just keep your mouth shut, okay? No more singin’, no more nothin’. Just be quiet and let me slip away-“ This time, he was interrupted by flame dancing across the walls of the alley, licking him and Venti.

The man screamed, tears suddenly pouring from the eyeholes of his mask as he ran through the alley towards the other end, only to be blocked by a wall of Geo. He sobbed louder, slamming his fists against the wall in hopes of anything happening.

Venti stared at the pathetic display, drunken mind still comprehending the literal man-child before him who had by this point slid onto the floor with his face in the dirt, sobbing into the ground.

Venti looked back up at the sound of small hooves trotting along, coming into view was you. Despite your trotting, your face read nothing but rage to the short god, and all he could do was shiver and let you pass him by. Even when dealing with all your pranks you never looked at him like… that.

There was something in your eyes he couldn’t read, power radiating off you like a rushing river. He almost fell to his knees.

Finally you made it to the whimpering Fatui grunt, who was now on his knees and shaking like a leaf. Your little trot came to a stop as you stepped closer to the quivering mess of a man before you both. You snorted in disgust and flicked him with your front hoof, making him squeal like a child.

He jumped onto his ass and pressed his back at the wall, kicking at you as you oinked in annoyance. Venti could only watch, having sobered up a bit by this point. Sure, it was obvious that you saving him - even if he could’ve done it himself - was a byproduct of you already being on the Fatui members ass, but it was the mere fact that you did.

There was an understand between you both, unspoken, that you each knew the other was non-human. Venti had a damn good idea that you knew he was Barbatos, but to you… he wasn’t entirely sure. Evidently you were different, he’d be a fool to not see that, but he genuinely couldn’t place it.

Venti was thrown from his train of thought when the Fatui member flew over his head, screaming. He landed with a thud and scurried off, screaming. Both you and Venti watched, you huffing with pride.

You glanced up at Venti and snorted, and began trotting off.

“… Wait!” Venti’s voice called out. You stopped and turned, looking at the bard with interest. He took a few cautious steps towards you which would’ve been offensive… if you hadn’t deserved it.

When he got close enough, you sat down which made him flinch. You snort-chuckled and he clicked his tongue. Finally he stood before you, staring down at you as you awaited why he stopped you.

“… Why?” The question startled you. You tilted your head and he sighed.

“Why do you hate me so much? Why do you seem to despise me out of everyone?” Your eyes widened before you huffed, turning away, eyes downcast.

Venti sighed before kneeling, and with a hesitating, shaking hand, he ran his fingers through your hair, brushing his nails over your scalp. After a beat, you leaned into the touch.

“I don’t know why, but I’m tired of fighting you. Small truce, just for a while?” You hummed, tail starting to wag as he pet your head. The wall of geo fell behind you both and a nice breeze blew in, cooling Venti’s face and bringing a smile to his lips.

“Thank you, Wild Boar.”

You snorted.

໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : No because that ending tho I’m so tired LMAO-

#genshin impact sagau #sagau x reader #sagau #x reader #x gn reader #gn y/n #yandere x reader #yandere x you #Boar!Creator

137 notes · View notes

orpheusdrinkinga40inadeathbasket · 1 year ago

Text

The Beatles invigorated the role of the fan because they were the first cultural product to engage holistically with the figure of the teenage girl. They emerged onto ground broken by Elvis and then outpaced their predecessor creatively and commercially. Elvis supplied an avatar for the forbidden promise of sex, but his appeal rested in how easy he was to objectify, his obviousness. Cartoonishly handsome, he was a body onto which the teenage girl could project unspoken and illicit desire. He inspired adoration, but it could not compare to the ferocious awe frothed up among Beatles girls. There is no Elvis equivalent to the term "Beatlemaniac." "To younger teenagers, the Beatles' cheerful, faintly androgynous sexuality was more approachable than Elvis's alpha-male heat," wrote Lynskey. The Beatles offered something more complex than an empty sexual template. They presented an opportunity for identification. A girl could invest her desire in the band, but she could also discover herself there. The gaze cast on the Beatles was a queer one from the start. Before American women looked at the Beatles, they had been seen by Brian Epstein, the closeted gay record clerk who discovered and ferociously advocated for the band when record executives failed to give them a second glance. Watching them play a lunch hour show at a grimy club in Liverpool, Epstein picked up on the magnetic potential of the four young men. In Vivek Tiwary's graphic novel The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, artist Andrew Robinson closes the frame around the future manager's stunned face as he beholds the Beatles for the first time, as if he could sense his life pivoting around that one rapturous moment. "There was some indefinable charm there," he wrote in his 1964 memoir A Cellarful of Noise. "They were extremely amusing and in a rough 'take it or leave [it] way' very attractive." Upon becoming their manager, Epstein was tasked with convincing the world to see the Beatles the way he saw them: via a gaze that desired its objects without othering them. Heterosexual desire spans a chasm, coveting difference. Queer desire pulls together like elements, finding attraction in affinity. That teen girls could even feel the kind of active, demanding sexual desire evinced by their screams was still a novel concept in the early '60s, which carried vestiges of the prior decade's postwar conservatism. "In a highly sexualized society (one sociologist found that the number of explicitly sexual references in the mass media had doubled between 1950 and 1960), teen and preteen girls were expected to be not only 'good' and 'pure' but to be the enforcers of purity within their teen society—drawing the line for overeager boys and ostracizing girls who failed in this responsibility," wrote Barbara Ehrenreich in a 1986 essay. "To abandon control—to scream, faint, dash about in mobs—was, in form if not in conscious intent, to protest the sexual repressiveness, the rigid double standard of female teen culture. It was the first and most dramatic uprising of women's sexual revolution." Befuddled by the Beatlemaniacs' exuberance, interviewers and critics (who were more often than not men) pinned the scream to a desire, of all things, to mother the band. "It has been said that you appeal to the maternal instinct in these girls," began an interviewer in 1964. John cut him off: "That's a dirty lie." Joking or not, he was right. The dynamic at hand did not correspond to a mother/son model. Beatles girls wanted the way men were expected to want: unabashedly and directly, as active agents in the exchange of desire. There was nothing coy about their hunger.

Sasha Geffen, Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary

#sasha geffen #glitter up the dark #the beatles

283 notes · View notes

jerzwriter · 7 months ago

Text

Thank you to @alj4890 for this ask from this list! I have two down, and one to go! lol

Story: Open Heart (About a year after Book 3) Category: AU - One Off Trope: There's only one bed... Characters: Tobias Carrick x Casey MacTavish (F!MC) Rating: Teen Words: 2,500 Summary: It's de ja vu all over again for Casey when she and Tobias check into a beachside resort for a medical conference, only to find the reservation was for one room only. They decide it's not that bad until they open the door to the room, and yep... there is only one bed. Tobias comes up with a solution, but will it work?

A/N: This is not part of my Tobias x Casey HC - in this story, they're merely colleagues attending a conference together in Santa Barbara.

Participating in @choicesjunechallenge2024 Hotel - “It’s quite the conundrum, isn’t it?”

The ascent to the 40th floor of the seafront hotel was unusually tense. Standing side by side, the silence between Tobias and Casey grew increasingly uncomfortable with each passing floor. Casey's gaze remained fixed on the elevator doors, recalling the events that brought them to this moment.

“It looks like your room was upgraded!” The desk clerk beamed. “You’re going to love it! The views from our top floor are breathtaking!”

“That’s wonderful,” Casey smiled. “But there should be an s at the end of room. The reservation was made for two rooms."

A crease formed between the young man’s eyes as he tapped away on his keyboard and Casey grew more concerned the longer he remained silent. “Dr. MacTavish, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” He apologized, turning his computer screen toward her. “But your reservation states one room only.”

Casey exhaled deeply. She had certainly been in this predicament before and had no desire to endure it again.

“That’s fine. Mistakes happen. Now, if you could just get us another room....”

“I’d love to, but we are fully booked this week. With two conventions in town, pretty much every hotel in the area is booked solid.”

“You have to be kidding me,” she groaned.

“I wish I were. I could make some calls? Perhaps one of our sister properties a few towns away has something? We could arrange to have them shuttle you....”

“No, no,” Casey grumbled. “My colleague and I are presenting at the conference. We can't risk being delayed. We'll have to make do."

She spotted Tobias as soon as she turned from the front desk. It wasn’t difficult; the man had already amassed a small audience who watched the handsome doctor tell his tales with rapt attention. Casey rolled her eyes, she knew this story, and it was full of hyperbole, but who was she to deny him his moment. She noted how captivated some of those listening were and considered asking any if they'd switch rooms with her. She was sure there would be takers, but somehow, the idea left her queasy, and she had no idea why.

Tobias turned toward her with his alluring smile that turned most to mush. She never denied that the man was extremely handsome, not from the first time they met at that deli years ago. But she never fell for his charm. Mere mortals were putty in Dr. Carrick’s hands, but Casey was no mere mortal. Just not happening, she muttered to herself as she approached.

“There she is,” he beamed as she neared him. “It’s the woman of the hour!”

“The woman of the hour?” She asked with a raised brow. “Hardly.”

“You’re right,” he winked. “She’s the woman of the whole damn week. Allow me to introduce Dr. MacTavish.”

Casey nodded politely, shook the required hands, and, after some small talk, announced she was off to find her room. She studied her colleague suspiciously as his fan club dissipated, and he caught her red-handed.

“Watcha looking at MacTavish?” he teased.

“You. I’m trying to figure out why you were building me up. We’re one of six panelists here to speak about a joint discovery that doesn’t exactly make me the woman of the week.”

“Depends on who you ask,” he said with more sincerity than she had anticipated. “I think you’re woman of the week material every week. Besides, everyone already knows I’m amazing. I’m not about to have them think my cohort is anything less than stellar as well.”

“Mmmhh. You’re a real gentleman,” she groaned as his eyes fell to the keycard in her hand.

“So, did you get our rooms squared away?”

“About that,” she sighed, explaining the situation. “But on an up note, they say we have an incredible view.”

Tobias rocked back and forth on his feet, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“What?” She snapped.

“If you wanted to get me alone in a bedroom, Case, all you had to do was ask.”

His smile drifted when she punched his shoulder. She packed quite a punch! And while Tobias wasn’t about to admit it, that made her even more enticing in his book.

“Stop before I have to fill out an HR report. Remember, this is a business trip. You still have to adhere to all those rules you learned in sexual harassment training!”

“Aw, come on,” he snickered, picking up one of Casey’s bags. “You never held me to those rules back in Boston, you're going to do it here in beautiful Santa Barbara?”

He wasn’t exactly wrong; the two of them struck up a quick rapport when he joined the diagnostic team. And anyone who had seen them together at Donahue’s would tell you that flirtatious banter was certainly their thing.

“Yeah, but I don’t have to share a room with you back in Boston.”

“You could,” he winked as they stepped onto the elevator.

“You’re incorrigible!”

But as the elevator climbed and the weight of the situation sank in, even Tobias turned somber. With just ten floors remaining, they had gone silent. Words weren't uttered as they walked down the plush, carpeted hall either. But as Casey reached for the key card, Tobias's hand closed around her wrist.

“Look,” he stated. “I know we were joking, but is this all right with you? If sharing a room makes you uncomfortable, I’ll look for a room elsewhere.”

“We don’t have a choice. Every room within a fifteen-mile radius is booked.”

“There’s always a way, and if you’re uncomfortable.... what?” he asked, noticing Casey's smirk.

“Dr. Carrick, have you already spotted someone you’d like to shack up with for the week? Because it would leave me with the room all to myself."

“No!” he shot back, taking offense. “You know, I’m not as bad as people say. I mean, I’m bad... just not... that bad.”

“It was a joke,” she giggled, slipping the key in the slot. “And it's fine. We’re grown-ups, we’re colleagues, and we’re friends. We can make this work.”

Confidence overtook them as Casey swung the door to the posh room open, but a single glance around shattered that instantly. The room was absolutely beautiful, but one issue loomed large: one bed.

“Uhh, you sure about that, kid?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Casey snapped.

“Yeah. This totally doesn’t feel like the movies.” He grumbled.

“No, it doesn't! This is quite the conundrum, isn't it?” Casey sighed, “We cannot share a bed for a freaking week!”

“It’s OK,” he said, phoning the front desk. “I’ll ask for a foldaway bed. The hotel screwed this up; it's the least they can do.”

“And who gets to sleep on a crappy foldaway bed for a week?”

“You,” he grinned. “You’re not going to make an old man sleep on that thing, are you? You’re young; you can bounce back. I can’t.”

“Tobias!”

“I’m joking! How about we alternate nights?”

“Fine,” Casey replied. “You take care of that, I’m going to the bathroom.”

When she returned, Tobias was standing by the window, mesmerized by the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. Shades of purple and pink painted the sky, and palm trees swayed gently in the breeze, creating a scene straight out of a postcard.

“Wow,” she said, now standing at Tobias’s side. “Do we really have to present at this thing? Because I’d be happy to stay here and stare at this all week.”

“Me too,” he smiled. “It is quite a sight, and that’s the good news.”

“And the bad?” She cringed.

“They’re out of folding beds.”

“Jesus!”

“It’s all right. I’ve already taken care of it.”

“How?”

He pulled his phone from his pocket, waving it excitedly in front of her. “Amazon, baby! I ordered a deluxe air mattress; it’ll be here in the morning. We just have to get through one night. Think you can handle it?”

“We'll survive one night,” Casey agreed. “After all, some people can sleep in the same bed as you and resist you!”

He had a hundred lines ready to go. Normally, this would be the moment for a joke or a touch of flirtation. But Casey was his friend and colleague, someone he respected deeply. The last thing he wanted to do was add to her discomfort.

“I’m sure there are extra pillows in the closet. We can put them down in the center of the bed.”

“The bed isn’t that big. If we do that, one of us will end up on the floor for sure. We can make do, but....”

“But?”

“If you tell anyone about this, I swear to God, I’ll start the most vicious rumors about you!”

“Oh yeah?” he challenged, a twinkle in his eyes. “Like what?”

“Like you wear pink bunny slippers!”

He grabbed his chest and let out an exaggerated gasp. “You’ve gone through my luggage!

“Fine! I’ll tell them you sleep in nightgowns that are straight out of the Golden Girls.”

“Kinky!” He growled to Casey’s chagrin.

“Oh, forget it,” she laughed. “There is no embarrassing you!”

“Sure there is; you just have to try harder!”

~~~~~

Several hours later, Casey left dinner early, figuring it would be less awkward to shower while Tobias was still mingling with other conference attendees downstairs. She was right; by the time he returned to the room, she was clean and comfortably reading in bed, dressed in her old sweats. The pajamas could wait until tomorrow when they had separate places to sleep.

Tobias stood at the door, almost sheepish. “You heading to bed soon?”

She looked up from the book in her hands. “After I read a bit.”

“All right,” he kicked off his shoes. “I’ll take a quick shower and stay out of your hair.”

Fifteen minutes later, he stepped back into their room. Although he promised to stay out of her hair, he clearly had no problem occupying her thoughts. Did he really need to be shirtless? As much as Casey wanted to scold him, doing so would have forced him to put on a shirt—and she didn't want that. Mesmerized by his pecs and arms, everything was going fine until he caught her in the act.

Shit! She said to herself. Boosting Tobias’s already exorbitant ego had not been on her bingo card, but it was too late to change that now.

“Something wrong?” he smirked as Casey desperately looked for an off-ramp.

“Uh, you, uh, don’t sleep like that, do you?”

“Usually,” he shrugged. “So I didn’t bring any shirts suitable for sleeping in. I’d ask you for one of yours, but I’m sure it wouldn’t fit!”

Casey snapped her fingers and jumped out of bed with a relieved smile. “You’re in luck! She insisted, rifling through her luggage. “Here!”

She extended her hand, holding out a rumpled pink T-shirt adorned with fluffy white sheep and silver sparkles. It would have looked commonplace in a five-year-old's room, but here?

“What is that?”

“It’s a T-shirt, dummy. It’s a 2X, so I use it as a nightshirt, but it will more than fit you.”

Tobias looked at her disdain as Casey beamed with satisfaction. He took the offensive article of clothing and slipped it over his head.

“You tell anyone about this, and I’ll never speak to you again!”

“No one hears about any of this,” she laughed, hopping back into bed to continue her reading.

Tobias grabbed his book and slipped into bed beside her, sure to keep a respectable space between them. After some time, the silence became too loud, and he asked what she was reading.

“Private Guns, Public Health," she replied, holding the book in his direction.

The little crinkle between his eyes indicated he needed more information.

“It’s about gun violence in the United States and how treating it as a public health issue would be invaluable in protecting lives.”

Tobias raised a brow.

“What?” Casey demanded. “We’re doctors. Saving lives is what we do; it makes sense to be knowledgeable about these issues.”

“I completely agree, but... before bed.”

Casey slammed her book shut. “So, what are you reading?”

He lifted his book with a very large peach emoji against a yellow background on its cover. “Butts: A Backstory.”

“What?” He grinned as Casey broke out laughing.

“Oh, nothing. I guess you're taking light reading to new levels.”

“It’s not what it appears to be... yeah, it’s a look at the history of... butts... but it’s bigger than that.”

Casey roared with laughter once again as Tobias dragged a hand down his face.

“Poor choice of words. It delves into deeper issues like race, control, liberation, and how they impact our feelings and perceptions about ourselves and others.”

“Oh, but you mock me for reading something heavy before bed?” she teased.

“Listen, you,” he said, flipping to his side. “Be nice to me; you’re supposed to respect your elders.”

“Oh, shut up,” she said, rolling onto her side to face him. “You act like you’re old enough to be my father, and that’s far from the truth.”

“Hey! I could have been a very active ten-year-old,” he chuckled.

They broke into a fit of giggles. When their laughter stopped, they found themselves gazing into each other's eyes.

“You know, I’ve never thanked you," he smiled.

“Thanked me? For what?”

“For believing in me... for not taking the negative shit people said about me as gospel, and taking the time to get to know me for yourself. For being a friend when I joined the team because, in the beginning, you were my only friend there.”

“You don’t have to thank me," she blushed. "I mean, you did sort of save my life; I’m kind of indebted to you, you know?”

“Nah,” he smiled. "It's more than that, and you know it”

Noticing their proximity, a blush spread across Casey's cheeks, and she nervously pulled back.

“Time for bed,” she announced.

Uncertain about the emotions coursing through him, Tobias quickly agreed.

“Yeah, good idea," he mumbled as they both rolled over close to the edge of the bed, their eyes wide open. Sleep would eventually come, but not without much effort.

When the alarm went off the following morning, both let out a groan. Neither of them were morning people, and the idea of waking was less than appealing. But when they opened their eyes, Tobias's arm was wrapped around Casey, who was happily nestled as the big spoon to his little spoon. Both lay frozen, petrified over what they should do next when Tobias jerked his arm back apologetically.

“I’m... I’m so sorry, Casey,” he stuttered. "I absolutely did that in my sleep. It wasn’t intentional at all. I....”

"Stop," she ordered as she grabbed his hand and placed it back where she found it upon waking. "It's OK," she whispered. "I... I kind of like it."

“You do?" He asked, more than a little stunned. He was quick to hold her closer when she replied with a nod and a smile.

“Good," he said with a smile. "Because I like it too.”

Casey rolled over, remaining in his embrace. They gazed at each other intently, uncertain of who initiated their first kiss. It was tender, tentative... each ensuring it was welcomed by the other. When it became clear that it was, they kissed again, this time unleashing the passion they had both denied for far too long.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Tobias grinned as he pulled away.

"Of course," Casey beamed.

"I've been wanting to do that for a long, long time."

Casey reached up and placed a peck on his lips with a smile.

"I'll let you in on a secret, too. So have I."

"So... what do we do with this?" Tobias asked.

"I don't know," she replied, running a finger across his chest. "Why don't we kiss again and see where it goes from there."

"I like that," he growled as their lips came crashing together.

An hour later, they stepped out of the room, not a hair out of place and the picture of professionalism. They nearly tripped over the box that had been placed in front of their door.

"The air mattress!" Casey laughed.

Tobias nudged it into the room with his foot, his gaze warming as he looked at her. "Will we be needing that?"

Casey adjusted his tie, leaning up to kiss him as his arms wrapped around her.

"I think we can return it," she replied with a smile.

"Good answer," he grinned, taking her hand and leading her towards the elevator. "Good answer."

The air mattress did not return to Boston with them, but as they stepped off their plane in Boston, it was evident they had returned with something new.

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Tagging others separately.

#open heart #open heart fanfic #open heart choices #choices open heart #tobias carrick #tobias carrick x mc #tobias x casey #choices fanfic #playchoices #playchoices fanfic #chocies stories you play

55 notes · View notes

brucestalia · 3 days ago

Text

talia al ghul: relationships // platonic ｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈• ｡ﾟ

this is the start of a 3-ish part series consisting of a collection of drabbles and headcanons exploring talia’s character in relation to relationships that canon (and fanon) have barely touched. ✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋅๑┈•✦

diana prince

i briefly mentioned this in a previous post, but let’s dive deeper. i’m a huge fan of museum curator mlle. prince, and talia, ever the patron of the arts, must have crossed paths with her during one of her many visits to paris.

ra’s al ghul might be an international eco-terrorist and cult leader, but he also operates under (and eventually abandons) the alias of henri ducard: eccentric billionaire and environmental activist. (yes, this is a nod to nolanverse ra’s. while i’m not a fan of how the al ghuls were handled in nolan’s films, there are a few elements i’ll be borrowing for my brutalia worldbuilding.)

following in her father’s footsteps, talia adopts the alias of henrietta ducard, a french socialite and heiress. of course, she knows diana—who wouldn’t know the wonder woman, teammate to her beloved and “aunt” to jason?

their paths cross at the louvre, where diana is overjoyed to host such a cultured guest. the two end up touring the museum well past closing hours, completely engrossed in their conversation. diana’s younger colleagues are far too intimidated to interrupt the two women who seem entirely in a world of their own.

oh, and jason? he 100% calls diana “dad” whenever he’s mad at bruce.

add in girls’ nights with barbara minerva and occasional appearances from the gotham city sirens, and you’ve got a dynamic i cannot wait to explore further. 2. the birds of prey; a) dinah lance

the “i’m married to a total himbo-billionaire” club.

their interactions mostly consist of knowing looks exchanged across lavishly decorated ballrooms during charity galas hosted by wayne enterprises and q-corp—always trying to outdo the other. they sneak out for smoke breaks, share a quiet camaraderie, and occasionally spar together.

considering the plotline about ra’s almost marrying black canary (or was that just a fever dream?), i’d say they know each other by association and share a mutual understanding. not quite friendship, but something close—born from shared experiences and a begrudging respect.

when it comes to training, with lady shiva now part of the birds of prey, i can see talia attempting to cooperate with the ladies. she’s clearly got a lot of history with the group, which brings us to the next duo: b) barbara gordon and helena bertinelli

talia can be good when she wants to be.

i like the idea of talia taking on a maternal role for cassandra during her time with the league of assassins. she has the capacity for genuine care, even in the shadowy corners of the league’s operations. similarly, i can see her stepping into a similar role for a younger helena kyle (or wayne), particularly if selina is no longer in the picture (possibly dead).

talia would likely oppose bruce’s treatment of the huntress, siding with the family members who sympathise with helena’s cause—especially during the events of the hush storyline. she could even act as a mentor of sorts, helping helena find her place in the dark knight’s world, while providing the kind of guidance bruce often withholds.

for all her similarities to helena, barbara stands apart in one key way: she grew up within the dimly-lit walls of the batcave, immersed in batman’s world. over the years, talia has quietly observed the commissioner’s daughter, often alongside one very pouty dick grayson. these observations, layered with her own sense of justice, only deepen her fury against the joker after the events of the killing joke.

barbara and helena are probably the first batfamily members to know whenever talia is in gotham—after jason and damian, of course. oracle’s network would almost certainly keep tabs on talia, especially during her prolonged, unexplained absences. 3. the gotham city sirens; a) pamela isley

ivy—or rather, dr. pamela isley—superpowered eco-terrorist extraordinaire, would have been a subject of keen interest to the league of assassins. from her controversial tenure at wayne enterprises to her involvement in woodrue's experiments, talia would have kept a watchful eye on pamela’s journey.

when isley became poison ivy, the demon’s head would have undoubtedly reached out to her. sharing similar values—and at times, equally extreme methods—talia and pamela would have initially maintained a professional relationship. however, the nature of their shared work, coupled with the undeniable chaos that is harley quinn, would have eventually evolved their dynamic into a close, if unconventional, friendship.

at some point, talia becomes an honorary gotham city siren. she doesn't hesitate to crash at harley and ivy’s place when things with her detective aren’t going so well. b) harleen quinzel

harley is one of the rare individuals (alfred being the other, obviously) whom talia would truly trust with damian. over time, harley earns the title of “aunt,” though it’s anyone’s guess which side of the family she’s from.

their friendship didn’t stem from any significant shared history, allegiance, or grand cause. harley just showed up one day, decided they were friends, and that was that. talia nodded hesitantly, chalking it up to just being the gotham way of things.

unsurprisingly, dr. quinn has tried (and perhaps succeeded?) in scheduling talia and bruce for marriage counseling on multiple occasions.

c) selina kyle

without bruce in the equation, talia and selina’s relationship becomes infinitely less strained. talia might envy selina, but only in the sense that love has been far kinder to her questionable morals with a partner like kate.

in this scenario, talia is definitely closest to selina—whether it’s due to genuine fondness or simply their frequent proximity is unclear. either way, they seem to understand each other on a level few others can, especially over shared indulgences, like extravagant shopping sprees.

the moment they move into wayne manor, it’s inevitable: the place will be overrun by animals of every kind, much to the amusement (or exasperation) of the other residents.

4. john constantine & zatanna zatara

i love the idea of melisande being homo magi, which would mean talia inherits that lineage as well. being part homo magi, combined with her access to the powers of the lazarus pits and mastery of incantations, would make talia uniquely positioned to bridge gaps between her world and the other side. talia’s connection to magic would make her better suited to collaborate with heroes like those in the justice league dark, creating opportunities for uneasy alliances and reluctant partnerships that bring out the best (and worst) in everyone involved, with her being someone who walks the thin line between antihero and ally.

5. lois lane and clark kent

double dates!! :D

lois would come to like talia a lot more after the unforgettable spectacle with president luthor, and clark would absolutely demand every last detail of his definitely-not-best-friend's relationship with talia.

after jason's resurrection, talia would entrust him to the kents' care, enrolling him in metropolis university before the big reveal to bruce.

additionally, damian and jon’s friendship (though damian insists it’s more of an alliance between the supers and the bats) would require them to meet up at least once a week.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

22 notes · View notes

richincolor · 2 months ago

Text

We're nearing the end of 2024, so in preparation for our hiatus, our schedule will be changing slightly. Today we will have all of the November 2024 releases, and this Friday will be all of the December 2024 releases. After that, our team will make their individual favorites lists for the year before we go on our break. So without further adieu, here are the books coming out this month:

November 5th

Batgirl: Possession by Jade Adia, illustrated by Charly Palmer Penguin Random House

Batgirl™ is on the case when strange attacks start happening at Gotham Academy. The long shadows of Gotham City stretch deeper than she imagined when evidence points to black magic and something more sinister still in this original suspense novel!Thanks to a scholarship to the prestigious Gotham Academy, Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, gets to experience how some of the city’s wealthiest teens live with fast cars, expensive clothes, and more. But when these advantages and luxuries are not enough, Barbara discovers that the some of them have turned to dabbling in black magic to get their kicks . . . setting off a series of strange events and deaths. Batgirl quickly steps in to investigate, but finding the killer proves to be more difficult than usual. The prime suspect’s brother is an irresistible distraction from the case at the same her growing relationship with Robin, the Boy Wonder, is hitting an all-time low. If all that wasn’t troubling enough, the hard facts aren’t to be lining up. Batgirl isn’t one to believe in black magic, but there seem to be forces in Gotham City’s shadows growing hungrier and stronger, and if she doesn’t find a way to shed some light on the case soon, the creeping darkness just might take possession of her . . . forever!Batgirl and supernatural thriller fans will love the mystery and horror lurking in this action-packed original novel!

Streetlight People by Charlene Thomas Dutton Books for Young Readers

For most, Streetlight is a dot on the map you pass on your way to somewhere else. But if you live there, you’re either a Have-Not, like Kady, or a Have-Lot like her boyfriend, Nik, who also happens to be a member of the exclusive social club, The IV Boys.

Known for their powerful families and the coveted ball they host for a selective guest list, The IV Boys have always refused to accept Kady regardless of how much Nik loves her. All the Boys except for Aaron, who didn’t grow up in Streetlight and is one of the few who knows that life—real life—exists outside of it. But his stepmom has the kind of wealth and power even IV Boys can’t resist.

With Nik at college, Aaron stands by Kady’s side. But all Kady really wants is Nik, and when a chance encounter on Halloween hands her the power to twist and hold time, she doesn’t hesitate. Now she can keep Nik close for as long as she wants.

While Kady tries to relive her best moments with Nik, the IV Boys have her in their sights. A rumor’s spreading that Kady and Aaron are much more than friends—and not even twisting time is enough to defend against the power that the Boys were born with.

The more Kady changes the clock, the more dizzying reality becomes, until she stumbles upon a truth darker than anything she could have imagined. Streetlight is filled with monsters—and maybe she’s always been one, too.

Teen Titans: Starfire #5 by Kami Garcia, illustrated by Gabriel Picolo DC Comics

Kori Anders’ summer job at a ritzy Santa Monica beach club is fun, but she doesn't feel like she belongs there. She never breaks the rules, she doesn’t care about keeping up with the current trends, and she can’t be bothered rushing around to make an appearance at all the parties—in fact, Kori avoids rushing at all costs because of her Ehlers Danlos Syndrome diagnosis. What she does feel is an inexplicable draw to the stars.

Her older sister, Kira, on the other hand, is the most popular girl around. With the hottest clothes, an even hotter boyfriend (the Tate Fairweather), and a take-no-prisoners attitude, she’s Kori’s opposite in every way. Sadly, Kori doesn’t think Tate is a good fit for her sister, and nothing she says will convince Kira to break up with him.

The summer heats up when Tate’s uncle, Lynch Fairweather, CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, asks Kori and Kira to participate in a clinical trial designed to advance treatments for EDS. During treatment, Kori begins to discover some strange powers that she has never had before…and she might not be the only one.

Can Kori uncover the truth about her powers and find a way to persuade her sister to trust her before it’s too late?

Where the Library Hides (Secrets of the Nile #2) by Isabel Ibañez Wednesday Books

The stunning conclusion to the story that started in What the River Knows. A lush immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, and a rivals-to-lovers romance like no other!

1885, Egypt

Inez Olivera is left reeling from her cousin Elvira’s murder, and her mother’s betrayal, and when Tío Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she’s left with only one option to consider.

Marriage to Whitford Hayes.

Former British soldier, her uncle’s aide de camp, and one time nemesis, Whit has his own mysterious reasons for staying in Egypt. With her heart on the line, Inez might have to bind her fate to the one person whose secret plans could ruin her.

November 12

Fortune's Kiss by Amber Clement Union Square & Co.

The legendary Fortune’s Kiss has returned to Ciudad Milagro for the first time in ten years. The magical gambling house shows up twice a year in a new city during the solstices to lure those worthy enough to wager their souls for wealth, the realization of their greatest desires, and, even, immortality.

Known by many names throughout the years, it returns to Milagro as El Beso de la Fortuna . . . and the game is Lotería. And best friends Mayté Robles and Lorena (Lo) de León are determined to change their lives, escape the dangerous men who threaten them, and gain riches.

Mayté, the sole daughter of the disgraced Robles family, wishes to leave her family and become a successful painter, while Lo suffers at the hands of her powerful and abusive father and seeks to find her mother, who escaped to Fortune’s Kiss years ago but never returned.

When Fortune’s Kiss finally returns to their city, the pair follow on their childhood blood pact to enter the gaming salon. But once inside, Mayté and Lo quickly realize that beneath the marvelous glamour, the salon is hiding dangerous secrets and the house always wins. And the game of Lotería is not the children’s game they grew up playing—it is a deadly lottery of chance.

With the help of a young, handsome croupier, the girls embark on a mission to unravel the mystery of the salon’s magic, find Lo’s mother, and try to win a nearly impossible game as their friendship is put under the greatest of tests.

Greater Secrets by Ananth Hirsh Random House Graphics

In a family gifted with the ability to see a mysterious light in the distance, one teen embarks on a fantastical journey to find her missing sister, and finally answer the question: is this ancestral gift a blessing or a curse?

Maya’s family is cursed.

Or blessed, it depends on who you talk to. For as far back as anyone can remember, her family has had to ability to see a mysterious pillar of light in the distance. Those who have tried to find it have never come back. Maya has no idea what you're meant to find if you follow the light. Adventure? Destiny? But what if your destiny isn't a good thing?

Maya’s sister left to follow her light…and has been missing ever since.

That’s how Maya finds herself on a surreal road trip with two people she barely knows, headed towards a ghost town where her sister was last seen. Unfortunately, the closer Maya gets to her sister...the closer she gets to her own pillar of light. Maya doesn't know if she's ready to face her destiny but if it means finding her sister then she'll do whatever it takes.

Heist Royale (Thieves' Gambit, #2) by Kayvion Lewis Nancy Paulsen Books

The high-stakes sequel to Thieves' Gambit, for fans of Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Ally Carter.

It's been six months since the end of the Gambit. Instead of winning an impossible wish, Ross has the threat of her family’s execution hanging over her head. Devroe, the only person Ross thought she could trust, could wish the Quests into oblivion at any time. Shockingly, despite his betrayal, Devroe is still making a play for Ross’s heart as the two work together pulling jobs for the Organization. But Ross has learned her lesson: A Quest can only trust another Quest.

When Ross finds herself at the center of a power struggle within the Organization, she sees her chance to change her fortunes. As a new deadly Gambit develops for control of the criminal underworld, Ross strikes a risky deal to guarantee protection for herself and her family.

In this final clash, Ross will square off against a ruthless opponent who will stop at nothing to seize power, and in their corner will be not only Devroe but his mother, who wants to destroy the Quests at any cost.

The new Gambit takes Ross and her crew into the intoxicating casinos of Monte Carlo and across treacherous snow-covered slopes in Antarctica as Ross competes against Devroe in a fight for her life. Loyalties will be tested, backs stabbed, hearts broken. May the best thief win.

I Am the Dark That Answers When You Call (I Feed Her to the Beast, #2) by Jamison Shea Hot Key Books

Monsters and mortals, rejoice! Acheron is back . . .

Though Laure has tried to close the lid on her ballet shoes and the feelings she once held for dance since the Palais Garnier incident two months ago, Laure is spinning out. Between partying, drinking, and avoiding anything and, well, everyone, she has no time to be anything but a monster. But when Laure stumbles across a mysterious dead body during one of her nights out, she’s forced to notice the cracks stretching beyond herself.

Below the streets of Paris, Elysium is dying, and Acheron and Lethe’s influence is spilling into the streets like a blight. Laure isn’t the only of Elysium’s beasts to rise from the ruins of Palais Garnier, and someone is mobilizing an army of monsters with plans greater than Laure, Andor, and Keturah could have ever guessed. While Laure is warring between her wants and Acheron’s ever-demanding appetite, she and her circle of monsters are left to reckon with a not-so-simple question: how do you save yourself from oblivion?

Jamison Shea's sharp and unflinching voice will bring readers to terrifying new heights in this vicious sequel to the "relentlessly gory and almost euphoric in its embrace of the horrific" (NPR) I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me.

Midnights with You by Clair Osongco Disney-Hyperion

“Where were you thinking of going?” “Nowhere.” “Great,” he says lightly, putting the car in gear. “Then we’ll go there.”

Seventeen-year-old Deedee’s life is full of family ghosts and questions she can’t ask. She longs for an escape, but guilt holds her back—that, and the fact that her strict Filipino single mom won’t let her learn to drive. But one sleepless night leads Deedee down a road she never thought possible: secret driving lessons with the new boy next door, Jay, whose turbulent family life also keeps him up until sunrise.

As midnights stretch into days, Jay helps Deedee begin to unravel her past, and as shared secrets blossom into love, Deedee starts to imagine a life where happiness is possible. But the deeper she digs into the trauma that has shaped her, the more that trauma threatens to tear Deedee and Jay apart. Together, these two must decide if the pain they’ve both inherited has the power to choose their fate, or if they have the power to choose for themselves.

More Than This (The Davenports, #2) by Krystal Marquis Dial Books for Young Readers

Like the blazing Chicago sun, the drama is heating up for the Davenports and their social set. Before the summer of 1910 drops its last petal, the lives—and loves—of these four young women will change in ways they never could have imagined:

Newly engaged Ruby Tremaine is eagerly planning her wedding to the love of her life when a nasty rumor threatens her reputation and her marriage. Olivia Davenport has committed to the social justice cause and secretly hopes she’ll be reunited with dashing lawyer Washington DeWight—until her parents decide she’s to marry someone else. Amy-Rose Shepherd is making her lifelong wish of owning a salon come true, but when an incident forces her to return to Freeport Manor, she’s back in the path of John Davenport, who still holds her heart. Helen Davenport is determined to get over her own heartbreak and bring the Davenport Carriage Company into the new century, even if it means teaming up with a thrill-seeking racecar driver who just loves to get under her skin.

Inspired by the real-life story of the Patterson family, More Than This is the second book in critically adored Davenports series, following four empowered and passionate young Black women as they navigate a rapidly changing society and discover the courage to steer their own paths in life—and love.

Rani Choudhury Must Die by Adiba Jaigirdar Feiwel & Friends

In this sapphic dual POV Young Adult romance by Adiba Jaigirdar, Meghna and Rani (ex-best-friends-turned-rivals) realize they're dating the same guy, so they team up to beat and expose him at a big science competition!

Meghna Rahman is tired of constantly being compared to her infuriatingly perfect ex best friend now rival. Everyone, except, at least, her boyfriend Zak, seems to think that Rani Choudhury can do no wrong—even her own parents! It doesn’t help that Rani is always accepted into the Young Scientist Exhibition, while Meghna’s projects never make it. But this year, she finally has a chance at defeating Rani in something.

Rani Choudhury is tired of feeling like she doesn’t have much say in her life—not when it comes to how her mom wants her to look and act or how her parents encourage her to date incredibly charming close family friend Zak. She would much rather focus on her coding, especially once she places high enough at the Young Scientist Exhibition to go on to the European Young Scientist Exhibition

When Meghna and Rani figure out that Zak has been playing them both, they decide to do something no one would see coming: they team up. They’ll compete in the EYSE as partners, creating an app that exposes cheaters and a project that exposes Zak. But with years of silence and pressure between them, working together will prove difficult. Especially once each girl starts to realize that the feelings they had for the other may have been more than platonic...

Hey, no one ever said science was easy!

November 19

Serpent Sea (The Spice Road Trilogy #2) by Maiya Ibrahim Delacorte Press

Imani is a magic-wielding warrior sworn to protect her land from the monsters that roam the desert. But an even worse enemy now threatens the Sahir. As the powerful Harrowlanders march south with their greatest weapon—spice magic—Imani knows it’s only a matter of time before their invasion of her land begins . . . and it will be a losing battle for her people.

But Imani also knows that one way to fight magic is with monsters. If she can restore Qayn’s stolen powers, together they can summon a supernatural army to defend the Sahir from the Harrowlanders. Forming an alliance with a djinni king is risky, but Imani will do anything to save her people, even embarking on a dangerous quest beyond the sands to find the magical jewels of Qayn’s lost crown.

As Imani journeys far from home, she will discover monsters that warriors have only heard about in myths . . . monsters that can strike at any moment. Meanwhile, her rival, Taha, has been captured and is on a dangerous mission of his own.

One wrong move could cost them their lives—and everyone they love. But they may find that there is more than meets the eye crossing the Serpent Sea . . . and betrayal cuts deeper than any dagger.

Sophomore Year (Briarcliff Prep #2) by Brianna Peppins Disney Hyperion

Amelia Westlake Was Never Here meets an empathetic exploration of anxiety at historically Black boarding school Briarcliff Prep. Love triangles, friendship breakups, and slice-of-student-life are balanced with a thoughtful discussion about mental health, all in a love letter to Black girls.

Avielle LeBeau is beginning her second year at Briarcliff Prep, and she's got big dreams. Top of the list? Starting her own student life magazine and rooming with her besties Rhyon and Zazie. But a housing mix-up splits Avi from her friends—and to make matters worse, she's rooming with her rival, Fallon Walsh, instead.

How does one girl juggle school, a fracturing friendship, living with a mean girl, and getting caught in a potential love triangle between the ex she can't move on from and a friend who’s becoming something more? It's a lot. Made even harder by the panic attacks Avi has been experiencing lately.

If one thing is true about the LeBeau family, it's that they’re always there for each other. But with her older sister Belle away at college and her brothers preoccupied chasing their own dreams, Avi must learn how to find support in new (unlikely) places.

Will Avi finally find her voice? Or will her dreams be drowned out by everyone else?

When Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar Soho Teen

Shy, nerdy Tanvi has always thought of her perfect cousin Mimi as her sister. Not only did Mimi’s family raise Tanvi after the tragic death of her parents, fierce Mimi has always protected Tanvi at school. At least until Mimi fell under the spell of their flawless, rich classmate, Beth . . . Tanvi’s biggest bully.

Fearing another terrible year, Tanvi decides to take a desperate, preemptive strike—and captures an incriminating photo of Mimi and Beth at a party. When Tanvi wakes up the next day with a bump on her head, scratches on her leg, and no memory of what caused her injuries, Mimi is gone.

When the investigation for the missing girl takes a dark turn, Tanvi begins to fill the gaps in her memory, hoping to bring her cousin home alive. She questions Mimi’s friends and enemies—including Mimi’s shady boyfriend, who refuses to answer her questions, and Beth, who catalyzed the split between the once-close cousins. Meanwhile, the cops announce that they are now hunting a murderer��are they hunting Tanvi?

To preserve her family and find the truth, Tanvi must revisit the worst night of her life and the darkest parts of her past to discover if she’s capable of murder—and the truth of what happened to Mimi.

November 26

Heart-Shaped Lies by Elizabeth Agyemang Delacorte

Kiara, Priscilla, and Nevaeh have nothing in common—except they just found out that they’re all dating Tommy Harding, the internet’s most famous teen prank star.

KIARA is the girlfriend who the cameras know and love, the academic star who Tommy parades around in public to keep his image in check.

PRISCILLA is Tommy’s co-star. As a beauty influencer and an accomplice to Tommy’s notorious antics, she’s always known that the two of them could be the Internet’s power couple—if only he would confess to his girlfriend what really goes on during their ‘rehearsals’.

And NEVAEH is the good girl, the pastor’s daughter who’d never dream of dating a boy who’s already taken.

When a viral post from Tommy’s social media account exposes his cheating ways during their high school class trip to Florida’s biggest theme park, the girls are crushed—and furious. Tommy claims his account was hacked. Now, Kiara, Priscilla, and Nevaeh want him out of their lives. Forever. After all, Tommy doesn’t just hold their hearts—he holds their secrets, too.

But when Tommy’s body is found the next morning, their so-called wish becomes a twisted reality. Because Tommy may be gone, but the internet is forever. And the girls are about to go from strangers to suspects….

#batgirl: possession #streetlight people #teen titans: starfire #where the library hides #fortune's kiss #greater secrets #heist royale #i am the dark that answers when you call #midnights with you #more than this #rani choudhury must die #serpent sea #sophomore year #when mimi went missing #heart-shaped lies #new releases

28 notes · View notes