#rachel about talia

[iridescentis]

mischalia to me. if you even care

[froggyfics]

The Deadliest Poisons Are The Sweetest - 6

Conflict arises within the Al Ghul household.

18+ only! I do not consent for this content to be viewed by minors. Please take heed of the warnings listed, though they are not entirely comprehensive. All characters are consenting adults. Do not continue reading if you are uncomfortable with the content. This story and its contents are 100% fictional, and are not affiliated with DC Comics.

Sincerely appreciate you guys for leaving comments and messages about my writing! Your interactions definitely push me to complete my work. Thank you for your patience.

Feedback is always appreciated. Feel free to message me privately or comment below to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Pairing: LOA!medieval!Damian Wayne x fem!reader

Word Count: 3,780

Warnings: misogyny?, smut, p in v penetration, oral sex

The Wayne Manor, in all its glory, is quite ordinary. 

Yes, it is perhaps the most magnificent building in all of Gotham – but if you look closely enough, there are little quirks that can only be seen in homes that have been lived in. 

Little chips on the doorframe showed its perpetual use. The floorboards creaked due to constant footsteps. The stained windows were discolored to divulge their age.

The manor gave off a completely different aura when compared to the Al Ghul Castle. The castle was built primarily for defense purposes and was not meant to be lived in. Its bloody history was obvious with its moat, drawbridges, and arrow slits.

Maybe that’s why you instantly felt more at ease at the manor. This was a home. It had no nefarious purpose. Even if the castle was purged of its malignant occupants (namely Talia), it could not erase its bloody history. 

With that being said, you could not say that you were completely comfortable at the manor. 

“How can I make you feel more at home?” Alfred inquires.

You’re not entirely sure how to answer his question. Maybe he could send word for your family to come to the manor instead of staying at the castle. 

You push the idea to the back of your mind almost immediately after thinking it. Your family hasn’t really been acting like your kin since you’ve arrived in the capital. They’re simply too busy schmoozing to notice your plight. After all, you are their ticket to the upper echelon. Damian had you leave the castle so hurriedly that you did not even have the chance to seek them out to say farewell. You doubt they’d care about your absence anyways.

“Where’s Damian?” 

“He’s still speaking with his father. I can have him come to your room as soon as he finishes his discussion.”

“Yes, that would be wonderful.”

Alfred bows before exiting the room. “Your highness.”

You let out a melancholic sigh while plopping on your bed. The absolute silence that surrounds you deafens your ears. The peacefulness reminds you that this is the first time in a long time that you had to yourself. 

Your ladies-in-waiting are out familiarizing themselves with the manor. Rachel returned to her own home, promising to follow you to manor after she packed her own belongings. Alice, your personal servant, is acquainting herself with the servants’ quarters. 

Talia is not breathing down your neck. Your mother is no longer nit-picking at your appearance. Your father is not here to remind you of your dimwittedness. Your older brother is not hounding you to convince your in-laws to give him a council seat. 

It's just you. After so much time surrounded by others, wishing for some alone time, you’re suddenly dumbfounded. How were you able to entertain yourself before him – before Damian?

The embroidery hoop sits longingly in your open chest. Your needlework was in sore need of improvement you realized after moving to Gotham. After all, the noblewoman here had no household chores to take up their time, thereby leaving them experts at embroidery. 

You sit down on a sturdy wooden chair. It’s easy for you to distract yourself in the work that you’re doing. All that there is to distract you are the crackling of the candles and the occasional prick of the needle. 

You nearly fall out of the chair in terror when the door opens suddenly. Your ladies-in-waiting come barging in, talking amongst themselves merrily until they notice you. Their faces sour. 

“C’mere, your highness,” Matilda sneers. “Time for bed.”

A sigh escapes your lips before you can control it. Surely, you cannot be treated this way! After all, you’re a princess now!

Alas, you scurry to Matilda and turn your back towards her. Of course, you can wish for a spine all you’d like, but you’d never stand up to her. Or to Honora. Or Joan. Or Talia. You’re…you. A princess, but you were born among the lowest of aristocrats. Just a generation prior, your family were peasants! Matilda, Joan, and Honora all came from distinguished dynasties that far surpassed your own. 

“Ouch!” You tried with all your might to keep quiet while Matilda yanks you about, but when her nails scratch against your back, you can’t help but let out a screech.

“Oh, hush now!”

“You’re – hurting me.”

Matilda remains quiet and you step out of your dress after it pools at your feet. The fireplace keeps the room warm, but the hostility in the air increases the temperature. She tugs the nightgown over your head rudely. 

“I suppose I’ll stay the night with the princess.” Honora points to the feather mattress near the bed. 

Matilda and Joan nod their heads and curtsy towards you.

“Now, is there anything else you’d like for us to do before we retire for the night, your highness?” Joan’s voice is sickly sweet, but at this point, you know her words are laced with venom.

“No, thank you. You are dismissed. Have a nice night.”

They snicker in each other’s ears and walk towards the door, while Honora looks longingly at them. Joan opens the bedroom door and gasps at the sight. 

“Your highness!”

Damian leisurely strides into the room with his hands behind his back like a soldier. The occupants of the room immediately bow in respect, including you. 

So much time had passed from when you told Alfred to call for Damian, that you didn’t think he’d actually come to see you. But here he was! In your room. You didn’t even know what you wanted to say to him. You didn’t remember why you asked Alfred to send Damian to you in the first place.

He clears his throat and looks around the room. His gaze lands on your discarded embroidery hoop atop your dresser. He picks it up to examine the half-finished red carnation on the fabric. Your entire body heats up in embarrassment. In your lonely haze, you barely recalled poking the red and green thread through the linen fabric. It meant nothing. Damian catches your gaze, and you hope to communicate silently that it meant nothing to you. Boredom took over and flowers were a common item to embroider. It meant nothing. You weren’t thinking about him then, and you certainly didn’t care that he was standing in front of you now. 

“You lot are dismissed for now.”

The ladies scamper out of the room immediately as Damian’s command leaves his lips. No back talk. No snide comment. If only they respected you half as much as they respected him, your day-to-day life would become so much smoother.

“Alfred mentioned that you called upon me.”

Your eye twitches. “Only to say goodnight.” You stare at him until it becomes uncomfortable. “So, goodnight.”

You turn around to get under the warmth of your covers. You pull the coverlet and bedsheet out as calmly as you can, even though a combination of anger and embarrassment courses through you. 

You want to lie back down fully, but Damian remains standing in place. 

“Can you please call my lady-in-waiting in here?”

“No.”

“No?” you scoff. “Why not?”

“We’re having a conversation, that’s why.”

“No, we’re not,” you huff. “I have had quite a tumultuous day. If you’ll excuse me, I will retire for the night.”

“You are angry with me.”

You scowl, but say nothing in return. You are angry. In fact, you are irate. Your marriage has just begun, and you already want to escape. 

“I’ve spoken with my father,” Damian interrupts the silence. “We will be staying here, at Wayne Manor. The castle is not the place for us.”

He exhales loudly when you do not respond. You are looking down at your coverlet, but can sense his movements closing in on you. He tediously sits on the farthest possible corner of the bed.

You shake your head in disbelief and face him with a glare on your face. “I do not bite, your highness, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

His smile momentarily catches you off-guard, but his chuckles reignite your anger. “You look like you will,” he responds once he notices your fury. His attempt at easing the tension does not work.

“I truly apologize for what my mother said to you. It was not…appropriate to say the least. Here at the manor, I can assure you that no one will question our marital bed like she did.”

“Tell that to my ladies-in-waiting. You do know that they are your mother’s spies, right? They’ll report everything to her.”

He shrugs. “I have been known to keep a loyal household.” He winks at you. “I have my ways.”

You simply can’t stand it. He’s being so…friendly. It irks you.

“Thank you, your highness. T’is late. I will not keep you up.” 

Your attempt to dismiss Damian is ignored. He tuts and closes the distance between you two. His new position is right at your side. His thigh touches your own, with just sheets of fabric separating the two of you.

“You’re angry with me,” he repeats.

“What’s it to you?” You do your best to keep your voice steady. “It’s not like you care.”

“Of course, I do. Of course, I care.”

A humorless laugh escapes your throat. “I’m not stupid. I have not grown up with your fancy tutors or privileged background, but I’m not stupid.”

“I never said you were stu –”

“You don’t have to say it for me to know that you and everyone else think it!” you nearly shout. “Your highness –”

“We’ve been over this.” He rubs his forehead. “You are my wife. Refer to me as husband or Damian –”

“I am not your wife!” It’s unintentional, but some of your spit lands on his face. You fight to get the covers off of you, jumping out of bed. You can only stomp a few steps away from Damian before his arm grabs your bicep.

You’re pulled back towards him and he swivels you around to face him once again.

“I am not your wife!” you repeat.

“What are you going on about, woman?” His own anger is evident due to the bulging vein on his neck. “Have you hit your head and lost your memory already?”

You speak through gritted teeth. “Your highness, I am not sure why you have roped me into your lies, but clearly there is another motive behind our so-called marriage.” You rip yourself from his hands, and point at him menacingly. “I don’t think I care to know why you have lied to me, but just know I’m onto you. You cannot deceive me. I know that we are in a sham marriage.”

Damian’s eyes nearly transform to coal black, the green is no longer visible. You slowly drop your accusatory finger, mentally kicking yourself for your tantrum. His disposition is quite fearsome, you realize. You were admittedly terrified of Prince Damian, who comes from a long line of terrifying and tyrannical ancestors. 

“Careful there, woman,” he taunts. “You are speaking to your prince.”

“I thought you were just my husband,” you sneer before you realize what you said. You clamp your mouth shut.

His eyes narrow dangerously. “Same difference. Do you need reminding?”

Well, now you’ve done it. You were going to be beheaded come sunrise, weren’t you? Why couldn’t you have just shut up? Why did you have to believe the lies he said in the garden? Who cares, he’s a man – they all lie. What difference does it make that your man joins in the age-old tradition of lying?

Damian waits expectantly for some sort of response from you, while your mind races. 

“No…husband.”

Damian smiles, but you can tell it’s the coldblooded kind. He takes one step, then another, and then one more until he’s toe-to-toe with you. 

You look up meekly at your prince. He towers over you and it dawns on you just how precarious your situation is. It has been just a day since you’ve married. The marriage could easily be annulled, especially at Damian’s behest. You are replaceable. There are countless others you would kill to be the heir’s wife.

And who could replace Damian? Quite literally, no one. Your family would forever be disgraced. No one would want to interact with the family of the heir’s former wife. It would be an embarrassment. Not to mention, you would forever be the laughingstock of the kingdom. The day-old princess. 

He cups your face, and his thumbs brush your hot cheeks. His other fingers grip the back of your neck, nearly painfully so. “Well, I think you do.”

Your breath hitches in the back of your throat when he plants his lips on your forehead. They travel to your nose before one hand shifts the collar of your nightgown.

“Admittedly, t’is my fault.” He suckles the tender skin at the base of your neck. “I have not truly turned you into a wife yet.” The implications of his words make you shiver, along with the wet kisses he leaves up and down your neck. His actions leave you in shock. This was not the way you expected to be…punished? Reprimanded? You’re not sure what exactly Damian is planning.

He kisses the pulsing point in your neck and the sensitivity nearly makes your moan. You bite your lip in retaliation, but of course, he notices it. 

You want to retort, but his thumb rubs against your nipple. You breathe out heavily as he continues his ministrations, your fiery attitude withers away as your nipple hardens under his touch. 

His hands slowly make their way to your hips and he grabs them firmly to guide you in the direction of the bed. 

You yelp when he pushes you onto the bed roughly, nearly landing completely on your back, but you catch yourself by your arms. You watch in utter curiosity as Damian rolls your nightgown over your knees, exposing you the warm chill of the room. He bites his lip lewdly and sinks to his knees.

You yelp again when he pulls you closer to the edge by the ankles. 

“You can watch if you want.” He gives you wet kisses from your ankle till your inner thigh. When he reaches your thigh, you attempt to close your legs around his head. It’s simply too sensitive. 

He pushes your knees apart and begins the cycle again on the other leg. This time, when he reaches your inner thigh, he takes hold of your legs and spreads them as far apart as he can. 

You squirm and squirm as he continues kissing your inner thighs.

“Damian,” you whimper.

“The lioness suddenly cannot seem to roar, only mewl,” he teases.

You can feel his hot breath on your innermost parts. The intimacy of the situation makes you grip the bed, but once he latches onto you, your hands cramp in the air.

“Oh! Ooh! Oh.” You moan loudly while he deliciously eats you out. His tongue sloppily latches onto your sensitive nub, but he occasionally leaves you long, languid licks on the entire region.

His hand snakes up your body, shirking your nightgown up until it’s over your shirt. He tweaks your nipples, and you can feel your abdomen tightening in response. 

You can feel the cooling wetness when Damian finally releases his hold on your clitoris. You want to mourn the absence of his tongue, but the mourning period ends as quickly as it began when he starts to rub his thumb in firm, circular motions.

There are so many sensations happening simultaneously. His thumb on your clit. His rough shirt agitating your nipples. Wet kisses on your neck. His fingers occasionally swiping the wetness leaking from your hole and spreading it around. You couldn’t stop the tide even if you wanted to.

The only thing to hold onto is his biceps. It starts in small waves. A strange feeling arises in you, but you don’t want it to stop. It roils in faster and faster peaks. You bite your lip in anticipation. When it finally arrives, a sound escapes your throat that has never come out before. Your muscles contract as you reach your peak. 

Damian’s lips leave your neck to latch onto your mouth. You moan into his mouth as the feeling rides itself out. It’s so overwhelming that all modesty flies out the window. You don’t care how loud you are. You don’t care how you must look. All that surrounds you is the pleasure that Damian extracted from you. 

The kiss you share is unlike the one from the day before at your wedding. Your wedding kiss was short and sour. This one is long and sensual. 

You don’t want the kiss to end, but Damian takes the initiative to pull back. He maintains eye contact with you while he removes his tunic and pants. You obscenely take in the sight of his defined abs and strong muscles, but you stop once your eyes meet his hardened member.

You jump slightly when he suddenly spits on it. His hand moves up and down to spread his saliva around. The sight is so lewd that you turn your head to avoid it.

“Don’t get all shy on me now, beloved.”

His words force you to look once more at him. His pushes your shoulders down to where you lay flat on the bed. You crane your neck to at least look at what he’s doing. He holds your neck up with his hand to give you a better view once he realizes what you’re trying to do. 

He pokes at your entrance. “Beloved, breathe for me.”

You have no choice but to follow the instructions of the man that just had his face in between your thighs moments ago. You inhale, then exhale, and repeat the process.

The pain halts your breath. You hiss as the head of his penis is thrust into you. He shallowly inserts the tip in and out, and leans down to pepper your face with light kisses. Slowly but surely, your hiss turns into a whimper. In response, he thrusts deeper and deeper. He whispers tenderly into your ear.

“You feel amazing, my love.”

“This is what I should have done last night.”

“I am all yours.”

You don’t even realize you’ve shed a tear until he swipes it away. The gentleness of the moment wipes away the last month from your memory. All that exists is here and now.

It hurts, but there’s an equal amount of pleasure licking behind the pain. Damian’s ever-increasing groans only add to your own desire. He impales you with every thrust, but he does so as slowly as possible. You can tell he could be rougher if he wanted, as evident by his muscular figure. 

He leans his forehead onto your own, and closes his eyes. You keep yours open to watch him pant. There’s a glow on his skin that highlights every handsome feature about him. 

His breathing becomes erratic and so do his thrusts. His grunts are nearly animalistic until finally he groans loudly in delight. You can feel a gush of wetness around your entrance as he lazily thrusts himself in and out of you. He stills himself inside of you at last before practically crushing you under his weight.

You can hardly breathe under the pressure and feebly push upwards against his chest with your hands that are trapped under him. He pulls out of you completely and rolls over to your side, still panting heavily. 

He shifts you onto your side to face him and pecks your entire face with light kisses. You giggle at his show of affection, wishing that he would never stop. 

But he does. Everything good must come to an end. With one final peck on your lips, he rubs his hands up and down your back before getting up from the bed. The warmth of his body escapes you and you find yourself quite cold suddenly. The fireplace still burns brightly, but Damian’s touch provided a fiery heat that could not be replicated through any other means. 

Once he’s finally dressed, he leans down to give you a passionate kiss. You return the affection to the best of your naïve ability. 

“Our marriage is now officially sealed. Do you feel like our union is a sham still?”

You squirm in embarrassment. You recall the argument that preceded your intimate counter, but shame overcomes you at the way you behaved. 

You nod your head in response. “I apologize, Damian. This past month has just been a whirlwind for me.”

He gazes at you while tying his pants tight. “I understand.” He reaches down and kisses your knuckles, like he did when you first arrived in Gotham. “Goodnight, beloved.”

He strides towards the exit. “Damian, will we spend any time together tomorrow? I’d love a tour of the manor with you as my guide.”

“I don’t think that is possible. I’ll be very busy.” He attempts to walk away, but is stopped by your questioning again.  

“Can we at least have dinner together?” He doesn’t turn to face you entirely, but he does tilt his head in your direction. 

“Would that make you happy?” he finally says.

“Yes,” you immediately answer. You wanted what just happened to continue to happen. Not necessarily the sex, although that was a definitive plus, but the closeness. 

You felt so much closer to Damian within just a night of emotional intimacy that your negative memories of him from the past month shift towards the back of your head. Every kiss he gave you tonight replaced every snide comment made in your direction, the loneliness you felt, and the confusion regarding your relationship status.

“Then, we shall have dinner.” With that, he leaves the room, leaving you bare on the bed. 

His absence makes the pain and soreness in your abdomen and genitals evident. You clutch your belly in an attempt to soothe the cramps away.

Your door bursts open. You scramble to cover yourself with something, with anything, but it’s too late.

Honora glares at you as she makes her way towards the bed. The best you can do in your fumbled state is cover yourself with your arms and make yourself as small as possible. 

She looks you over, and then at the red and transparent stains on the coverlet. 

“Get off the bed,” she snaps. She exits the room and returns a few moments later with two servant girls.

“Hurry up,” she barks at the servants as they scurry to change to the sheets. “I’d like to get some sleep before the sun rises.”

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💙💜🩷 Books for Bisexuality Visibility Month 🩷💜💙

please support this blog

💜 How incredible is it that I made a list of 99 books for bisexual visibility month, KNOWING there are so many NOT featured on this list? I'm so proud to be bi. Having these characters and stories intertwine with mine warms my heart.

💜 What's your favorite book featuring bisexual characters?

💙 The Henna Wars - Adiba Jaigirdar 💙 Perfect on Paper - Sophie Gonzales 💙 Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli 💙 Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston 💙 Queens of Geek - Jen Wilde 💙 Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster - Andrea Mosqueda 💙 Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute - Talia Hibbert 💙 Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake - Alexis Hall 💙 A Merry Little Meet Cute - Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone

💜 Leah on the Offbeat - Becky Albertalli 💜 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid 💜 Radio Silence - Alice Oseman 💜 The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzi Lee 💜 You Exist Too Much - Zaina Arafat 💜 Wolfsong - T.J. Klune 💜 The Pairing - Casey McQuiston 💜 Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail - Ashley Herring Blake 💜 Heartstopper - Alice Oseman

🩷 Going Bicoastal - Dahlia Adler 🩷 Some Girls Do - Jennifer Dugan 🩷 Hani & Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating - Adiba Jaigirdar 🩷 Autoboyography - Christina Lauren 🩷 Written in the Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur 🩷 They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera 🩷 Cool for the Summer - Dahlia Adler 🩷 Delilah Green Doesn't Care - Ashley Herring Blake 🩷 One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston

💙 I'll Be the One - Lyla Lee 💙 Running With Lions - Julian Winters 💙 Take a Hint, Dani Brown - Talia Hibbert 💙 Felix Ever After - Kacen Callender 💙 Not Your Sidekick - C.B. Lee 💙 Ophelia After All - Racquel Marie 💙 Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhao 💙 Something to Talk About - Meryl Wilsner 💙 The Girls I've Been - Tess Sharpe

💜 Iris Kelly Doesn't Date - Ashley Herring Blake 💜 Never Ever Getting Back Together - Sophie Gonzales 💜 Her Royal Highness - Rachel Hawkins 💜 Call Me By Your Name - André Aciman 💜 I Wish You All the Best - Mason Deaver 💜 Mistakes Were Made - Meryl Wilsner 💜 Hang the Moon - Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 Kiss Her Once for Me - Alison Cochrun 💜 The Brightsiders - Jen Wilde

🩷 Wild Beauty - Anna-Marie McLemore 🩷 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - Victoria Schwab 🩷 Payback's a Witch - Lana Harper 🩷 A Dowry of Blood - S.T. Gibson 🩷 Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo 🩷 Dark Rise - C.S. Pacat 🩷 If This Gets Out - Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich 🩷 Let's Talk About Love - Claire Kann 🩷 Carry On - Rainbow Rowell

💙 Under the Whispering Door - T.J. Klune 💙 I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston 💙 Pumpkinheads - Rainbow Rowell 💙 Icebreaker - A.L. Graziadei 💙 This Poison Heart - Kalynn Bayron 💙 A Lot Like Adiós - Alexis Daria 💙 Sorry, Bro - Taleen Voskuni 💙 We Are Okay - Nina LaCour 💙 Count Your Lucky Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur

💜 Hot Dog Girl - Jennifer Dugan 💜 Verona Comics - Jennifer Dugan 💜 They Hate Each Other - Amanda Woody 💜 The Disasters - M.K. England 💜 The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater 💜 You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson 💜 These Witches Don't Burn - Isabel Sterling 💜 My Dearest Darkest - Kayla Cottingham 💜 City of Shattered Light - Claire Winn

🩷 The Unbroken - C.L. Clark 🩷 Dread Nation - Justina Ireland 🩷 House of Hollow - Krystal Sutherland 🩷 Love & Other Disasters - Anita Kelly 🩷 Ace of Shades - Amanda Foody 🩷 The Lost Girls - Sonia Hartl 🩷 Of Fire and Stars - Audrey Coulthurst 🩷 This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story - Kacen Callender 🩷 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz

💙 If You Still Recognise Me - Cynthia So 💙 Melt With You - Jennifer Dugan 💙 The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun 💙 That Summer Feeling - Bridget Morrissey 💙 The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School - Sonora Reyes 💙 The Luis Ortega Survival Club - Sonora Reyes 💙 The Fiancée Farce - Alexandria Bellefleur 💙 Flip the Script - Lyla Lee 💙 Role Playing - Cathy Yardley

💜 I Think I Love You - Auriane Desombre 💜 Truly, Madly, Deeply - Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 Gearbreakers - Zoe Hana Mikuta 💜 Finally Fitz - Marisa Kanter 💜 The Spirit Bares Its Teeth - Andrew Joseph White 💜 Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl - Brianna R. Shrum & Sara Waxelbaum 💜 Late Bloomer - Mazey Eddings 💜 A Darker Shade of Magic - Victoria Schwab 💜 Love at First Set - Jennifer Dugan

[rebelrayne]

Each Islander's Answer to: "Would You Be Willing to Return for All-Stars?"

under the cut (endgames included for fun)

➥ YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES!

Emel Ivy Kat Kelly Lily Johnny (with a dramatic flair) R!Hannah Summer Uma

➥ Yes, I would be.

Bianca* (S8 CA) Blake Cassius* (S7 Bombshell) Erikah Felicity* (S8 CA) Hazel Meera Nicolas Rachel* (S8 OG) Stephen* (S7 Bombshell) Toby Valentina

➥ The show wouldn't be complete without me.

Allegra Arlo Brad* (S8 Bombshell) Bryson Christy* (S8 Bombshell) Eddie Elisa Finn Iona Jamal (I'm sorry he is pure chaos) Lexi Marshall Mason Rafi (sorry, he's there for the fame) Reese Ryan Sienna

➥ Doesn't wait for a call, just shows up.

Hamish Liam (he's told to go home)

➥ Depends...Do I get a hot tub date?

Roberto

➥ Pretends they're busy for flair, then says yes.

Rocco

➥ I don't know...Look what happened last time.

Grace Hazeem Hope Jo Lucy Kobi Priya Rohan

➥ Maybe? Let me think about it.

Cherry Daphne Estelle Flo Genevieve Geri Harry (Sorry Mo, he'd just feel bad to say no LOL) Jasper Jen Luna Nicky Sammi Vicky Willow

➥ If I don't have anything better to do, sure.

Jakub Miles Shannon

➥ Lol! This reminds me of a throw pillow!

Chelsea

➥ My Nan would kill me, mate.

Gary Lewie

➥ *Rambles until the producer just hangs up*.

Bill (because he can't shut up) Bruno (because he can't figure out how to say no) Juliet (because she has advice for them) Rahim (because he starts talking about Violet Man)

➥ Tries to say no, tricked into saying yes.

Ciaran Tom Rafael

➥ No thank you.

AJ Alex Andy Arjun Bea Bella Bobby Carl Chloe Claudia Elijah Elladine Evan Gabi Hari Henrik Jack Jake Jin Jo Kyle Levi Logan Lucas Lulu Max Oakley Oliver Ozzy Shawn Tai Talia Thabi Theo Yasmin

➥ Hah. I'm still waiting for the punchline.

Elliot

➥ I wrote enough fanfic about it.

Talia

➥ No thanks, Mamacita.

Camilo

➥ Full offense-no.

Angie Lottie

➥ Non.

Youcef

➥ "Oh, sorry! We forgot you exist."

Tiffany Tyler

➥ Ghosted and/or ignored the call.

Joyo Kassam Noah Seb

➥ Ghosted the call, but by accident.

Cora Najuma Will

➥ Production didn't even bother inviting them.

Alfie Bonnie Dana Felix Francis James Miki Travis

➥ Calls & complains they weren't invited.

Dylan Graham Pete Sophie Suresh

➥ Ghosted & Ignored...by Production.

Amelia

[thousandfireworks]

Authors whose books you have to avoid because they are problematic.

Abigail Hing Wen.

Alex Aster.

Alice Hoffman.

Alice Oseman.

Alison Win Scotch. ‘Terrorism is never acceptable. Not in Israel.’

Allie Sarah.

Amber Kelly.

Amy Harmon.

Annabelle Monaghan.

Anna Akana.

Aurora Parker.

Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Brandon Sanderson. Islamophobic.

Carissa Broadbent. Said that hamas is doing violence against innocence.

Chloe Walsh. Siding with Israel in the name of humanity.

Christina Lauren. Believe that Israel is the victim. A racist, also Islamophobic.

Colleen Hoover.

Cora Reilly. Travel to Israel despite criticism.

Danielle Bernstein. Islamophobic.

Danielle Lori.

Deke Moulton. Said hamas is terrorist.

Dian Purnomo.

Eliza Chan.

Elle Kennedy.

Elyssa Friedland.

Emily Henry.

Emily Mclntire.

Emily St. J. Mandel. Admiring Israel.

Gabrielle Zevin. Wrote a book about anti-Palestine. Mentioned Israel multiple times without context on his book.

Gregory Carlos. Israeli author. A zionist.

Hannah Whitten.

Hazel Hayes. Reposted a post about October 7th.

Heidi Shertok.

Jamie McGuire.

Jay Shetty. ‘Violence is happening in Israel.’

Jean Meltzer.

Jeffery Archer. Wrote a book with a mc Israel operative (mossad) in a positive and anti terrorist light.

Jennifer Hartman. Liked a post about pro-Israel.

Jen Calonita.

Jessa Hastings.

Jill Santopolo. Said that Israel has right to exist and fight back.

John Green.

Jojo Moyes.

J. Elle.

J. K. Rowling. Support genocide. Racist. Islamophobic.

Kate Canterbery.

Kate Stewart.

Katherine Howe.

Katherine Locke.

Kristin Hannah. Support Israel. Shared a donation link.

Laini Taylor.

Laura Thalassa. Islamophobic.

Lauren Wise. Cussed that Palestinian supporters would be raped in front of children.

Lea Geller. Thanked people who supports Israel.

Leigh Dragoon. Islamaphobic and anti Asian racist rants on Twitter and threads

Leigh Stein.

Lilian Harris. A racist. Blocking people who educates about colonialism in Palestine and call them disgusting.

Lisa Barr. A daughter of Holocaust survivor. Support Israel.

Lisa Kennedy Montgomery.

Lisa Steinke.

Liz Fenton.

Lynn Painter. Afraid of getting cancelled as a pro-Palestine and posted a template afterwards.

L. J. Shen. Her husband joins idf (Israel army).

Mariana Zapata.

Marie Lu.

Marissa Meyer.

Melissa de la Cruz.

Michelle Cohen Corasanti.

Michelle Hodkin. Spread false rumors about arab-hamas. Islamophobic.

Mitch Albom. ‘We shouldn't blame Israel for surviving attacks or defending against them.’

Monica Murphy. Siding with Israel.

Naomi Klein.

Navah Wolfe.

Neil Gaiman. Suggested Palestinians unite with Israel and become citizens.

Nicholas Sparks.

Nic Stone. Talked nonsense that children in Palestinian refugee camp are training to be martyrs for Allah because they felt it was their call in life.

Nyla K.

Olivia Wildenstein. Blocking people who disagree with Israel wrongdoing.

Pamela Becker.

Penelope Douglas.

Pierce Brown.

Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Rebecca G. Martinez.

Rebecca Yarros. ‘I despise violence’ her opinion about what's happening in Gaza. Blocking people who calls her a zionist.

Rena Rossner.

Renee Ahdieh.

Rick Riordan.

Rina Kent.

Rivka (noctem.novelle).

Rochelle Weinstein.

Romina Garber. ‘These terrorist attacks do nothing to improve the lives of Palestinians people.’

Roshani Chokshi. Encourage people to donate to Israel.

Samantha Greene Woodruff.

Sarah J. Mass. Her book contained ideology of zionism.

Stephanie Garber. Promoting books by zionist author (Sarah J. Mass)

Skye Warren.

Sonali Dev.

Talia Carner.

Tarryn Fisher. Said ‘there was terrorist attack in Israel.’

Taylor Jenkins Reid. Posted a video about genocide.

Tere Liye. Rumoured to have ghoswriters to write his books and never give credit to them.

Tillie Cole.

Tracy Deon.

Trinity Traveler (Ade Perucha Hutagaol). Rumour to wrote book about handsome Israelis.

T. J. Klune.

Uri Kurlianchik.

Veronica Roth.

Victoria Aveyard. ‘Israel has the right to exist.’ quote from her about the issue.

V. E. Schwab. Shared a donation link and video about Israel.

Yuval Noah. ‘Israel has the right to do anything to defend themselves.’

Zibby Owens.

[the-forest-library]

April 2024 Reads

Just for the Summer - Abby Jimenez

Only and Forever - Chloe Liese

Say You'll Be Mine - Nana Kumar

The Governess's Guide to Passion and Peril - Manda Collins

The Lying Game - Sara Jane Woodley

The Prospects - K.T. Hoffman

The Husbands - Holly Gramazio

Begin Again - Helly Acton

One Moment - Becky Hunter

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice - Elle Cosimano

Interesting Facts About Space - Emily R. Austin

Nothing to See Here - Kevin Wilson

The Tusks of Extinction - Ray Nayler

The Reappearance of Rachel Price - Holly Jackson

Every Time You Hear That Song - Jenna Voris

Rules for Rule Breaking - Talia Tucker

Hawkeye, Volume 3: L.A. Woman - Matt Fraction

No One Returns from the Enchanted Forest - Robin Robinson

Dear Sophie, Love Sophie - Sophie Lucido Johnson

Out of Left Field - Jonah Newman

Continental Drifter - Kathy MacLeod

Fiona the Hippo - Richard Cowdrey

Woodland Dreams - Karen Jameson

Mushroom Rain - Laura K. Zimmermann

Bluets - Maggie Nelson

Sociopath - Patric Gagne

Grimoire Girl - Hilarie Burton Morgan

I Am the New Black - Tracy Morgan

The 2000s Made Me Gay - Grace Perry

The Bookseller at the End of the World - Ruth Shaw

Dear Fahrenheit 451 - Annie Spence

Why We Read - Shannon Reed

Says Who? - Anne Curzan

The Anxiety Sisters' Survival Guide - Abbe Greenberg, Maggie Sarachek

The Microstress Effect - Rob Cross

Overcome Anxiety - Lilly Andrew

Mindfulness Now - Jesse Sands

The Cure for Burnout - Emily Ballesteros

Grown Woman Talk - Sharon Malone

Unfiltered Enneagram - Elizabeth Orr

Dear Prudence - Daniel M. Lavery

Bold = Highly Recommend Italics = Worth It Crossed out = Nope

Thoughts: 

A few standouts this month: Only and Forever brings the Bergman Brothers series to an end, and it was a worthy wrap up to these stories featuring MCs with disabilities and neurodivergence.

Just for the Summer is my new favorite Abby Jimenez book with several laugh out loud moments - especially the raccoon scene - which was hilarious on audio.

The Bookseller at the End of the World is not the cozy bookseller tale you might expect. Ruth led a varied and adventurous life filled with heartbreak and hope.

And I really enjoyed Says Who? - a super accessible and fun guide to English style and grammar.

Goodreads Goal: 150/200

2017 Reads | 2018 Reads | 2019 Reads | 2020 Reads | 2021 Reads | 

2022 Reads | 2023 Reads | 2024 Reads

[ladyantiheroine]

The Paris Suite

Summary: After eloping from Gotham, Bruce and Selina enjoy a steamy honeymoon night in Paris. Read on AO3.

Pairing: Sub!Bruce Wayne x Dom!Selina Kyle

Warnings: Knifeplay, kinky sex

Word Count: 2.6k words

Tags: Honeymoon, eloping, femdom, shibari, bondage, edging, knifeplay, strip tease, alcohol, face-sitting, cunnilingus, oral sex, dom/sub, roleplay, sexual roleplay, pegging, hand jobs, hotel sex, married couple.

“Those pearls look beautiful on you.”

Selina paused and realized she was fiddling with her necklace. She glanced up at Bruce as the elevator pinged its way up another floor. She grinned.

“Thank you,” she said. “A very handsome friend of mine gave them to me.”

“How handsome?”

“Enough that I might marry him. Maybe.”

Bruce smirked and fiddled his wedding ring with his thumb. Martha Wayne’s pearls had been a gift to Selina right before they eloped. They were the only thing that Bruce brought with him once they decided to leave Gotham together.

Well, except for millions of Wayne bucks that could buy a luxury honeymoon in the City of Love, of course.

The elevator doors parted and Selina followed Bruce down the hall to a set of double doors. Bruce pulled a gold room key from his pocket.

“The Royal Suite,” Selina read on the plaque by the door. “You really went all out for this one, did you?”

Bruce smirked as he turned the key in the lock. Just as he instructed the staff upon making the reservations, the DO NOT DISTURB sign was already hanging from the doorknob.

“The occasion calls for nothing less,” he said. 

He held open the door for Selina to step inside. Her high heels clicked against the marble floor and her eyes took in the expansive chateau.

“Impressive,” she said.

The suite was nestled on the top floor of the hotel, offering an impeccable view of the city’s golden glow below. Black marble countertops, crisp white furniture, and gold accents. All were illuminated by the glittering diamond chandelier that hung from the ceiling. The place even smelled expensive. 

Bruce removed Selina’s coat and placed it on a hook before stripping off his black trench coat. His eyes ran along the place, past the fully equipped kitchen to the living room where the fireplace was already crackling.

“Nice for them to light this for us,” he said. “Wish they could’ve left us some champagne in an ice bucket.”

“Oh, they did,” Selina said.

Bruce turned to Selina just as she pulled a sleek bottle from his handbag. He smirked.

“Impatient?” he asked.

Selina returned the smirk.

“I don’t like waiting for what I want,” she said. She reached behind her and locked the suite door. “Can you grab some glasses for us, darling?”

Bruce did as she asked and approached the upper cabinets in the kitchen. He found a neat row of tell champagne glasses inside and brought two to the counter. Selina set the bottle down between them with a glassy thud.

“Planning to get me drunk right out the gate?” Bruce teased.

Selina snorted.

“Like I would have to get you drunk to do anything,” she said.

“Are you certain about that?”

The two held each other’s teasing eyes. Bruce’s eyes lingered down to Selina’s fingers around the stem of the bottle. The diamond on her wedding ring glinted in the pale light. Twenty-four carats. The kind of stone only Wayne money could buy.

His breath still hitched whenever he saw it. He looked down at the gold band on his own finger.

He was married to Selina Kyle.

They fled Gotham, had a modest ceremony in Florence, and now whisked themselves away to Paris. It all happened so quickly that Bruce still felt like it was a dream. Like any moment he would wake up back in his cold, oversized bed in Gotham, the taste of Talia Al Ghul on his lips and Rachel Dawes heavy in his chest.

Now, he couldn’t even remember a time he loved any other woman.

“There should be some chocolate strawberries in the fridge,” Selina said. “Could you check for me, baby?”

“Sure,” Bruce said. He turned to the stainless steel fridge. “Made some arrangements with room service?”

“I like having something to eat with my drink.”

Bruce opened the fridge door. Behind him, he heard the champagne gurgle into the glasses. Indeed, the fridge was empty save for a box of decadent chocolate strawberries. He reached for them before closing the door.

Bruce turned back around just as Selina finished pouring the second glass. He brought the box over and popped it open. Before he could grab one, Selina reached over and plucked one from the box.

“Last time I had something sweet, it was laced with something not-so-much,” She gripped the strawberry by its green stem and held it to Bruce’s lips. “Can you taste this and tell me if it’s okay?”

Bruce grinned, then opened wide for Selina to push the tip of the dessert inside. He held her eyes as he closed his lips over the fruit and bit down, chewing slowly and moaning at the sweet taste in his mouth.

“Are you trying to tease me, Bruce?” Selina asked.

He swallowed.

“Is it working?”

Selina smirked, then flicked the remaining stem into the waste bin. She plucked her champagne glass from the counter and Bruce followed suit.

“To a new chapter,” Bruce said, raising his glass.

“To cities of love, not cities of fear,” Selina said.

They clinked their glasses together and Bruce took a long sip. Already, he could feel the foamy buzz settle in his veins. He felt light and giddy and suddenly much sleepier than he’d been even a minute ago.

“Jesus…” he mumbled. “What do the French put in their…”

He clasped a hand on the kitchen counter as he felt his knees buckle beneath him. Selina stood there, swirling her unsipped glass in her hand, watching Bruce with a mischievous look as he collapsed onto the floor.

~

The pain was the first thing Bruce felt when he came to. Not the pounding, headache pain of a hangover, as the lingering taste of champagne on his tongue would have him think. Not the sharp pain of a stabbing or gunshot wound. It was the aching, numbing pain of sore muscles that had been contorted for too long.

His eyes fluttered open and he was met with the glaring sparkle of the chandelier hanging above him. To his right, he felt the heat radiating from the fireplace, and behind his body was the soft, white fur carpet.

“Selina…” he said.

He tried to move, then groaned in pain when he realized his hands were bound behind him. Bruce dipped his gaze down his body. He’d been stripped down to his tighty-whities, and his body had been looped with rope. Strong, firm rope.

Either Bruce had gotten rusty in the year since he left Gotham, or Selina was exceptionally good at tying knots, because no matter how hard he struggled he couldn’t break the rope. Bruce was inclined to believe the latter. He groaned as he tried and failed to snap the rope binding his hands behind him.

“Selina,” he called louder. He glanced around the suite, which from his angle on the floor, seemed empty. “Very funny, Selina…very clever…”

Bruce squirmed on the carpet. She didn’t stop at tying his wrists together at his back. His legs were bound up two, keeping his knees bent and his thighs spread apart.

Shibari, he thought. Of course she knows Shibari.

Why was he surprised?

Somewhere behind his head, he heard the bedroom door open and the telltale click-click-click of Selina’s black pumps. A shadow passed over his face and he rolled his eyes up a long pair of legs to the woman towering over him.

Looks like he wasn’t the only one she stripped down. The simple black dress Selina had arrived in was gone, replaced with black lingerie, nylon thigh-highs with garters, and a familiar-looking black mask. All of it topped off with the pearls shimmering at her collar.

“I think you had a little too much to drink,” she said. “You’re very vulnerable when you’re drunk.”

Then, Selina reached into her bra and pulled out a black metal object. Bruce’s breath hitched when she flicked it open to reveal a pocket knife. The sharp end glinted in the light, piercing the glare into Bruce’s eyes so that he had to squint. 

“You should really be more careful,” she said. Her voice was low, drawn-out, as cold as an arctic breeze. “Someone could hurt you like this.”

She stood over him with his body between her legs, then lowered down to him. She held the knife to Bruce's throat and teased the dull side against his neck. Bruce shivered at the icy touch of the metal, afraid if he moved an inch, she would draw blood.

The thought tantalized him as much as it frightened him.

He chuckled. Of course, Selina would want to play one of her games as soon as she got him alone in their room. He should have known this was coming. 

Thankfully, Bruce was the kind of prey who was happy to be chewed in his predator’s mouth.

“Well, Mrs. Wayne,” he said. He shifted beneath her and met her eyes. “It seems you’ve caught me in a bind. What do I have to do to earn my freedom?”

Selina’s face stretched into a wicked grin. Her lips were bloody red, a shade Bruce bought her as a present, called Maneater. How appropriate.

“You don't have to do much, Mr. Wayne,” Selina said. 

She moved the knife from Bruce’s throat and rose to her feet. Bruce watched her step out of her high heels and set them aside,

Then, she lifted one nyloned foot and pressed it down on his crotch.

Bruce released a shuddering moan. Selina pressed down on his bulge, teasing his length with her toes, sending pain and pleasure down between his thighs.

“All you have to do,” she said. “Is just lie there and look pretty.”

“Selina,” Bruce croaked.

Every nerve in his body angled itself to where Selina pressed down on his erection. His body burned to move, to wiggle out from under her, but the ropes kept him in place. The only part of him that could move freely was creating a bulge in his underwear.

Selina giggled girlishly and ran her toe along his length. His tip was already leaking precome, leaving a stain on the fabric.

“Wet already?” she said. She clicked her teeth. “Bruce, what kind of fucked-up man gets wet from something like this?”

Bruce huffed and reported back, “What kind of woman gets wet from holding a man at knifepoint?”

Selina lifted an eyebrow. She pressed the point of the knife against Bruce’s Adam’s apple, pressing down just enough to create a prick of pain, but not too much to break the skin. She gently teased the tip down his throat, his chest, all the way down to his waist. Bruce’s heart stopped as an image of castration crossed his mind.

“Selina…” he said. “What’re you…”

Selina nudged the tip of the blade into the fabric of Bruce’s underwear, just barely missing his cock. In one slow motion, she tore through the material. The threads ripped apart and the whole thing fell apart on the floor. Bruce’s red, throbbing cock was bared on display, like butcher’s meat she served on a platter.

Bruce watched Selina kneel down again, straddling his leg. She slowly wrapped her long, slender fingers around his cock. By this point, Bruce was visibly shaking and sweating.

“Poor baby,” she said. “Need some help?”

Slowly, she started working her hand up and down his cock. Painfully slow. Bruce sucked in a gasp of breath and hissed between his teeth.

“Selina,” Bruce said, his voice more desperate. “Please…please…”

Selina grinned but didn’t stop her busy hand on his cock. She moved faster, pulling more whimpers and whines from her husband. She gradually quickened her pace until Bruce's hips started jerking and she could feel he was close.

Then, just before he could come, Selina pulled her hand away.

Bruce snapped his head up and looked at her.

“Wah…” he said, his breathing hitched. “Why’d you stop?”

Selina grinned and pressed her chin to her knuckles, her eyes flicking over him like he was some animal she caught in a cage.

“You want, baby boy?” she said. She leaned forward, her smile dropping and her voice turning ice-cold. “Then beg for it.” 

She teased her fingers along his cock, touching him just enough to make him hiss between his teeth. Bruce was panting like a dog and he wished for nothing more than to tear his hands from their binds and jerk himself off at her feet.

“Please, Selina,” he whimpered. “Please…I’ll do anything you want…just…fuck, please, it hurts…”

Selina pursed her lips and frowned.

“Aw,” she said. “Your poor baby.”

Her mocking baby talk only made him harder. Bruce was in agony. He tried to jerk his hips up and rub his cock against her hand, but the ropes were too tight.

“Please, Selina…” he whimpered softly. “Don’t torture me like this…”

Selina paused to look at him for a moment, letting him stew under her considerate gaze and then stood up. She underclipped her garters and they fell from her thighs.

“I don’t know if I want to let you off so easy,” she said. “I’m not an easy woman, Mr. Wayne. You need to earn something from me, first.”

She hooked her thumbs into the side of her lacy panties, and then slowly pulled them down her legs. Bruce was damn near drooling and he started twitching and grunting beneath her. Just the sight of her bare pussy made him feel like a feral dog foaming at the mouth.

Her hands stripped away slowly, taking their time until the lace was at her ankle. She moved forward up his body, positioning Bruce’s head between her thighs. Bruce’s nose filled with her scent and his mouth instantly watered.

“You want it, baby?” she said. “Then give it to me first.”

She lowered herself down onto Bruce’s face and Bruce wasted no time. He plunged his king, velvety tongue inside her and moaned at the taste. Fuck, that was good stuff.

Selina’s eyes fluttered shut and she sighed. She threaded her fingers through Bruce’s hair and curved her hips into his mouth.

“That’s it, baby…” she purred. “Right there…”

Selina arched her back and tightened her grip in his hair.

“Uh huh, baby,” she said. “Just like that…”

Bruce growled between her thighs. He loved her taste, the sounds she made, her soft flesh against his face. Bruce would’ve given anything to rip his wrists from the ropes and dig his fingers into her thighs.

He lapped at her pussy like a hungry dog, her hot juices trickling down his throat. Selina moaned louder and her hips twitched as she fucked his skull into the floor.

“Fuck,” Selina moaned, gripping his hair with both hands now. “Fuck, Bruce…”

Bruce didn’t slow down. He sensed her getting close and he wanted to send her hurling over the edge. He wanted her to unravel on top of him, a bit of cheeky revenge for drugging his champagne.

Selina yanked at his hair and tipped her head up to the ceiling.

“FUCK!” She hissed through her teeth. Selina came like a glass bottle shattered against the wall. She rode Bruce’s face until every drop left from her was trickling down his throat.

Even after she finished, Selina’s hips kept jerking and twisting. Bruce didn’t want to stop. He could’ve stayed on the floor licking her dry all night. But Selina drew a heavy sigh and lifted herself from his face.

“Cute,” she said, using her thumb to wipe the shiny come from Bruce’s mouth. “This is a good look for you.”

Bruce grinned and licked the residue from his lower lip.

“Are you happy?” he asked.

Selina scoffed and gave him a smug grin. She stood up and stepped back into her high heels.

“Oh yeah,” she said. “Very happy.”

“So, are you gonna use that knife to let me go now?” Bruce asked.

Selina twisted her mouth and glanced down between Bruce’s thighs. His bulge was still erect and leaking profusely. 

“Not yet,” she said. She pointed the knife at it. “I have to take care of that business first.”

Bruce’s skin prickled with anticipation. He expected her to join him back on the floor and ride him into the carpet. Maybe she’d blow him and leave that red lipstick on his cock, marking her territory. Maybe she’d just finish that handjob she tortured him with.

Instead, he watched Selina’s heels click past his head and into the bedroom. Bruce tried to glance behind him to see where she was going.

“Selina?” he called.

Bruce didn’t hear a response. However, he did hear the distant clink of metal and the stretch of leather straps. His heart ricocheted in his chest.

Oh, he thought. Oh yes. 

He thought she would stop at the ropes. He had no idea that she brought extra toys with her as well. Clearly, he underestimated Selina and how thorough;y he planned to fuck him senseless during their honeymoon.

She’s perfect, he thought. Perfect woman. Perfect wife. 

Goosebumps erupted across Bruce’s whole body. He instinctively clenched his ass hole. The ropes around his body suddenly felt ten times more restricting and he was giddy to the point of nearly giggling.

“The bedroom door creaked open and Bruce heard Selina’s high heels approaching.

Bruce rolled his head to face the ceiling. Selina clicked her heels right up to his head, and Bruce’s vision of the chandelier was blocked by a long, protruding shape.

“I bought it brand new before the flight,” she said. She ran a finger along the length. “I even got it in black, just for you baby.”

Bruce licked his lips and stared up at the plastic cock. His gaze lingered down to the leather harness grasping Selina’s thighs, the metal buckled that glinted in the light. His body was shivering even in the firelight.

“I guess I can’t escape, can I?” Bruce said, an enormous grin on his face. “There’s no way I can get out…Nowhere I can run to…I’m completely at your mercy...”

Selina gave him a sadistic smile. Bruce Wayne, billionaire and notorious former vigilante, was now quivering at her feet. The sight of it alone could have brought her to climax right there.

“I’m afraid so,” she said. She dug her toe under Bruce’s back, then flipped him onto his stomach. Her new husband let out a delicious moan of pain. “You’re all mine to play with…my favorite little toy…”

Selina kneeled down close to Bruce’s bare back. She grabbed a small vial of lube from her bra and lathered up her cock. Then, she lathered her fingers and went to work wetting Bruce’s hole.

Bruce winced and sighed as his new wife massaged her fingers inside him, teasing his prostate just the way he liked. He could never get enough of this. After years of relentless control, it felt heavenly to surrender to someone else. Especially someone like Selina Kyle.

No, Selina Wayne.

Selina pulled her fingers out and readied herself at Bruce’s entrance. With one firm thrust, she pushed her length inside him. The lube allowed her to slide deeper inside him, and the deeper she went, the louder Bruce whined

“Shush, baby,” she purred. “Don’t want someone calling security on us with all the noise.”

Selina paused her hips to straighten up and reach behind her neck. Bruce could barely look over his shoulder to see what she was doing. Then he heard a strange clicking sound.

Selina unclipped the pearl necklace and balled it in her fist. She leaned forward and grabbed Bruce’s jaw from behind.

“I’m gonna have to keep you quiet,” she said.

She shoved two fingers in Bruce’s mouth and his jaw instinctively unhinged. With his mouth open, Selina quickly removed her fingers and shoved the balled-up necklace inside him.

“Urgh,” Bruce grunted. 

His saliva dribbled over the necklace. The pearls smelled, even tasted , like Selina’s skin, and that stopped him from immediately spitting it out. Selina grabbed his hips and continued to pound into him.

At a certain point, Bruce’s body went limp like a ragdoll’s. He surrendered to the fur carpet and let her ruin him from behind. Her movements were quick but precise, pressing into his prostrate so well that it took only a few minutes for him to feel a swelling inside him.

Selina dug her sharp nails into his muscular shoulders, leaving red lines across his flesh. If only Gotham could see their dark knight now, face to the floor and his dick pressed to the carpet, spilling a pool of precome.

Bruce’s whimpers turned to moans and then desperate pleas. Any stoic front melted away in a mess of sweat and tears of pleasure. He tried to moan words, but the pearls in his mouth only allowed a gurgle of noises to spill from his throat.

Selina spanked a hand against his rear end, getting a loud grunt from him.

“What’s that, baby?” she said. “You want it harder?”

Selina grabbed his hair, forcing his back to arch, and she thrust her hips faster. A bead of sweat ran down her neck between her breasts and her heart knocked against her ribs. Bruce was teary-eyed, blubbering mess beneath her.

“Mmmmm, good boy,” she purred in his ear. “Come for me, baby.”

With those words, Bruce released a hissing, pained cry from his throat and burst onto the floor. Selina kept thrusting and fucking until every drop of him was gone. Even when he was finished, she kept pushing inside him and gave another snap to the ass for good measure.

Once they were both out of breath and slicked with sweat, Selina pulled out and stood up to remove the harness. She dropped the whole thing on a nearby chair.

“You look cute from up here,” she teased. “Maybe I should just leave on the floor all night.”

“And leave half the bed cold?” Bruce retorted. “On a winter night?”

Bruce heard Selina unsheath her switchblade again. She grabbed his hand and sawed at the ropes until they split away. A cool breeze brushed over Bruce’s skin and the circulation smoothed in his wrists.

“Too tight this time?” Selina asked.

Bruce scoffed. “Never too tight.”

He turned onto his back. His body was slick with sweat, and the heat from the fireplace and the fur carpet on his back did little to cool him. Selina crawled on top of him and pressed her forehead to his.

“You look a bit parched,” she said.

“Yeah,” Bruce said.

“Need a drink?”

Selina reached up and pulled the champagne bottle out from behind a footrest. Bruce chuckled and watched Selina rise up to straddle him and pop it open.

“Promise this one isn’t spiked?” he said.

Selina chuckled.

“Oh, Bruce,” she said. “A few days into marriage, and already you don’t trust me?”

Bruce smirked and watched Selina take a swing of the bottle. Then, she hovered it a few inches over his face.

“Open wide,” she said.

Bruce did as she said and parted his lips. Selina dribbled the foamy drink into his mouth. Some of it landed on his tongue, the rest spilled on his lips and nose. Droplets went flying onto the carpet.

“You’re going to leave a hell of a mess for the maids tomorrow,” Bruce said.

Selina raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe I should make you lick it off the carpet,” she said. “Make you crawl on your hands and knees, and stay like that until it’s all gone.”

Bruce gave her a look, as if to say, "Is that a challenge?” 

Selina set the bottle aside and stretched out on top of Bruce. Bruce circled his arms around her and Selina smacked a kiss on his cheek, leaving a crimson stain behind.

Champagne bottle half-empty and too sleepy to stand, the Bat and the Cat dozed off as the fireplace embers cooled to wisps of smoke.

[greenconverses]

This might be a silly question but do you enjoy contemporary romance novels? I love historical romance novels but for some reason I find contemporary romance really cringe. Are there certain authors you think always have good stories? ( like the way I know anything you write will always be a banger). I want to expand outside of historical romance but not sure where would be a good start that I would also enjoy. (And I know I won’t know if a book is bad or good until I read it but I can’t finish bad books I just read the last chapter to know how it ends and then return it to the library so would rather avoid this lol)

Oh, I definitely struggle to find contemporary romances I like! I'm reading way more of them than I was a few years ago, but historical is still my go-to.

It's probably because I prefer third person POVs and historical is absolutely dominated by third person. First person can be so great in the hands of a good author, but contemporary is full of really shitty first person, especially now that BookTok has a chokehold on the romance genre. (Don't even talk to me about the trend of using first person on back of the book blurbs, I want to set it ON FIRE.)

I'm also very distrustful of the overall quality of contemp romances. I've been burned way more often by crappy contemp than I have with historicals. I think the standards are just higher with historicals because authors want to sound/be time period accurate, so they end up doing research and being a bit more thorough with the entire writing process. Obviously shitty historicals do exist and the "wallpaper" trend of just plopping modern characters down in Regency/Victorian setting is whole other thing, but by and large, the style, standards, and tropes of historicals just serve me better as a romance reader.

When I'm looking for contemp authors, I look for some of those same qualities: third person POV, great attention to detail, strong character voice, actual romantic tension, satisfying emotional arcs. I also look for authors who implicitly understand what romance is as a genre.

BookTok contemp authors love ticking off romance trope boxes, but most of them don't do the work required to make that trope sing or deeply misunderstand the appeal of said tropes outside of fan fic. The same thing happens with ~spicy books. There's so much of a focus on sex/being sexy versus the romance leading up to sex that you get these really bad cardboard sex scenes that, again, do nothing but check boxes and fail to further the romance.

I can rant about BookTok ruining contemp romance for longer, but that's not that you asked for! Contemporary authors I'd recommend you try: Talia Hibbert, Emily Henry, Ashley Poston, Roni Loren, Alisha Rai, Amy Lea, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Ashley Blake Herring, Alison Cochrun, Uzma Jalaluddin, Julia London, Alyssa Cole, Helen Hoang, and of course, my forever favorite, my GOAT, Meg Cabot.

[mmmmalo]

Two main takeaways from Batman Begins:

Nolan enters into the costume-as-sexual-deviance arena pretty economically: young Bruce is triggered at the opera when the dancing women remind him of bats, so Batman on some level seems to be dressed as a woman. Interacting with the criminal world brings about intimate/violent male relationships, so his cover story is dating 2 very pretty model chicks. Trans lesbianism doesn't seem to enter into the equation (yet? Got my eyes on Talia), so Rachel rejects a romantic reunion with Bruce by way of asserting that the Batman is the true self (trans positive??). The feminine "mask" angle made the claim that Bruce is destroying his father's legacy by way of Batman activities sting a bit more

Bruce also literally destroys his father's legacy by annihilating the affordable public railway, a gesture that runs parallel to preventing Wayne Enterprises from going public. Both of these in turn are iterations of cutting off all the bridges to the slums in order to prevent Chaos from spilling over, there's a visceral fear of the swarming masses that has followed Bruce out of the bat cave, out of his obsession with the desperate everyman who killed his parents.

Dunno if bats-as-proles intersects with bats-as-women... or "effeminacy"? Several villains mock Thomas Wayne for being unmanly (because he accommodates the proles)... so that's one point of intersection, but I'm too tired to loop that observation back into the above stuff. Maybe later

[bruceewayne]

bruce wayne and every question lmao

bless you laro for i am very bored today

Send a character + one or more of these question.

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

first of all he's very cool and intelligent. and he's very emo and relatable in most adaptions.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

the fact that he listens to nirvana

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

his whole Rachel Dawes relationship.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

omg i would love to see him in bobs burgers??

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

probably something in the way - nirvana because of it being in the movie

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

we both have mental illness lol uhm actually we both have fake personalities we put on in public spaces and we're both very determined

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

they don't try to make his playboy personality who he really is as fun as that would be i appreciate that we all understand that's not who he is

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

nothing comes to mind right now to be honest i like the fandom very much. if anything I don't like that a lot of people don't like batfleck or don't treat him as well :(

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

yeah definitely i think so. im more of a nightowl as well.

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

hm. im not sure if he would be open to it but i would say yes.

11. Would you date this character?

YES im already in love.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

he likes cereal. especially sugary kind.

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

🦇

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

black. black. black. or all dark grey lol.

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

Selina!!!!

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

rachel.

17. What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

Talia.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

hm. selina again i guess.

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

rachel canon?

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

i have no idea. he's not really a best friend type guy.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I don't write fic thankfully lol

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

something i like is when they acknowledge Alfred and add him into the story and I don't like when they don't talk about him like it doesn't feel genuine.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

hm... I'm not sure.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

i just thought he was the coolest and now I still think so.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Nightwing: A Setting Sun - Lasting Dawn; The Misery Years Ends

by InkBlot31 This takes an alt take from A Series of Doubts and continues after Slade raped Dick Grayson in Stockholm ( continued from one shot Sladin or Bust) and then says that he cannot get back to his time and sent the real Slade to navigate through it on his own. Dick makes a proposal to save the Nightwing of fake Slade's alternative world as a way to recover his own - yet will the crazier and possessive fake actually want to be sent to a world of flying cars, robots and his boyfriend being a solid overlord that has enslaved all of the heroes and those that oppose his laws? Find out as we dive back into apocalypse town - Lasting Dawn the Misery Years ; End, continues! Read on! Words: 9186, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English Fandoms: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Batman - All Media Types, Deathstroke the Terminator (Comics), Superman (Comics) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con Categories: F/M, M/M Characters: Dick Grayson, alternative world Slade Wilson, Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, Talia al Ghoul, Jason Todd, Alfred Pennyworth, William Wintergreen, Lex Luthor, Barbara Gordon, Joseph Wilson (DCU), Rachel Roth, Victor Stone, Koriand'r (DCU), Garfield Logan, Warp (DCU), Overlord Dick Grayson, M'ari Grayson, Komand'r (DCU), Clark Kent, Jonathan Kent, Connor Kent, Kara Kent | Earth-3839 Supergirl, Jaime Reyes, William Cobb (DCU) Relationships: Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, John Constantine & Slade Wilson, Barbara Gordon & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Slade Wilson Additional Tags: Future overlords, Alternative Timelines, Creepy alternative version Slade Wilson, Dock Grayson getting groomed unaware, Nightwing being manhandled by a psycho, batfam trying to save nightwibg from false slade, dick Grayson in alt future passing on Cobb's dignity, Barbara Gordon trying to forget about her ex partner, Kori Anderson forgiving Dick Grayson, Jason Todd pissed off at everyone and everything, John Constantine hates Slade but helps Batman, Wintergreen saves last of false Slade's kids from dying, Raven and Warp work to find way out of other world in alternate world, Cyborg and Blue Beetle become partners to help Raven, Beastboy hunts down real Slade in other timeline, Dick Grayson gets repeatedly molested by his keeper, Slade is forced to know boundaries but lies to his partner, Dick Grayson refuses the role of Talon, Talia Al Ghul in future is married to Dick Grayson's alternate self, Damian hates his psuedo Father, Richard is a dictator in future Bludhaven via https://ift.tt/lDXbcWp

[vodrae]

This is Thanksgiving in Wayne Manor, well, a day chosen when everybody is available.

As requested by Dick years ago, who took example on Roy's demand back in their Teen Titans days, the redhead who's been raised by Natives-Americans, was always uncomfortable around this period. He never knew where to put himself. He's looking like the Irshiest Irish of all time but it's far away from his culture.

On this day of june, Wayne Manor is celebrating I Love My Falmily And Eating For 5 Party.

Everybody is here, it's starded with Bruce, Alfred, the children, legal, emotional and biological

Then Jasons asked if Artemis and Bizarro could come, because they were alone with nothing to do.

Of course !

Then Damian talked like a sim to ask for Talia, Respawn and Mara.

They're already on their way chum.

...Can Rachel and Jon come too ?

When Tim's approched him, Bruce just called everybody in the Justice League, Young Justice and Titans.

For the first time, the manor seems...Small. They put several large tables together in the garden.

Quickly after they cut the turkey, everybody is walking with his plates, hanging out in trees, in the waterpool, in the air. Hawkgirl is unable to stay STILL.

"THEY DON'T KNOW ME SON ! THEY DON'T KNOW ME SON !" Says calmy Harley as she tried to push Diana into the pool.

Stephanie, Tim, Bernard, Cassie and Bart have constant bi panic.

Titus, Ace, Murder King and Krypto are being good boys.

The Martians are the furthest possible from the barbecue.

A push ups contest is ongoing between Donna and Artemis to know who's having the best bird between Dick and Jason, the two boys are at 200 hundreds for now. Kori next them is at 600 but "She doesn't even play !" As the Robins say.

Duke is talking about power control with Raven and he's actually REALLY happy having someone understanding him.

"Miss Kyle, the party is this way." Says Alfred, who just popped behind Selina.

"Sorry, i'm lost, this manor is so big!" She says, in Bruce human size secret safe layer 5.

Barbara, Helena, Ivy and Dinah have the karaoke session of their life.

Ollie and Hal are teenagers again with the outdoor shooting simulation.

Meanwhile, Damian, Mara, Respawn and Rose are all pushing the hardest on Jon's arm in a arm wrestling contest.

Next to them, Kon is screaming "AGAIN ! AGAIN ! AGAIN !" When Cass is beating him "It's the technique." she says with butterfly eyes

All under the amused eyes of Clark, Lois and Talia.

Meanwhile Bruce is crying, not of joy, but for his draining system. Waterpool, bathtubs, showers...They will all spend the night...AND TAKE A SHOWER WITH THEIR LONG HAIR. DID YOU SEE ARTEMIS AND KORI ?

AND SOMEONE TOUCHED THE THERMOSTAT !

(I wanted to do this joke, but you know. Stream of consciouness)

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💙💜🩷 99 Books for Bisexuality Visibility Month 🩷💜💙

please support this blog

💜 How incredible is it that I made a list of 99 books for bisexual visibility month, KNOWING there are so many NOT featured on this list? I'm so proud to be bi. Having these characters and stories intertwine with mine warms my heart.

💜 What's your favorite book featuring bisexual characters?

💙 The Henna Wars - Adiba Jaigirdar 💙 Perfect on Paper - Sophie Gonzales 💙 Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli 💙 Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston 💙 Queens of Geek - Jen Wilde 💙 Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster - Andrea Mosqueda 💙 Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute - Talia Hibbert 💙 Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake - Alexis Hall 💙 A Merry Little Meet Cute - Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone

💜 Leah on the Offbeat - Becky Albertalli 💜 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid 💜 Radio Silence - Alice Oseman 💜 The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzi Lee 💜 You Exist Too Much - Zaina Arafat 💜 Wolfsong - T.J. Klune 💜 The Pairing - Casey McQuiston 💜 Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail - Ashley Herring Blake 💜 Heartstopper - Alice Oseman

🩷 Going Bicoastal - Dahlia Adler 🩷 Some Girls Do - Jennifer Dugan 🩷 Hani & Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating - Adiba Jaigirdar 🩷 Autoboyography - Christina Lauren 🩷 Written in the Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur 🩷 They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera 🩷 Cool for the Summer - Dahlia Adler 🩷 Delilah Green Doesn't Care - Ashley Herring Blake 🩷 One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston

💙 I'll Be the One - Lyla Lee 💙 Running With Lions - Julian Winters 💙 Take a Hint, Dani Brown - Talia Hibbert 💙 Felix Ever After - Kacen Callender 💙 Not Your Sidekick - C.B. Lee 💙 Ophelia After All - Racquel Marie 💙 Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhao 💙 Something to Talk About - Meryl Wilsner 💙 The Girls I've Been - Tess Sharpe

💜 Iris Kelly Doesn't Date - Ashley Herring Blake 💜 Never Ever Getting Back Together - Sophie Gonzales 💜 Her Royal Highness - Rachel Hawkins 💜 Call Me By Your Name - André Aciman 💜 I Wish You All the Best - Mason Deaver 💜 Mistakes Were Made - Meryl Wilsner 💜 Hang the Moon - Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 Kiss Her Once for Me - Alison Cochrun 💜 The Brightsiders - Jen Wilde

🩷 Wild Beauty - Anna-Marie McLemore 🩷 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - Victoria Schwab 🩷 Payback's a Witch - Lana Harper 🩷 A Dowry of Blood - S.T. Gibson 🩷 Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo 🩷 Dark Rise - C.S. Pacat 🩷 If This Gets Out - Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich 🩷 Let's Talk About Love - Claire Kann 🩷 Carry On - Rainbow Rowell

💙 Under the Whispering Door - T.J. Klune 💙 I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston 💙 Pumpkinheads - Rainbow Rowell 💙 Icebreaker - A.L. Graziadei 💙 This Poison Heart - Kalynn Bayron 💙 A Lot Like Adiós - Alexis Daria 💙 Sorry, Bro - Taleen Voskuni 💙 We Are Okay - Nina LaCour 💙 Count Your Lucky Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur

💜 Hot Dog Girl - Jennifer Dugan 💜 Verona Comics - Jennifer Dugan 💜 They Hate Each Other - Amanda Woody 💜 The Disasters - M.K. England 💜 The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater 💜 You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson 💜 These Witches Don't Burn - Isabel Sterling 💜 My Dearest Darkest - Kayla Cottingham 💜 City of Shattered Light - Claire Winn

🩷 The Unbroken - C.L. Clark 🩷 Dread Nation - Justina Ireland 🩷 House of Hollow - Krystal Sutherland 🩷 Love & Other Disasters - Anita Kelly 🩷 Ace of Shades - Amanda Foody 🩷 The Lost Girls - Sonia Hartl 🩷 Of Fire and Stars - Audrey Coulthurst 🩷 This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story - Kacen Callender 🩷 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz

💙 If You Still Recognise Me - Cynthia So 💙 Melt With You - Jennifer Dugan 💙 The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun 💙 That Summer Feeling - Bridget Morrissey 💙 The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School - Sonora Reyes 💙 The Luis Ortega Survival Club - Sonora Reyes 💙 The Fiancée Farce - Alexandria Bellefleur 💙 Flip the Script - Lyla Lee 💙 Role Playing - Cathy Yardley

💜 I Think I Love You - Auriane Desombre 💜 Truly, Madly, Deeply - Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 Gearbreakers - Zoe Hana Mikuta 💜 Finally Fitz - Marisa Kanter 💜 The Spirit Bares Its Teeth - Andrew Joseph White 💜 Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl - Brianna R. Shrum & Sara Waxelbaum 💜 Late Bloomer - Mazey Eddings 💜 A Darker Shade of Magic - Victoria Schwab 💜 Love at First Set - Jennifer Dugan

[dayscapism]

Read this instead of Harry Potter - part 3/ 3:

Young Adult (YA) recommendations under the cut:

Part 1 - Adult books

Part 2 - Middle grade/children's books

Arrows of the Queen (Heralds of Valdemar trilogy) by Mercedes Lackey (high fantasy): There's actually multiple series in the same world. In this trilogy we follow Talia, a young girl who lives in a small community that misteats her. She doesnt know any different, this is the only life and people shes ever known, but then is chosen whisked away by a mystical horse and taken to a school to become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen's own elite guard. For Talia has certain talents of the mind only her horse companion can sense. Here, as she works to master her abilities, she also begins to learn to trust for the first time in her life, connect with other people, and understanding her trauma. Meanwhile, conspiracy and trason is brewing in the realm, and only the Heralds can help protect it from its enemies.... This first book is very heartwarming and classic fantasy. In the sequels we follow her as she gets older and the sacrifices and darker, heavier moments that come with that. Honestly thos one sounds like the same brief for the main character as HP. Lackey has great LGBTQ+ representation too.

★ Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (novel + novella): About a warrior-librarian who finds herself entangled in an evil plot in a world where magic books, called grimoires, have sentience and can turn into monsters if they're not properly taken care of. These grimoires are created by magicians whose magic comes from demons linked to their old-blood families, and these magicians' houses are full of magical artefacts, strange curses, hidden rooms magically folded up between walls and sentient gardens, all very reminiscent of Hogwarts' ever-shifting magical corridors.

★ Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud (series, British): Teenage ghost-hunters, magic bureaucracy, dark vibes, historical artefacts, death discussions, found family, haunted houses, suspense, and more.

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin (standalone): In this world, witches maintain the climate, but when this control starts faltering, a witch with rare magic, connected to every season is the only hope.

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (duology): Mermaids! For Goblet of Fire fans.

Raybearer by Jordan Ifuenko (duology): Tarisai was raised in isolation by a mysterious, absent mother until one day she sends her to the capital, to be chosen as one of the crown prince's council and kill him. This is a story about friendship and the love and warmth of family.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him. This story is about a Latino, trans young wizard, who battles with his family accepting his gender.

★ Legenborn by Tracy Deonn (trilogy): Arthurian retelling with a black protagonist who enters a secret society in her university to solve the mystery of her mother's death but she finds it more full of magic and secrets than she expected. Secrets that might even tie to her own heritage and bloodline...

The Diviners by Libba Bray (quartet, paranormal, mystery, horror): It's set in 1929 New York, the protagonist, Evie, comes to the city to live with her uncle, who has an unhealthy obsession with the occult and she worries he will discover her greatest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought problems so far. When a girl is murdered and branded with a cryptic symbol, she realizes her power might help solve the murder. Great alternative to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman (trilogy, sci-fi dystopian): This has themes about death and mortality/immortality. Set in a world where humanity has conquered hunger, disease, war and misery, now a group of select people called scythes are tasked with ending life to keep the population size under control. We follow two apprentices to such a vital profession, a role that neither wants.

This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab (duology): In a city overrun by monsters created out of acts of violence, there's no such thing as "safe", a young woman and a young man on opposite sides of the divided city, must decide if they will become enemies or friends, heroes or villains and what means to be one. (I mean if that premise is not the analogue to a Horocrux or werewolves idk what is.) I also recommend City of Ghosts by this author (set in Edinburgh, where the protagonist's parents host a TV show about haunted places. But the protagonist can enter this world of spirits ever since she almost--or did drown.)

The Little Witch by M. Rickert (short story): Every Halloween an elderly woman hands out candy to a young trick-or-treater girl who's always dressed as a witch and looks the same age every year. She grows more and more curious and attached to her and her oddness.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gilling (duology): To stay safe in her eerie, mist-locked kingdom, Elspeth needs a monster. One day she meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, and her life takes a drastic turn, thrusting her into a world of shadow and deception. Together with the highwayman, they must gather a set of magical cards that are keys to cure the kingdom from the dark magic infecting it. But Elspeth is forced to face a dark magic taking over her own mind. This sounds great for people who liked the horrocruxes as a magic device, who like exploring evilness corrupting a character from the inside out, and for fans of the dark forest in Hogwarts.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco (series): Set in London in the 1880s, we follow Audrey Rose Wadsworth, born a lord's daughter, who yearns for more than social tea parties and dress fittings. She has a secret life working in her uncle's laboratory, studying the gruesome and fascinating practice of forensic medicine. Then a string of savagely killed corpses begin appearing... Deliciously creepy horror novel inspired by the Ripper murders.

School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani and illustrator Iacopo Bruno (series): This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds all her life, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil. But when the two girls are swept into schools, they find their fortunes reversed... Is this really a mistake? Or is it a clue to discovering who they really are?

Into the Labirynth by Jown Bierce (series): Hugh is the worst student the Academy of Skyhold has ever seen. He can barely cast any spells without them failing explosively. He is an outcast in the school, and he definitely doesn't expect a mage to choose him as an apprentice, but when a very unusual mage does, his life starts taking a sharp turn for the better. Though, he still has to get ready for his final test in the labyrinth below the school.

Fireborn by Rosaria Munda (trilogy): post-revolution/overthrowing the government plot, with dragon riders and maybe a child of the old regime survived... This is perfect if you were unsatisfied by the infamous HP7 epilogue.

Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe (duology + prequel): Eva Evergreen is determined to earn the rank of Novice Witch before her thirteenth birthday. If she doesn't, she'll lose her magic forever. For most young witches and wizards, it's a simple enough test, but Eva has only a pinch of magic and always gets the spells backwards. But she comes up with a plan: set up a semi-magical repair shop to help her town and prove she's worthy. But the biggest magical storm in history threatens the town. Will her little bit of magic be enough? If you wanted justice for the squibs in HP!

The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan (trilogy, adventure, epic fantasy): Every year, the magicians gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear, until one angry girl hurls a stone at them; there is someone outside their ranks who possesses raw magical power. She must be found and schooled before she destroys herself and her city with the power she can't control.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger and illustrated by Rovina Cai (standalone, mystery, magical realism, LGBTQ+): Set in an alternate USA with magic, monsters and legends. Elatsoe, an indigenous girl, can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed by generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered and she will protect her family and unveil the secrets of this town.

★Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (YA, series): A magic school but for vampires instead of witches. Still has magic in it, with the dark vibe that goes with vampires. It's a trashy teen vampire series in the best way, tbh. Great to pass the time.

Graphic novel recommendations:

Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

⚠️The following books are often recommended too, but some or their authors are problematic, so tread with caution: ⚠️

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: Has racist Asian stereotyping/jokes in the third book of the series. The author has some problematic behavior on Twitter but I don't know the details.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: Asian racist stereotypes of the character Park. Carry On/Fangirl could be options, I suppose.

Scholomance series by Naomi Novik: The first book, A Deathly Education, had damaging racist passages and stereotypes of black people's hair. The book was later reprinted to fix the issue.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card: This author is staunchly homophobic.

Skyward & Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson: This author is a Mormon. By this religion's rules, they have to donate a percentage (aka tithing) of their net earnings to the church (around 10%), and the Mormon Church actively funds anti-LGBTQ+ initiatives. Sanderson has been asked before about this, but he hasn't given a clear answer on his contributions. He is presumably paying the tithes, though he will tell you he is pro-gays if you ask him. His books also have heavy religious preaching and his world-building is often very cis/hetero-normative. He is doing great work fighting against Amazon's book monopoly though, using his popularity and power for good, which is great. (I have read his books before but nowadays I would rather read other authors and I will never BUY any of his books.)

Happy reading!

★ Books I've read and personally recommend.

Supporting Sources:

https://www.aspiraldance.com/middle-grade-and-young-adult-books-to-read-instead-of-harry-potter/

https://missprint.wordpress.com/2022/09/01/back-to-magic-school-harry-potter-alternatives-booklist/

Goodreads for synopses.

[felteverywhere]

i’m currently suffering through winter and looking for distraction, so i’m very desperate for seaside/beach town, taylor swift song/romcom/romance book inspired plots right now. open to any and all dynamics (preferably m/f or f/f) and very happy to make new characters from the fcs listed under the cut (though i’d be down to think about others). down to write here or on discord. please like this or im me if you’re interested! 

fcs i’m itching to play against: grace van patten, devyn nekoda, willa fitzgerald, lola tung, katie douglas, mallory bechtel, nicole wallace, emilija baranac, natalia dyer, madelyn cline, priscilla quintana, christian serratos, özge özacar, emily alyn lind, jenny boyd, sydney sweeney, lili reinhart, kathryn newton, halle bailey, gideon adlon, grace van dien, hunter schafer, coco jones, ayça ayşin turan, laci j mailey, neslihan atagül, greta onieogou, violett beane, brittany o’grady, vanessa morgan, jeanine mason, reina hardesty, rachel hilson, zoey deutch, bailee madison, zaria simone.

existing muses i’d like to use: dawson, dove, rosalie, spencer, finley, jacob, saverina. 

fcs i’d like to use: christopher briney, kyle allen, rudy pankow, maddie phillips, laura harrier, fivel stewart, dylan sprouse, henry zaga, joshua bassett, dylan arnold, jordan gonzalez, brenton thwaites, thomas weatherall, chris wood, casey deidrick, alex fitzalan, oktay cubuk, oliver stark, ozan dolunay, jordan connor, ben levin, evan roderick, jack mulhern, leo howard, lorenzo zurzolo, khadijha red thunder, luke mitchell, rob raco, talia ryder + any of the ladies above. 

[merriemarvels]

@nightfaith is a MONSTER and sent me a drabble prompt bc i asked for them //

I regret to inform you that Kurt Wagner has passed away. (For TJ)

All morning, Talia had been having flashes of something she couldn't quite put a finger on. She'd be going through her usual routine, and then get hit by a wave of undefinable dread that made her scalp crawl and her hands stutter in whatever they were doing. She'd always possessed a little psychic talent, the smallest ability to peek beyond the veil, but it had only ever really been used for spatial awareness and the occasional need for a half-dececent conduit for a Cerebro uplink. She'd never experienced feeling someone else's emotions, never heard a thought that wasn't her own. Never had premonitions.

Later, she would muse bitterly, never say never.

At least someone came to her in person, though the fact that the news came from a complete stranger only added to the pain. She was just getting started on her morning exercises when the knock came to the door. She'd been staying in a little flat in -- where else? -- the little hamlet of Penzance, working off and on with Excalibur since her stroke recovery was still somewhat coming along. Weird, though… Betsy or Rachel always gave her a little nudge when they were coming over, Wisdom always called, and Brian and Meggan had only visited during her little housewarming party -- and Kurt would text, then simply appear. She didn't get visitors…

It was a man in a suit. Never a good sign. She invited him in, but he refused, instead giving her a small envelope and then…

she didn't remember hitting the ground, but the next thing she knew, she had both Rachel and Betsy hovering over her, the redhead dabbing a damp cloth on her brow while her partner fussed in TJ's little kitchen to make tea. TJ only had to look at them to know that no matter how much she wished, it had to be true… Rachel's expression was tight, the static coming from her mind tinged with sorrow and impotent rage. Betsy kept wiping her cheeks. They were suddenly both staring at her, and it took a moment to realize that the noise she was hearing -- the broken, anguished wail -- was coming from her.

Arms went around her. Crushed between Rachel and Betsy, she screamed, railed against a world that had, once again, stolen everything from her…

The next few days were a blur. Her apartment became the impromptu nerve center for funeral planning, and if it weren't for a neverending revolving door of visitors, she'd have collapsed further in on herself than she already was. Someone was always with her; usually either Rachel or Betsy, but Kitty and Rogue had flown in and basically set up shop on her couch, half of the X-Men were staying down at the lighthouse, and Alison had put her tour on hold to get there in time. Kitty had sort of taken the lead in the plans, which had actually started to bother TJ -- she was working up the courage to talk to her about it, when the door opened for another visitor.

She didn't see him coming, but as soon as she smelled cigar smoke, she utterly broke, arms going around the Canuck's neck and clinging tightly. She didn't even know that Logan knew about her -- but one world was just like any other, one of those constants being that Kurt and Logan had been as close as brothers. If anyone could bolster her in this hour, it'd be him.

"S'alright, darlin'," he murmured, and God, the utter desolation in his voice broke her heart all over again.

"No it's not," she replied in a thin whisper. "It's never gonna be okay."

He didn't bother to argue.

What he did do was back her up when she insisted that Kurt be buried with his family -- with Margali and Stefan and Jimaine, the family who had taken him in and loved him as their own, awkward history notwithstanding. There was almost an argument, the X-Men wanted him brought back to Westchester, and Excalibur insisted on a place of honor in Westminster Abbey -- but she stuck to her guns, and Logan, hand on her shoulder, supported her. He belonged with family.

It also meant the burial couldn't be attended by too many people. The wake held at Braddock Manor, however…

She'd never seen so many. Never knew how many people whose lives he'd touched. Superheroes from around the world, mutants and not, Avengers, X-Men… Mystique and Destiny, under watch to be on their best behavior. As if they'd sully his memory, they insisted. Worse things have happened, they were reminded. Much as she tried to hold it together, TJ quickly became overwhelmed and slipped out, looking for a place to clear her head. Once again the scent of cigar smoke hit her and she followed it like a siren's call.

Out near the shore Logan was silhouetted by the sunset, a bottle in one hand and a chain in the other. He didn't look at her as she stepped up next to him, but held the bottle out. She took it, took a swig -- handed the bottle back gasping as the whiskey burned its way down her throat.

"Ain't fair." His thumb was working lightly over the chain in his hand -- or rather, the thick gold cross that it was strung on. "Of all people. Of all of us who wear the damn uniform, it shouldn't'a been him."

"They -- they said he went down fighting. Fighting like hell." She choked, pressing a hand to her mouth as tears welled up again. "I should've been there, I --"

She broke off as Logan's arm wound around her shoulders. "Wouldn't'a done any good, darlin'. We'd'a just been puttin' you in the ground too."

"Would that be so bad?"

"Only if ya wanna make him cry up in Heaven," came a voice from behind them; Rogue stepped up on TJ's other side, her own gloved arm winding over Logan's. "Ah don't know ya that well, li'l bit, but what Ah do know was how proud he was to call you his daughter."

"She's right. Never heard him brag about anythin' so much."

"He told you all that about me?" she asked, sniffling. "I -- I never wanted to intrude on your lives, I'm not yours, I don't belong here --"

"I get along just fine." Suddenly Rachel was also there. And Betsy. And Kitty, and Ororo, Jean, Scott, … TJ found herself in the center of a bona fide X-Men group hug, and just about the time she started to feel really stifled, they released her, so that Logan was just holding her by the shoulders.

"You understand, don't ya?" Rogue said, leaning against Logan's shoulder. "You're never gonna be alone. As long as the people who loved him are around, we'll be your family."

"Always were," Logan agreed. "All ya ever had to do was ask."

She was sobbing again, ugly and undignified, but somehow it was so much more comforting to be doing it into the shoulder of the man who'd been like a second father to her growing up, who she'd been so scared to reach out to because she didn't want to assume anything. Times would be tough moving forward, she'd miss Kurt in a way that felt like a part of her heart had been cut out -- but she wasn't alone. Wasn't the only one who would miss him so bitterly.