#poc book club

[black-academia]

Hello 🖤 Anyone interested in a dark academia literature book club this summer? I checked out a bunch of literary / dark academia books from the library... and now I need to have feverish, intelligent discussions about them with strangers.

It'll be pretty fast paced; a book a week, meeting every week, but they'll all be under 350 pages. First meeting will be July 9th/10th.

Books will be chosen this week. The roster will, of course, include (maybe even center) books by queer authors and authors of color. The only requirements are that the books must be literary, well-written, and draw heavily on/reference the classics or literature (or be classic literature).

We'll keep notes, writing in the margins of secondhand books, or on post-its in library books, and then share our thoughts as a group on Zoom (camera optional). I'll moderate with questions, and time-keeping (if necessary). We'll also have prompts and things to look out for, in case anyone isn't used to close readings and annotation.

We might read The Canon; i.e. the dark academia bible that is Donna Tartt's The Secret History... probably over two weeks at the end of the session and then critique it as well.

I will put together a booklist of potential reads and find the best way for people to vote on what to read over the month. I can also link to guides on close reading and annotation, if anyone would like me to.

It would be great (but not mandatory!) if participants each donate like $5. If we have enough interest this will go towards my getting a Zoom license. However, this donation is 100% unnecessary and just a suggestion.

I've named us the BelleTriste Book Club, because (as anyone who has followed me for a while knows) I'm a sucker for puns.

I just thought it up, but I wouldn't be surprised if the joke has been made before. It's a play on "belletrist" (originally a German word, coined by Goethe, basically means person of "belle-lettres" i.e. a learned person of fine literature) and the french adjectives "belle" (meaning beautiful) and triste (meaning sad). What better term for a group of beautifully minded people, obsessed with beauty, and too often sad.

Also, the adjective "belletristic" can describe something pertaining to literature, BUT can also mean something appreciated more for its aesthetics rather than its content... because who are we if not semi-ironic, mostly-self-aware, and fully-self-critical belletrists... : )

You may sign up on the google form here!

All my love,

Sai 🖤

[shouts-into-the-void]

Book Recommendations that you can find on Audible because sometimes visual reading is just Not Going to Happen:

How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann

A modern fairytale reimagining in which five women join an experimental support group in order to confront their very public trauma under the supervision of a seemingly sympathetic but suspiciously persistent male therapist.

Each of their stories mirrors a popular fairytale except for Ashlee, whose story is a call out of the manipulative and borderline abusive side of the reality tv industry. Blurs the lines between fiction and reality, so it's difficult to know what parts of each story are real and what parts are a coping mechanism to deal with their trauma. It's explicit, bizarre and sometimes really uncomfortable, but definitely worth a shot.

TW: Gore, Sexual Assault, Eating Disorders, Abuse, and Torture

CW: Public Humiliation, Misogyny, Violence, Mental Health Issues

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Lily Hu is a Chinese-American teenager living in the midst of the Red-scare. As the government threatens her father's citizenship and she grows increasingly frustrated with her childhood friend, Lily meets Kath, a social pariah with dreams of becoming a pilot. As she and Kath grow closer, the two begin sneaking out to attend nightly shows at a local lesbian bar called The Telegraph Club.

The narrative bounces back and forth between Lily in the 1950s and the journeys of her mother building a life in America and her aunt as Lily grows up. The ending is more realistic than happy, but it is hopeful.

TW: Racism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child Abuse, Underage Alcohol Consumption

CW: Misogyny, Outing

Until We Break by Matthew Dawkins (Audible Original)

Naomi is the only black student at a prestigious ballet academy and has structured her entire life around the art. When her closest friend dies and Naomi suffers an injury that means she must take a break from ballet right before the Grand Prix, grief begins to eat away at her. Meanwhile Saint, a street artist, is struggling to keep himself and his younger brother afloat as their father's health deteriorates. After a chance meeting, the two attempt to find their place in the world together.

A beautiful story, although there are certain parts of the narrative that felt unresolved (which is not uncommon with Audible Originals so grain of salt)

TW: Racism, Self-harm, Suicide, Child Abuse, Abuse

CW: Mental Health Issues, Violence

Young Rich Widows by Kimberly Belle, Layne Fargo, Cate Holahan, and Vanessa Lillie (Audible Original)

All four partners of a law firm die in a mysterious plane crash, leaving their wives to unravel the circumstances of their deaths— and find a way to pay back the large sum of money they owed to the local mafia.

Audible Original's Magnum Opus, it's legitimately the best they've released in my opinion. It has a bit of a detective noir vibe and the plot twist at the end is wild, although it's got a few plot holes here and there.

TW: Sexual Harassment, Homophobia, Alcohol Consumption, Implied Torture

CW: Violence, Child Endangerment, Misogyny

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

In 1902, two students are found stung to death by wasps, with the only thing in their possession being a book by Mary MacLane that they were both obsessed with. After another student is found dead with the book in her possession, the headmistress and her lover attempt to quiet the distress and suspicion among the students and staff as a decades old curse turns it's sights on them.

In the present day, Hollywood darling Harper and former child actress Audrey are cast in a movie based on the biography of the original students' deaths under the direction of a famous horror director, the book's prickly author Merritt, and the now closed school's owner Elaine. As the filming begins and strange things begin to happen, it seems as though the curse may have found its newest victims.

If you go into this one expecting everyone to be good people and the story to be neat and tidy, you are going to be disappointed. It's a very hit or miss story. The narrative feels like a fever dream and the driving force of the plot is that the characters are all disaster gays. Sometimes the present day plot can feel rushed or pointless, but I personally enjoyed it. The ending isn't what you're expecting, but it feels consistent with the flow of the narrative.

TW: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Self-harm, Purposeful Induction of Paranoia, Sexual Assault, Suicide, Emetophobia, Alcohol Consumption, Drug Use, Gore

CW: Graphic Depictions of Death, Wasps (No, I'm not kidding), Mental Health Issues

•••

Web Comic Recommendations

[badscienceman]

forever annoyed by the inability to have constructive conversations involving media criticism anymore. I feel bonkers because it's like everything immediately dissolves into reactionary, all-or-nothing arguments that leave me baffled and usually uncomfortable

[queenofasgardreads]

“I felt a keen sense of pride to be related to her-to Joan West. She was my grandmother, yes, but she was more than that, and it seemed inadequate to call her by a name that said nothing about her accomplishments”.

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo (page 7)

[jaanusbooktalk]

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo - Book Review

8/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW: homophobia, racism (slurs), miscarriage, misogyny, sex (non graphic), underage drinking

(TWs are ranked in order of severity, please take them seriously!)

Last Night At The Telegraph Club had been sitting in my virtual TBR for months, and my bookshelf even longer. I’m so glad I finally got around to it this pride month!

I will say right off the bat that after reading I don’t necessarily agree with how it was marketed; the back of the book labeled it a thriller, whereas I felt like it was way less thriller and more historical fiction (I like both so this wasn’t a problem, just a heads up)

I fell in love with the characters, and even though it was a pretty slow-paced read I liked that I could enjoy it leisurely, put-it-down-and-pick-it-back-up-later type of vibe.

The story is set in California during what’s known as the “Red Scare” - when the U.S. government was firing employees and detaining anyone suspected of communist ties. Because of this national suspicion, Chinese Americans were especially at risk of discrimination and sudden deportation. In the midst of this, there’s teenage girl - Lily Hu - coming to terms with her sexuality and falling in love for the first time.

The book is incredibly well researched, and it was cool to get the stories of other members of Lily’s family. It really rounded them out as characters, as people instead of plot devices.

I think this book is a great read for anyone coming to terms with their sexuality or people who enjoy reading coming of age. I’ve also always been really interested in the history of queer nightclubs during the 50s, as “safe spaces” and this book taught me a lot! (Not to mention the aesthetic is just gorgeous)

Summary:

“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other. And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.”

TL;DR Two girls (one Chinese American, one white) fall in love at a gay nightclub in San Francisco during the 1950s amidst the Red Scare and fight to stay together despite their circumstances.

^lots of smoking & drinking in this book bc.. it was the 50s

So on to representation:

(Not really an own voices review, just saying what I noticed)

A good portion of the book takes place in Chinatown, either in Lily’s home or the greater community. Lily’s family celebrates the Chinese New Year while her best friend Shirley takes part in the Miss Chinatown Beauty pageant. The edge of Chinatown is located close to a gay nightclub called The Telegraph Club, and these are all historically accurate- the beauty pageant actually happened as an effort for the Chinese American community to better assimilate during the Red Scare.

There are moments when Lily is in predominantly white spaces that she has uncomfortable encounters with white queer people - they call her things like “China doll” as if it’s a compliment. Today this is definitely not okay to call someone, and even back then it made Lily uncomfortable, despite her wanting to fit in with those queer spaces. I think Malinda Lo did a really good job of showing this reality - the difficulty queer POC face when entering white queer spaces.

Kath, Lily’s love interest, is Italian. This isn’t touched on too much aside from sharing food from their respective cultures.

One thing I appreciated about the lgbtq+ rep in this book was it really addressed how difficult it is fight comphet, or compulsory heterosexuality. Even when someone isn’t in the closet, your family, friends, and community can try to force you back inside for their comfortability. What Lily and Kath go through is far from easy and reflects situations still faced by LGBTQ+ people today.

Finally, here’s a pic of some actual Ms. Chinatown contestants that was in the author’s bibliography/after notes (always read those!)

What I Loved:

For this book, I loved that it told more than one story. Sure, there’s the obvious storyline of Kath and Lily’s romance. But there’s also the story of Shirley and Lily’s tumultuous friendship, the story of Lily’s aunt and her life in a new country, the flashbacks to the story of Lily’s mother and father. There’s the story of Tommy Andrews, male impersonator and performer at The Telegraph Club, the story of queer women who boldly went out at night to an illegal establishment to watch those performances.

There’s the story of love in there because of this. All these people are tied together in such different ways, all just trying to love the best they can. I think that’s beautiful.

I also liked how the book didn’t idealize romance. There were times when Kath and Lily fought, when they made up, when they made out in janitor’s closets and it wasn’t at all like in the movies. They had to be vigilant with how they loved eachother, aware of every brush of their hands, and as a queer girl myself I felt really seen. It’s hard loving in a way that your world condemns as “wrong” or “sinful”. Especially as teenagers, when the LGBTQ+ scene is so dominated by adults, it’s difficult to find a place for us.

Back then, and now, it’s challenging to find spaces to celebrate queerness that aren’t also populated by mature themes (drinking, smoking, s*x, etc).

Note: Gay relationships are so taboo that society has dubbed them “mature content” to the point where a simple gesture like holding hands or a peck on the cheek can be labeled Rated R, making it hard for queer youth to preserve the innocent part of themselves and their relationships. Ex. People losing their minds over the lesbian grandmas from Lightyear.

The imagery was raw and there were definitely some scenes that left me emotional, especially when it came to Lily and her family/friends. Reconciling queer identity within communities of color is difficult because two kinds of love appear almost opposed to each other. Lily’s struggle with this hit close to home for me.

^my face during every scene where Shirley was talking (ily Lan Wangji😭)

Why I couldn’t give it a 10:

Honesty it came down to pacing. There were some parts where I felt the story was moving too slowly, or that certain copious amounts of detail were unnecessary and detracted from figuring out what was going on. At times I simply felt bored, because a page or two read like a history textbook or article. I understand needing to set the scene with historical fiction, but placing that in the middle of something happening took me out of the moment. I felt like it could have been better done if a character had given that background in dialogue (shorter) or if it was at the beginning of the scene. Putting it in the middle made it feel abrupt, and having a mini history lesson as one character’s thoughts (?) read more like the author trying to give me all of this (admittedly interesting) information about the event and political environment of the time.

I appreciate it, but here there’s a time and a place and I felt like it could have been done separately. That being said, I am in awe of how much effort was put into researching. This is by far one of the best researched historical fiction books I’ve ever read - I enjoyed reading the author’s note a lot!

I sincerely recommend to:

History buffs (especially if you’re curious about Chinese American/queer history)🔎

Fans of historical fiction novels (ex. Number the Stars, Promises to the Dead)📕

Fans of Luck of the Titanic/The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee 🚢

Closeted gay people (get a false cover if you need to!)🚪

Anyone looking to diversify their LGBTQ+ reading selection (y’all can’t all just be reading The Ones We Burn 🤢)

In hindsight, it could be that the background felt abrupt because I haven’t read historical fiction in a while - can’t even think of a time when I’ve read queer historical fiction before! Grateful to Lo for bringing this much needed representation ❤️

Overall, it was a good book and I enjoyed it! It definitely reinforced by desire to move to California (rip to my wallet) 🕊 Lily is a space nerd like me so that was awesome too 🪐

I also made a Pinterest board for this book since I kept thinking about it, here are some of my favorite additions:

“The vast majority of fiction about queer women is contemporary because until very recently, most people denied the fact that queer people even existed before modern times. Historical fiction in America and in the West is certainly very white-centric - just like all fiction - and I’d definitely love to read more historical fiction about queer people of color.”

- Malinda Lo, author of Last Night At the Telegraph Club

[thedisabilitybookarchive]

'The Theft of Sunlight'- Khanani, Intisar

Disability Rep: Club Foot (MC)

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance- TBC,

Age: Young Adult

Setting: Fictional; Menaiya

Additional Rep: POC MC, POC SCs

For more information on summaries, content warnings and additional tropes, see here:

[briafairchild]

Should I Start a Book Club?

So I've been thinking about starting a book club mainly because I want to get back into reading but also I've noticed the lack of poc, woc and lately women authors on peoples list. I'm so used to seeing people of color discriminated against but when did we kick women authors out? This is why I love tumblr, you will always give me some kickass authors to read. So far I have a list of books but I'm not sure when I'll get around to reading them. So should I post the list or wait until I can give my opinions on them.? Also FYI I will not be writing bad reviews if I'm not a fan of the book, I'll just skip over it and talk about the books I like. Let me know what you think.

[lokativa]

People calling Hobie×Miles (punkflower) shippers proshippers as if we didn't ship them for longer than the movie even came out will always be crazy to me.

I've seen lots of people sending threats, or reporting people because they made punkflower, goldenflower (pavxhobie), ghostbyte (gwenxmargo), flowerbyte (margoxmiles), etc, arts or videos. Going to assume that it isn't because most of these ships are POCs ships, there's just literally no point to do that.

First of all, there's no confirmation of hobie's age. If ur basing urself of that one interview, then it was of the CONCEPT of hobie, and even so remember it was only one person who said it. Its heavily implied thats he's a teenager throughout the movie. (Also in the art book, its said that he's slightly older than Miles).

For the thing about him going to the pub and all, minors can and will go in pubs, (not saying that its always legal) are yall living under a rock or just dense on purpose? Teenagers do wtv the fuck they want, even when theyre not allowed to. Youre all going to tell me teenagers respect the rules of not drinking and go to clubs becuz theyre underage? Come off it. Also hobie literally merked his president and u think he'd draw the line at drinking alcohol as a minor? HA.

Aside from that, to be fair to everyone, the directors keeps on changing what they're saying about hobies age, one day they'll say and imply he's a minor and the next second say he's an adult. It's like they all have different idea of this character's age. So, nothing is really comfimed, and his age is really up to interpretation.

Now that we're past THAT point, the other kind of people talking about his age are people saying "oh but he looks old" "that man is most definitely 30yo" "there's no way he's underage" things of the sort, u get it. And I'm just over here like??? Why is it impossible for you to think that this guy could be a teen? Is it the air? The wrinkles? What makes it seem like for you that there's no way he could be around the other teens' age? And 30??? Cmon. People often assume black people are older than they look, which is a universal experience for all of us. Did none of u ever see a blk teen who doesnt have a baby face? Because thats literally what hobie looks like to me. To others we can seem too "mature" for our age, or just look too "old" to be the age we say we are, so is it really impossible for him to be a teenager? Think about it.

(Speaking of him being black, this discourse turned into some kind of racist thing that honestly was not unexpected at all. Yall come over here shitting on people talking and educating u about a character they relate to cuz hes like them, and the representation is making them go bonkers. I don't know why yall can just sit ur arses and listen for a bit, its not that difficult tbh. And dont get me started on the mischaracterisation of his character. Marking him as "an angry black man"? Really? Be. Fucking. Original.)

Same goes with Margo?? Yeah in the comics she's in college, but cmon now u guys know damn well she's a teenager in atsv😭. Gwen is also much older in the comics but i never see anyone talk about it, so what does that mean???The only reasons I can see that you all don't want Miles & margo to be together is because you're all stuck on the milesxgwen ship. News everyone, other ships exist, not everyone is going to like the same ships as you, so either move on or stop being on the Internet.

Also, the thing about pav being 13 is bonkers, where'd u even get that from? I need to know asap. "Oh, but he has a gf!" Yeah? Well he has two hands. (Idk why u all act as if that has ever stopped anyone)

Everything just seem like a race thing to me tbh.

The movies might be inspired from the comics, but not everything is going to be 100% the same. For exemple: gwen is 2 yrs older than Miles in the comics, but in movies she's only 15 months older, Jess Drew is white in the comics and black in the movie, Miguel O'hara is white passing in the comics, compared to his version in atsv where he has brown skin, lyla's disign is also different.

You get it? Things are going to differ as much as things are going to be the same, because (get ready!!) this is the multiverse! Just as earth-616 is just one universe in all the marvel comics, atsv is another universe.

All in all, im not saying u can't view them as adults, or wtv u want, thats ur interpretation, but don't go around being pissy at people around u cuz they have different point of views.

[greenxgloss]

Marcus HCs (Swarm) NSFW

A/N: so i noticed a lot of what people were saying about Marcus honestly didn't make sense to me. like a lot of them I can definitely agree with but idk I thought i'd put my two cents

okay, so i can't decide if marcus gets hookups often or if he's a once-a-year-get-down type of incel but regardless he's good at what he does.

he always wants more than a one-night stand

he's a total sex god. like the only thing he doesn't do is let you peg him but he's a switch and an experimentalist so he'll let you dom

he's not insecure in his size or height for this reason he knows he can make you cum with his mouth, hands and toys. he's sex-positive and educated in the world of sex toys.

he is amazing at aftercare. he'll clean you up and cuddle you. he'll only fall asleep after you and make sure you're okay. the next morning makes you breakfast and if it is your first time meeting he'll make conversation to get to know you and even drive you home or to work

hes an ass man 100% (this pains me to say because I don't have an ass but its so true)

he loves all body types and all types of men and women but has a strong preference for poc people. thinks they're absolutely beautiful

he loves walking around naked and goes to nude beaches but this specifically isn't sexual he just likes being naked and feeling free that way

he loves philosophy but in a good way and reads a whole lot of philosophical books and practices existentialism

he loves spirituality and manifesting

he's usually very clean, doesn't even get into bed with outside clothes

this man is romantic and corny as fuck oh yeah candles and rose pedals oh yeah and the dim lighting and classical music

he loved school as a kid and participated in all the sports and school events

loves his mom and buys her flowers on all holidays

loves baking more than cooking but hopes he can meet someone that will cook for him so he can bake for them

loves parties and going to the club just wishes he could dance better.

lana del rey and taylor swift are his guilty pleasures as a cis man

other than that loves rock music like kiss and the rolling stones

loves going all out on Halloween

loves being part of girl talk with his girl-friends and also calls them his girl-friends to other people

he loves nature

[black-academia]

The BelleTriste Book Club FAQ

How do I join the book club?

Just fill out the Google Form. There is no application process, but you must be over 18.

Who is running this?

Just me, Sai! I run the black-academia blog, and I decided to create this book club in order to read more books, talk about them and hear a variety of ideas and opinions, and (virtually) meet new people with shared interests.

What happens after I sign up??

& other FAQs...

After you sign up, you'll receive a welcome email! It includes links to the book poll (if you sign up before July 1st), and a link to the optional group chat.

When is the deadline to join?

You can join the discussions at any time during this summer session (9th July - 13th August), but voting on books closes at midnight on Friday July 1st, 2022. Just make sure you fill out the form so you get important links and updates.

Where and when do we meet?

Saturdays from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM EST. We meet online on the Zoom platform. Every week, a link and passcode will be sent to the email you provided when you signed up.

What are the exact meeting dates:

First Discussion: Saturday, 9th July 2022

Second Discussion: Saturday 16th July 2022

Third Discussion: Saturday 23rd July 2022

Fourth Discussion: Saturday 30th July 2022

Final Discussion: Saturday 13th August 2022

Do I have to be in the United States?

Absolutely not! As long at the meeting time works for you, you are most welcome!

What's the pace like?

A book a week, but they're all under 300 pages. If you're a slower reader, you can choose to come every other week, so that you have more time to read. Or you can come to just one of the later discussions, such as the final discussion... it's all up to you!

Bunny by Mona Awad

What books will you be reading?

After the poll ends, we will read the four top polling books of the ones listed below, and then Donna Tartt's The Secret History over two weeks at the end.

Savage Theories by Pola Oloixarac

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Lysistrata by Aristophanes

The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung

Dead Poet's Society by N.H. Kleinbaum

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

The Crazed by Ha Jin

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa

We Wish You Luck by Caroline Zancan

The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams

An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine

Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

The Lies We Tell by Katie Zhao

Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crowley Hall by Suzette Mayr

I have more questions...

Sure! Just send me an ask here!

I look forward to talking to you!

Sincerely,

Sai 🖤

[miraclemaya]

are people really getting angry at a book club (hosted by fucking poc) is talking about the racism in a work of fiction they like...

[lionmythflower]

evan rosier headcanons under the cut

Twins w pandora

He has a chinchilla (its name is dusty, barty helped name it)

He's rlly good friends w remus

In a book club w lily, remus,dorcas and regulus

He's Canadian

So he kinda had a very slight American accent

Sleeps and listens to music on long car rides

Knows Canadian French

Asexual

either gay or bi

Poc

has a tattoo of "bcjr" on his neck or shoulder (barty has a matching one of "Rosie")

Would love MARINA and Florence + the Machines

Was probably more of an ABBA fan then a queen fan

lily got him into music like ABBA and Remus got him into music like David Bowie

Would also love Arctic Monkey

Would love makeup

Has those star eyeliner stamps and he absolutely rocks them

Bigender (stole this hc from someone can't remember who at that moment)

probally goes by he/they pronouns

Pandora and Evan steal each other's clothes sm that they don't know who's is who's at this point

So ppl are like " wasn't pandora wearing that the other day?" and evan will be like "idk maybe?" And vise versa

Would love Greek mythology

Has heterochromia and his eyes are blue and green so he's is looking at u like 🔵_🟢 (O_O) (pandora also has eyes like that)

"you have heterophobia in ur eyes" "...you mean heterochromia?" "no" (barty and evan)

i feel like he would be able to play like 3 instruments and would love love love music sm

Has so. Many. Ear. Piercings.

Lace and fishnet gloves

RINGS

Evan, pandora, Dorcas, regulus, and Barty all wear rings and they all js like share rings

Would love fairy tale retellings

100% read song of Achilles and sobbed

His parents are like really that mean js very strict and they don't really give him enough privacy and it's suffocating

Has sensory overloads sometimes and he will just cling to Barty or Pandora bc they both make him feel safe when it's too much

Also has panic attacks

Says things like "I wanna kms" and ppl think he's joking but he's really not

Baggy clothes

layers his clothes a lot

had like three sweatshirts/sweaters that he LOVES

eating disorder (idk which one but he definitely has one)

Constantly has a headache

Is actually rlly su!sidal but he's only told like 2 ppl (probably Pandora and reg or barty)

Either never gets sick or gets sick every month (depends on the year)

Doesn't like talking abt his problems

Will not ask for help unless he has basically given up

Is rlly smart

He's like everything smart but doesn't really care abt math or science

That one kid who's reading and not paying attention the entire class and then gets an A on every test

He's parents don't really care about grades but he does and he gets really stressed abt grades

Would 100% be that person that you wouldn't think would be a feminist and then someone makes a rude comment abt women and he would go off on them

Very pretty

Always cold. Always

Would have loved all the movies that Millie Bobby Brown is in (Enola Holmes, and Damsel mainly)

Would love ppl doing his nails (even though he's good at doing it himself)

doc martins

Would have converse and would draw on them

Has so many books (both barty and evan rant to each other abt the books they read)

Would have adhd but more of the not able to focus side

He's nail polish is almost always chipped bc they pick at it w/o even realizing he's doing it

would have so many bracelets

Hates silence but hates loud noise even more

Had earbuds in 24/7

"Look at the moon! :0" no matter what phase the moon is in (does the same thing w the sky)

Would get sooo happy when ever he was in a place where u can clearly see the stars at night bc "omg look, you can see the stars! Their so pretty!!!"

They're so energetic but also so laid back

Pretty much all or nothing for everything (emotions, activities, relationship etc.)

Really good at drawing

normally types in all lowercase so he doesn't come off as intimating

Evan and pandora probably made fun of the pure blood stereotypes so much

(I've made by point abt this hc a lot but I'mma say it again) : Evan and regulus arguing over the pronouncing of different French words bc Evan is Canadian French and Regulus is European French lol

He's an introvert you can't tell me otherwise

Was almost put into ravenclaw bc he was arguing w the sorting hat and it was like "ok valid points, ur probably a ravenclaw" and then Evan told the hat to go fuck itself and it put him in Slytherin 💀

Definition of a keyboard smash idk how to explain it

Would have loved Pinterest

wow this is really long. I'mma make one of these for Peter later :)

[blacklesbothatlovestowrite]

On My Mama Pt 2

Shuri x Fem Reader, Fem Reader x OC

I'm new to the tag list and tagging so bare with me if I left anyone out just let me know and I'll add it in.

Tags: @mixedfandxms @shurislover @sweetalittleselfish-honey @desswright29

Side note: I had an idea for a fic with Jada Kingdom Reader (looks) and Shuri, maybe ShuRiri. I'm Jamaican so you know seh big tunes ah guh run. 💥 reader could be an aspiring model trying to break into music and she meets Shuri or Shuriri at an event and they decide to produce her music wanting to do a fusion between Jamaican, African and American music. And a whole lotta smut and messy, toxic shit in between. 😮‍💨

-

I be in the section dolo, baby, oh

You chose to go to the club on a Friday night, you'd been ducking Riri and Shuri for days. Expensive gifts were delivered daily, Beautiful flower arrangements, your favorite foods. Things you wanted but had no clue as to how they knew that.

Some girl you barely knew invited out out with her group of friends. You weren't very interested at first as you knew girls were catty and competitive by nature and you weren't interested in having to be on the defense all night. You'd done the trying to be a girl's girl before and it never worked out. Girls tended to be weird and you had no time nor energy for the bullshit.

Making acquaintances was the goal. You couldn't spend all your time in college doing nothing but doing work and keeping your head in the books. You wanted some fun, some irresponsibility. You were tired of being a 'good girl' someone that was a people pleaser. You had no people to please any longer. Your mother was a cheating whore and your father the star of your eyes was gone.

Your look + Outfit (with a more subtle eye look)

The club was lit. You noticed many POC students from campus. Which wasn't surprising as this club was marketed towards POC's on the low. Owned by a black couple, and ran with POC staff. It was a safe space for POC's to have fun without fear of harm.

"Y/n, I'm a little miffed. I invited you out and you out here making us all look bad." Gina says, her eyes narrowing at you playfully.

"Girl hush, she couldn't do normal if she tried. Even in casual wear with no makeup she looks hot." Nina giggles, greeting you with a hug.

"I'd kill for your looks and figure..." Gina pouts. You laugh at her. "No wonder your mom's a model. You need to follow in her footsteps, all that damn beauty."

"I'm good. Beauty and Brains is the goal. I'd rather be known for being pretty and a genius rather than pretty and an airhead hoe." You shrug and the girls look between each other in shock. "My mother isn't my favorite person so you'll never hear a compliment out of my mouth about her so it's better to not bring her up."

"Noted..." Gina muttered, clearing her throat. You could practically hear the silent judgment.

"Let's go get some drinks." Nina suggests, leading the way to the bar.

"I want a margarita." Gina calls to one of the bartenders. A pretty tall caramel skinned girl with highlighted curls and a bright smile.

Bartender

"Make that two." Nina agrees.

"I'll have whatever you think is best." You say, watching the girl eye you seductively.

"Coming right up, gorgeous." You bite your lip as she looks you over as she makes the drinks. The look she was giving you had you weak in the knees already.

"Oooh..." Gina giggles, bumping your shoulder. "She feeling you..."

"Here ya'll go." She places each drink down, before handing yours to you. "This one's new, I'm sure it tastes just as good as you look."

You fight the urge to break out in a cheesy smile. Her fingers grazing yours as you take the glass. You down the drink, eyes widening at the sweet yet potent taste that slid down your throat. You felt slightly hot as she smirked at you.

"Ok... I'll have what she's having!" Nina says, wide eyed. The bartender laughs but nods.

"Lord Ha'Mercy I'm too gay for this." Nina fans herself. You smile a genuine smile. Something you hadn't done in a very long time.

"What's your name ?" The bartender asks, as she passes Nina her drink and a hands you a refill.

"Why should I tell you?" You raise a brow, while nibbling on your bottom lip.

"Ok, Smiley it is." She licks her lip and you internally fan girl. "You have such a beautiful smile."

You're making me forget my past

"I'm Jess by the way." She adds.

"Ok, Jess by the way. Thanks for the drinks." You say, your tone playful. You grab a $20 and slide it towards her before heading to the dance floor. You wanted to let loose and have fun, and a small part of you wanted to show off for her.

You let your body sway to the beat, your head slightly tilted back as you gyrates your hips to the beat. As you danced your mind went to Shuri, the lyrics swirling in your head. Your eyes snapped open wanting to remove her from your mind.

You'd been trying to stop thinking about her. You couldn't help your attraction to her, she did something to you but you refused to go there. She was the cause of your family's downfall. She'd been with your mother. It was disgusting to even be thinking about her after that.

Your eyes locked with Jess and you put every effort into seducing her. Something that wasn't so hard since she seemed interested in you. You needed Shuri the fuck out of your head and Jess seemed like the perfect way to do that.

You were sure fucking with Riri would work two fold. Take your mind off Shuri and fuck her over at the same time. Yet you couldn't stand the fact that Riri was friends with the girl. She was bright and from what you'd heard she was by all accounts a morally good person.

The two being friends made no sense to you. How could you trust someone so messy and chaotic unless you had that in you as well? Maybe Riri was better at hiding her dirt and kept it on the low. Regardless you weren't interested in finding out.

As the song finished and you went to make your way back to the bar a familiar face stopped in front of you. She looked bothered, and you couldn't find a fuck to give.

"I see you've gotten my gifts." Riri eyes your body in the outfit she's sent you. You wore it hoping she'd see you in it because you wanted to prove a point to the duo one you knew would be relayed if the other wasn't present.

"And I see you weren't listening." You deadpan. "But if you'd like to send me stuff who am I to stop you? It's giving fan behavior, and I find that very amusing."

"Oh, so you got jokes?" Riri cracks up. She steps closer, her body almost touching yours. "You can continue acting like you don't want me but we both know you secretly like my attention. You like being chased and that's fine. Just know once you get caught, you'll have to beg for my attention."

"Your head being big clearly fits you, Williams." You say her name with malice.

"And that's not the only thing big." You can tell by her tone exactly what she's talking about but you choose not to acknowledge it.

"Well have a good rest of your night." You dismiss her before stepping around her and heading back towards the bar. You see that Nina and Gina are gone. You look around to see them with the other people they were supposed to meet up.

"So Riri's your thing?" Jess says, settling back in front of you.

"Thing?"

"Your type." She clarifies, her eyes sparkling. She had the prettiest eyes you'd seen.

"I think the only type you need to worry about is yourself." You flirt. She raises a brow.

"Word?"

"What do you say to heading home with me?" You get straight to the point, watching as she grins.

"Oh you go for what you want, huh?" She seems impressed. You simply stare at her. "We can head out right now."

She walks over to some guy and they talk for a bit before she gathers her things from under the bar and motions for you to follow her. She leads the way to her car, a black Camry with blue and black interior. Her rims are even blue and her windows tinted.

-

The next morning you're woken by Jess with her skillful tongue and you take pleasure in the fact that you're loud. She'd put you to work the whole night, and you'd returned the favor showing her exactly how much you appreciated her attention.

You sighed as you piled your straight hair into a messy bun and pulled on a oversized t-shirt and walked her to your dorm door. You yawned as you let her out and thanked her for coming over. You made a note to text her for another session as she was definitely a generous and thoughtful lover.

As you watched her leave and was about to close your door you watched in victory as Riri walked towards her dorm room. She'd left at some point in the early hours of the morning, slamming her door. You knew she was jealous and that thought sent chills of satisfaction throughout your body.

"Good morning, Williams." You said, smirking as she clenched her jaw. "Sorry about the noise. I'll try to be quieter next time."

And with that you closed the door with an enthusiastic kick. The message you'd sent very clear. Little did you know, you'd just started a war. One you wouldn't win.

-

Your day was starting to turn to shit as your RA left your dorm. Angry was an understatement. You knew someway somehow your current predicament was curtesy of Riri. You couldn't prove it but you knew it was her.

You'd been reported for having an off campus visitor spend the night. A violation that meant you lost your dorm. You were pissed. You'd already made your dorm home. Decorated it how you wanted and even saged it to clear any bad energy out. Clearly it hadn't worked.

You were being moved to another building where you'd have two roommates. The only upside being you had a room and there weren't many rules. You just hated the fact you had to share a space with people you barely knew in closer and smaller quarters.

It took you the whole day and the help of the sisters Nina and Gina. Once you'd moved into the new apartment, you noticed the apartment was huge. You looked around, steering clear of the other bedrooms not wanting to invade anyone's private spaces.

The apartment was styled nicely. By the door was a shoe rack with dope sneakers, expensive heels and slides. You could tell whoever your roommates were they came from money.

You were so exhausted you knocked out on the sofa watching some old show.

A loud sound and a cuss woke you up. As your eyes adjusted to the dark you could barely make out two figures.

"Hello?" You called out, you knew you locked the door so the two had to be your roommate. The light was switched on and you instantly jumped up, anger building in you.

"Are you fucking serious!?!?!?!" You bellow.

"Told you she'd be happy to see us." Riri wiggled her brows, bumping Shuri.

"Y...you..." You couldn't find the words to express what you were feeling.

"Chill ma, we just thought you'd like some company." Riri grins, heading for the kitchen.

"Stop antagonizing her, Ri." Shuri speaks up, her demeanor is different. You glare at the duo.

"Fuck you look so good when you're pissed." Riri chuckles, grabbing a water and taking a sip. "Adorable really."

Realizing there wasn't much you could do, you swallowed down all the things you wanted to say and headed for your room. You slammed it, locking it behind you.

They didn't know what they'd started but you were damn sure going to finish it. You started scheming.

💕

[nansheonearth]

I saw you say something about “The largest lesbian centered events company in the greater Boston area”. What’s the company name so I can follow?

It's funny when I posted that comment I was thinking I should go back and add links for the lesbians. Sapphic Nights Boston hosts roughly 1-4 events every week. Mostly club nights with a theme (emo, woc, Slavic, masc, pop, Latin, bailefunk, etc). They also do events like drag race viewing parties, sip and paint events, yacht parties, there's a retreat weekend. The events are mostly in Boston with a few happening on a regular basis in Providence, Worcester, and Salem. I think they just finished a weekend in Provincetown. Second place is Lesbian Night Life who does more day parties, brunches, singles events, and over 30s events. Snatched Entertainment does 'queer poc' events but they lean more towards women.

Dani's Queer Bar is a lesbian owned bar that's supposed to open soon. Until then if you're willing to drive there's Femme Bar in Worcester. In addition to typically club nights they have lots more lowkey stuff like boardgames nights and book clubs. In the Jamaica Plain neighborhood is lesbian owned Drawdown Brewing that does some women's events. I've been there to watch women's hockey and they also have non-alcoholic drinks.

[thedisabilitybookarchive]

Disability in Books: Disabled Lesbian MCs

[ID: A poster. Large black text reading "Disabled Lesbian MCs" is in the centre. Above it, to the left, smaller black text reading "Disability in Books". The background is a straight diagonal version of the Disability Pride flag. In the upper right corner, the logo for the Disability Book Archive. In the lower left corner, the Lesbian Pride flag. /end]

[ID: The same poster. The flag and logo have shrunken slightly in size. The title has been removed, replaced with three book covers and some text. The first cover is "10 Things I Can See From Here" by Carrie Mac down the left hand side. Black text listed next to it reads "Anxiety", "Addiction (SC)", "Contemporary", "Romance", "Canada", "Bisexual SCs" and "Young Adult". The second cover is "Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything" by Justine Pucella Winans and is in the upper right corner. Black text listed next to it reads "Anxiety", "Contemporary", "Myster", "Transgender SCs", "Non-Binary SCs", and "Young Adult". The third cover is "The Degenerates" by J. Albert Mann and is in the lower left corner. Black text listed next to it reads "Club Foot", "Down Syndrome", "Historical", "1920s USA", "Young Adult" and "Multiple POV". /end]

[ID: The same poster. The book covers and text have changed. The first cover is "The Faithless" by C. L. Clark. Black text listed next to it reads "Adult", "Cane User", "Chronic Pain", "PTSD", "High Fantasy", "Series" and "2nd Bisexual MC". The second cover is "Harrow the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir. Black text listed next to it reads "Adult", "Schizophrenia", "Science Fiction Fantasy", "Horror", "Series" and "Necromancy". The third cover is "Honey Girl" by Morgan Rogers. Black text listed next to it reads "Adult", "Anxiety", "Depression", "Biracial MC", "Japanese-American LI" and "Romance". /end]

[ID: The same poster. The book covers and text have changed. The first cover is "The No-Girlfriend Rule" by Christen Randall. Black text listed next to it reads "Young Adult", "Anxiety", "ADHD (SC)", "Romance", "Contemporary", "Comedy" and "Fat MC". The second cover is "Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl" by Brianna R. Shrum. Black text listed next to it reads "Young Adult", "Autism", "ADHD", "Romance", "Contemporary" and "Jewish Characters". The third cover is "The Second Mango" by Shira Glassman. Black text listed next to it reads "Young Adult", "Severe Food Intolerances", "Fantasy", "Romance", "Series", "POC MC" and "Magic". /end]

[ID: The same poster. The book covers and text have changed. The first cover is "The Outside" by Ada Hoffman. Black text listed next to it reads "Adult", "Autism", "ADHD (SC)", "Science Fiction", "Horror", "Space Opera", "Series", "Asexual SC" and "Genderfluid SC". The second cover is "Everyone in this Room Will Some Day Be Dead" by Emily Augustin. Black text listed next to it reads "Anxiety", "Addiction (SC), "Depression", "Contemporary", "Canada" and "Transgender SC". The third cover is "How to Become A Planet" by Nicole Melleby. Black text listed next to it reads "Middle-Grade/Young Adult", "Anxiety", "Depression", "OCD (SC)", "Non-Binary Questioning LI", "Contemporary", and "Astronomy". /end]

❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷❤️🤍🩷 ❤️

[22 heart emojis, alternating between red, white and pink]

A short collection of books featuring disabled lesbian MCs!

I missed lesbian visibility week, and I wanted to post this on Saturday but my internet decided to die a fiery death over the weekend so I am very very late on everything. Hopefully this begins to makes up for it!

Books on this list:

❤️ "10 Things I Can See From Here"- Mac, Carrie

🤍 "Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything"- Winans, Justine Pucella

🩷 "The Degenerates"- Mann, J. Albert

❤️ "The Faithless"- Clark, C. L.

🤍 "Harrow the Ninth"- Muir, Tamsyn

🩷 "Honey Girl"- Rogers, Morgan

❤️ "The No-Girlfriend Rule"- Randall, Christen

🤍 "Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl"- Shrum, Brianna R.

🩷 "The Second Mango"- Glassman, Shira

❤️ "The Outside"- Hoffman, Ada

🤍 "Everyone in this Room Will Some Day Be Dead"- Augstin, Emily

🩷 "How to Become A Planet"- Melleby, Nicole

Every book on this list and more can be found in the disability book archive!

Happy Browsing!

[buttercupjosh]

Seasons of Love

(Gif credit to @youmustlovehim)

Word count: 2,772

Genres: strangers to lovers to exes, a little bittersweet

Warnings: none

A/N: I’ve had pieces of details of this fic in mind for a while and I started to slowly write it out over the past few months. This title comes from Seasons of Love from the musical RENT, although there’s nothing in the story connects to specific details from that. The story is not based off of anything specific, just a plot that had been simmering in me for some time. It’s not set at a specific moment in time (It’s taking place in a fictional future but you could also say that it’s set this season. However, the season is still ongoing at the moment and anything can happen or change). It’s written with a female reader in mind because I’m a female of color but the reader doesn’t specifically have to be a POC or a woman and there’s little dialogue. As always, I’m open to any and all feedback, comments or questions; just put them in my inbox or dm me. Thank you so much in advance for reading, I appreciate it😌

(P.S. I have other stories (linked here) that I have written for other players as well if you want to check it out)

““How do you measure a year in the life? How about love?” -Seasons of Love from the RENT musical soundtrack

Prologue

“Excuse me, is this a good book to read?” a deep accented voice asks you.

“Dune? For sure, it’s an epic story,” you reply.

“Do you think I could finish it in 4 days?” the voice asks.

“4 days? Unless you’re an Olympian at reading and processing complex storylines, I’d say it might take you close to 4 weeks or even 4 months to read it all,” you respond.

“Oh,” the voice says in defeat, “what do you recommend then?”

You list off some sci-fi recs for the towering cute man and he takes your suggestions into mind before deciding to get a copy of We, a novel written by his fellow countryman Yevgeny Zamyatin.

“I’ve never read that one,” you chimed.

“Should we start a book club then so you can read it?” the voice asks with a chuckle.

“Um, how can I start a book club with someone whose name I don’t even know?”

Slightly embarrassed, the voice introduces himself as Andrei and you introduce yourself to him as you shake hands. His hand in yours felt so comforting for someone you just met under an hour ago. Andrei was impressed that you knew so much about books. One of his New Year’s resolutions was to read more so that’s how he ended up at Barnes and Noble talking to you. You were at the store, just looking around for something new to read, and stumbled into the sci-fi section before checking out with your new copy of Happy Place by Emily Henry.

“So are we starting this book club then, Andrei?” you slyly ask.

Andrei wanted to have someone as a reading buddy to discuss reading with him (the other guys on the team weren’t as into reading as him) and it didn’t hurt that he had someone who knew a lot about literature right in front of him so he agreed to it.

“As long as you read “We” with me, please?” Andrei charmingly requested.

Although sci-fi wasn’t your thing at the moment, you couldn’t quite say no to the man with big brown doe eyes so you grabbed a copy off the shelf. Before going over the parameters of the newly formed book club, Andrei kindly paid for both of your books and you decided to discuss the rules in the cafe located inside of the store.

You and Andrei sat in a semi-secluded booth towards the back of the cafe and began sharing some of your backstories with each other over drinks and muffins. Andrei was again impressed by your educational background of holding an MFA in Creative Writing from NC State and your job as an adjunct English professor at Wake Tech Community College; it definitely explained your love of reading but your dream was to move to New York and become an author one day. You were working on a manuscript for a cute romance novel but still had a lot of things to do before it was ready to be presented to a publisher. The professor job was just a placeholder until you finished up your manuscript and saved up enough money to get a literary agent; you loved writing as much as you loved reading but getting your foot in the door in the writing industry was rough. You listened to Andrei as he told his story about his life and how he ended up in America through his hockey career. You and Andrei were both curious about each other and asked so many questions to each other for such a long time that you didn’t even notice that the store was going to close. Neither of you wanted your time together to end but you both had lives to get to outside of the store. You both laughed when you realized that you and Andrei spent so much time getting to know each other that not once throughout your conversation did you discuss the rules of the book club. Before leaving, you and Andrei exchanged numbers. You both agreed to read the first 50 pages and scheduled to meet up at a different cafe to discuss what you read so far in two weeks.

————————————————————

Winter

Within a year, the book club didn’t last long but it did lead to you and Andrei being in constant contact with each other. Due to both of your schedules, neither of you really had the time to sit down and have deep intellectual discussions about what you read; you both did end up finishing reading We but you finished it at different paces. Being the book lover you are, you completed the book first but Andrei finished reading the book while on the road and he wanted to discuss the ending with you so bad that he surprisingly FaceTime called you. That one FaceTime call with Andrei turned into a long series of texts, phone calls, and more FaceTime calls and eventually spending time together offline. You and Andrei considered each other to be just friends but that friendship eventually turned into you falling for each other.

Andrei was a hot commodity around Raleigh and in Russia with his DMs bursting at the seams but he only had eyes for you. He had never fallen in love with someone the way that he did for you; being with you was different than what he was used to but it worked in the best way. You knew the risks and chaos of being with a busy, famous athlete but Andrei was worth all of it. You blended and adjusted well into the hockey romantic partner lifestyle and Andrei even taught you how to ice skate. Despite the busyness of your lives, you and Andrei still showed up for and made time for each other, even if it was something as small as meeting up at your place for a post-afternoon game milkshake from The Shiny Diner or as big as taking Andrei as your date to your work holiday party. Whenever you had the time, you and Andrei created fun, everlasting memories together. A somewhat sweet memory that Andrei would always remember was when on one cold evening, you wanted to surprise your Russian boyfriend by attempting to make him borscht, a traditional Eastern European soup that was his favorite comfort food. The soup did not come well at all so you and Andrei ended up ordering Panera Bread to warm your bones. Although the soup you made tasted unpleasant, Andrei appreciated the fact that you took the time and effort to learn something from his culture and did that from your heart. The poetic thing about your relationship was that you patiently understood each other, despite the language and culture barrier; your relationship just worked like two puzzle pieces clicking together into place.

————————————————————

Spring

As the flowers bloomed around Raleigh, the school year for you ended on a good note and unsurprisingly, the Canes made playoffs. Deep into your manuscript writing, Andrei surprised you with a trip to New York after the Canes were eliminated from playoffs. You and Andrei were already spending the entire off-season together so this trip wasn’t a necessity but it was a nice thing to do.

Your time in New York was amazing and full of love, fun, and plenty of delicious food. While you were in the City, you took the opportunity to meet with some potential literary agents and publishers; although your manuscript was about 90 percent done, it didn’t hurt to check those things out. Andrei was supportive of you and your dreams but he selfishly wished that those dreams didn’t include moving to New York and that you would stay in Raleigh and have a life with him there. He had already known his future was tightly connected to the City of Oaks but you had a desire to create a future somewhere else. You knew these dreams of yours could possibly involve leaving the love of your life; neither of you tried not to dwell too hard on the stress and pressure that those dreams added to your relationship. You also knew the publishing industry was cutthroat and competitive and that there was no guarantee that your book would be picked up by a top publisher but those realities didn’t stop you from at least trying to take the steps towards that dream.

Outside of this pressure, you and Andrei still made the best of your time in NYC. You also loved musical theater so of course, you had to catch a Broadway show. Andrei, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, actually secured tickets for the two of you to see Hamilton at the Richard Rogers Theater. You had watched the live stage production on Disney+ and knew the entire soundtrack; Andrei went into the show blindly, only remembering bits and pieces from the songs that you played around him. Seeing Hamilton live on Broadway was a great experience that you both enjoyed. You and Andrei got to see New York City in a different light; you got to explore more of the city that you longed to call home and Andrei got to see more of the city as a true tourist. This entire trip was something that you both would forever cherish.

————————————————————

Summer

Not long after you left New York, you went to Russia for the first time to meet and spend time with his family and friends and to see the place that made Andrei into the man that you love. You learned more about Russian culture, Andrei’s childhood, and even was a guest at his cousin’s wedding. Andrei’s friends and family approved of you as a person and they liked you with him; they could all tell how truly in love you were with each other. You also spent some time together in Turkey and around Europe for some much-needed relaxation; you got to see the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea in Greece, eat authentic handmade pasta in Italy, and kiss your lover in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Traveling around with Andrei made you feel like you were the protagonist of a great summer read. Speaking of reading, Andrei still maintained his goal of reading more books, reading just about anything and everything, and even started to recommend things for you to read. Before you would fall asleep at night, you would share with each other a fact or synopsis of something that you read that day.

While Andrei was occupied with his off-season training during the day, you applied for publishing jobs, presented your finally completed manuscript to several literary agents, and ended up securing one. It was relieving to officially have a literary agent to represent you but the next biggest hurdle was the painstaking editing process and waiting for your work to be picked up by the right publisher.

————————————————————

Fall

After the bliss of the off-season ended, it was time for the hustle and bustle of your teaching job and hockey season to return. About 2 weeks before preseason started, you and Andrei moved in together. It was exciting to get to live with your lover and spend even more time (whenever you could) with him. It was also nice that you got to add your style to the place and make it your own; having a home also meant that you could host your friends, Andrei’s teammates, and sometimes family for holidays and events and create more cherished memories together. Being a hopeless romantic who loved romance novels, you had always wondered who would be the man to sweep you off your feet but you sort of already knew that man was Andrei.

A fun memory that you made together was the Sunday before the season opener, you and Andrei took a trip to a local corn maze with a pumpkin patch to take cute couple photos together and to also check it out. These photos would be added into some of the new picture frames and a scrapbook of memories in your shared home. The photographer did an excellent job, capturing the love that flowed between you in still moments. For the rest of your time, you wandered around the corn maze, hand-in-hand, with your lovely boyfriend. The infamous oak trees in Raleigh began to shed their leaves and the year began inching closer and closer towards the end.

————————————————————

Winter part 2

One snowy morning, you got an email from McGraw Hill, offering you a job as an educational copy editor in their NYC office. You couldn’t believe it, you were on the path of working at a publisher and hopefully, one day getting your book published; all that you had been working so hard for was starting to pay off in tremendous ways. The only issue that was concerning you was breaking the news to Andrei. You knew he would be happy for you but you also knew what the next steps were. You tried to hold in your tears but after practice, Andrei came home to you crying. He immediately dropped his stuff and concerningly asked you what was wrong. You explained to Andrei that you were crying joyfully over the news you received. Words couldn’t describe how proud Andrei was for you so he picked you up and spun you around in happiness.

“I’m so proud of you, my love,” Andrei repeated as he peppered kisses around your face.

He was truly proud of you but the ecstasy of the good news came with the most painful come down. Andrei didn’t want you to move to New York but he had already known for a while that you wanted to leave. He did try to convince you to stay and he hoped for months that you would change your mind but you didn’t so he helped you pack some of your things. Andrei couldn’t help you move up there so he entrusted Nykki, Martin Necas’ girlfriend, to help you settle into your new home and life, more than 500 miles away from the address you once shared.

You and Andrei did try dating long distance but your relationship unfortunately didn’t last very long. Between the responsibilities of your new job, revising over your manuscript, trying to get your book published somewhere, and Andrei’s hectic hockey schedule, you began to drift apart from each other and the physical distance between you didn’t help either. You enjoyed living in New York and you did miss each other from time to time but Andrei knew it would be unfair to ask you to give up on your dreams to come back to Raleigh and be with him. Despite not dating anymore, you and Andrei talked occasionally but not as frequently as it was when you first met and still remained friends. It was okay that the relationship had run its course because it taught you both a lot about love. Andrei came into your life for a season and those seasons you shared together were full of so much undeniable light and love. The love that you shared was different from the romance novels you read but your relationship wrote its own beautiful story.

————————————————————

Epilogue

Before catching his flight to Miami for the NHL All-Star break, Andrei went into the bookstore at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to look for a book to read on his flight. In the book section, he spotted Seasons of Love, written by you with a New York Times Bestseller sticker on the cover. Over the years, Andrei had heard some things about your novel in passing but he purposely avoided reading the book because the breakup was a bit painful for him. After you achieved getting your book published, you wanted to send Andrei a signed copy but decided against it because you weren’t sure if he would actually read the story and didn’t want to come across as pretentious either. He debated back and forth about getting the book before finally asking a store employee about their opinion about it.

“I read that one. It’s a fictional story but I heard it’s loosely based on a true story about the author’s relationship with some cool guy. It’s a super good read if you like romance," said the store employee.

Hearing what the store employee said about your book made Andrei’s heart warm a little and he purchased it as his read for his trip. After returning back to Raleigh, conveniently, there was a book signing by a familiar author at a local Barnes and Noble that Andrei decided to attend. Although Andrei didn’t get his happy ending with you in real life, you sure gave him one with the words that you wrote on the page.