Nia

“Straight people, he thinks, probably don't spend this much time convincing themselves that they're straight.”
― Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue

“In the dungeon, I used to like making you angry,” Parvaneh said. She reached down to scoop up one of the moths and held it up to her face, brushing its wing against her cheek with a tenderness that only worsened the fluttering in Soraya’s stomach. Parvaneh let the moth fly away and looked Soraya in the eye. “But I think I like making you laugh even more.”
“Why did you like making me angry?” Soraya asked in mock offense.
Parvaneh grinned and swept aside Soraya’s hair, her fingers brushing Soraya’s cheekbone. “To see your veins, of course,” she said. Her hand moved down to trace the full claw mark on Soraya’s collar bone with her fingertips. “I always thought you . . . I thought they were beautiful.”
― Melissa Bashardoust, Girl, Serpent, Thorn

“She was herself and not herself--she didn't know what she was, except that she was free.”
― Melissa Bashardoust, Girl, Serpent, Thorn

“Parvaneh seemed to be made of the night. She wore it like a gown, draped over skin that shimmered in the moonlight.”
― Melissa Bashardoust, Girl, Serpent, Thorn