What happens when someone who reads too many romance books has to go to a family reunion in their rural hometown in Western New York? A Reddit post looking for someone to pretend to be my partner for a weekend.

The gist:

I'm a trans man who lives in Maryland, just outside of DC. My family is throwing a reunion for the first time in decades (the weekend of July 22nd), following the passing of my grandpa. I haven't seen most of my extended family since I was a kid, and they probably don't even know I'm trans. I'd like to go to the reunion, but I'd rather not go alone. My immediate family isn't great about standing up for me when I'm deadnamed and misgendered so I figured why not see if someone would be willing to be my 1 and help take the pressure off me a bit. Bonus if we actually like each other and start dating so we can live out a romance book trope, but not required.

A bit about me: - Single and have been since my divorce a few years ago. I've dated, but nothing serious. - dog and cat dad - Recently acquired 7 house plants and I've managed to keep them alive! - I'm usually reading (mostly lit fic, sci fi, horror, romance, mystery, nonfiction, poetry) - I collect vinyl and I can spend hours looking through bins at record shops - I play ttrpg's with friends regularly, mostly dungeons and dragons - I play video games, but I am not very good at them 🤷🏻‍♂️ - I workout at the gym (half-heartedly). I love leg day though - I am a fat nerd. Basically, I'm built for cuddling. Importantly, I don't think body size is an indication of health. - I do a lot of organizing and advocacy work in the local community, particularly in queer spaces and around issues that effect the queer community. - I'm a leftist.

If you are intrigued by the idea of pretending to be my partner for a couple days, send me a message. Happy to exchange pics, provide references, verify who I am, send pics of my dog and cat. If you’re local (or local-ish) we can hang out in person. If you’re not local then we can talk online and video chat and coordinate logistics.