#first comes love choices

[princepotatosack]

What If Choices' Race-customizable LIs Had Surnames Reflective Of Their Ethnicity?: An Experiment Just For FUn (Part 1/3)

As we're probably all aware, Choices has been going ham on their formula of "one LI whose appearance is choosable" for the past few years (ever since they started drawing criticism for narratively favoring white male LIs, i.e., when the Ramsey bubble finally burst; draw your own conclusions), and these LIs almost always have canon names or default names associated with white Anglo Americans. This is one of several reasons these LIs are described by players as "white-coded", or written as if they are white men with any changes reduced to a one-line afterthought, which kind of nullifies the point of romancing an LI of color.

Getaway Girls impressed me with branching that gave two of the six Jordan appearance options (the ones described in the asset files as "Indian") the surname Paudwal, as opposed to the other options that had the surname Parker. And then they NEVER DID IT AGAIN (ingnoring Kiss of Death cause it was a weird case I don't know how to categorize)!!

So here's me assigning surnames to race-custom LIs of other books because it's fun for me:

DISCLAIMER: The Choices single LI formula has for the most part consisted of a white LI, a Black LI, and one or occasionally two other option(s) of varying races. Framing it as white, Black, and "wildcard" raises a lot of questions about racial dynamics and percieved binaries in the United States which are NOT the point of this post but I didn't want to not address it. Also have to address that I will not be assigning new surnames to the Black LI options since most of them are American and a lot of Black Americans have Anglo surnames due to the community's history with enslavement and enslavers, and Choices has simply not given us enough lore to determine if each of the custom race LI Black options are African (or another background) and which languages are a part of their heritages. Would really appreciate if they started writing more African LIs though. Also, similar reasoning applies to face options described as "Native American" in the files re: American colonization.

ALPHA

Channing Luna

These face options are described in the files as "Hispanic". Luna was a Spanish-language surname sound match for Lowe, and plus it also means "moon"!! Yippee werewolf theme!!!!!

Channing Liu

These face options are described in the files as "Asian". The Chinese surname Liu was just the closest sound match to "Lowe" tbh.

BABY BUMP

Clint Kao

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". He reminds me a little of the Taiwanese actor Godfrey Gao (rip) so in my head he's Taiwanese like meeee!!! Which sucks cause I didn't like this LI that much lmao. Anyway Kao is the Taiwanese spelling of the surname that is Anglicized as Gao in Chinese Pinyin so I gave it to him cause he reminds me of Godfrey Gao (rip). Not a spelling match but then again there aren't any Chinese surnames that start with the same letter and sound as Covington (e.g., Chang and Cai both start with the letter C but start with the sounds "ch" and "ts" respectively.).

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS

Charles Quiñones / Charlotte Quiñones

These face options are described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Went with sound matches since there aren't many (any?) Spanish-language surnames that start with K like King.

Charles Kim / Charlotte Kim

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". I thought Kim was a pretty good sound and spelling match for King. But it did make me realize that although Kim is the most common surname in Korea by a lot, a Choices Wiki search revealed to me that there's only one character in the entire Choicesverse with that surname and it's the FBI guy from Veil of Secrets?

DISTANT SHORES

Edward Mao

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". I originally chose the Japanese surname Morishima because it was an initial spelling match, multisyllabic, and had the ending "ma/mer" sound, but I wanted to honor the great Ming Dynasty Chinese tradition of piracy and its far-reaching legacy. So I went with the Chinese Mao.

Also I know he's canonically from like England which would explain why he's an 18th-century Asian man with an English first name but just for fun if he was from China I think he would be called Mao Aiwei. Or Morishima Eiji if he was from Japan.

Edward Montoya

This face option is described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Montoya was a relatively close Spanish-language sound match.

And if he had a Spanish first name too he would be Eduardo Montoya ovb.

THE DUCHESS AFFAIR

Nathaniel Pandit / Natalie Pandit

These face options are described in the asset files as "Indian". Not a lot of sound matches for Pippin but the Sanskrit surname Pandit has the intial "P" and the ending "i" sound, plus it means "scholar" and fun fact, this word is also the origin of the English term "pundit".

Also since in my research I learned that the vast majority of Indian immigrants to England in this time period adopted English language aliases for use in English society, I came up with some potential real names for these face options: Nathuram for Nathaniel and Nalini for Natalie.

FIRST COMES LOVE

Blake Mai

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". I decided on Mai since it could be Vietnamese or broadly Sinophone.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Blaine Juárez

These face options are described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Not any Spanish-language surnames that start with the letters "Ha" as far as I know so I went with a sound match.

GUARDED

Ash Harada

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". The Japanese surname Harada is a sound and spelling match and also one of the most common surnames in Japan! EASAYY!!! Though headcanoning them as Japanese brings the total number of Choicesverse Japanese-Americans Named Ash to three. Laugh out loud.......

Part 2

Part 3

[mydemonsdrivealimo]

trick or treat gift exchange

for @totojo2 :)

heres blake x mc for you!! i had so much fun w this piece so i really hope you like it!! im obsessed w blakes character design which says a lot given that its from pb asdfghjk and your mc is just gorgeous!!

@choicesfandomappreciation

[monaownsmyass]

Me @ everyone in First Comes Love except for Eve

[beaumontes]

first comes love... is kind of... fun to play

[callmeteach]

now I like to make fun of FCL mc for being delusional and laugh everything off about it but she’s literally obsessed with Blake and it’s bit scary😭 I’m honestly so surprised she didn’t leave the Bay to be close to him in LA😭

[jams-sims]

Both recent MC for the romance focus books have been fucking trash.

How about we dont do shit! How about we leave home girl alone.

[rainbow-burst]

Idk about y'all but..first comes love is pretty cute book

[queeniemayjan]

I can’t even enjoy First Comes Love. I keep putting myself in the gf’s place and frankly, MC is a home wrecking ho. Seriously, this book is gross.

[hotchocolatelovesyou]

First Comes Love MC is a cunt, but Rebecca, baby, why are even competing for a man who has feelings for his best friend?

Love, he flirts with other people in front of you, just let it go omg

[choicesficwriterscreations]

First Comes Love Masterlist - 2023

✒️= Fanfic | 📱= Text Fics/Edits | 🎨= Fanart Ⓜ️ = Mature Content 18+ | 🔥 = Explicit/NSFW 18+

June 2023

Revenge (Series) | Blake Marshall x Reader - @khoicesbyk Chapter 1: Two Can Play That Game ✒️Ⓜ️ Chapter 2: The One for Me ✒️Ⓜ️

November 2023

Blake Marshall x MC Fanart 🎨by @mydemonsdrivealimo for @totojo2

[symphonyofsilence]

What drives me even more insane about this scene is how you'd expect Gojo to imagine High school era! Geto in the crowd. Or at least not the cult leader, worst of all the curse users Geto Suguru. But no, it's the cult leader Geto. It's Geto as Gojo last remembered him. As Geto last was. Whatever choices Geto made, wherever his choices led him and them, however he was, whoever he was, traumas and messed up ideas and bad choices and ill reputations and scorns and all. Gojo wanted Geto Suguru there. Not any ideal version. Not any "what if" version. Not any "at some point in time before things went downhill" version. Not any "when your hands weren't stained with innocent blood" version. He knew very well what he wanted. And he wanted it all the same. He wanted Geto Suguru. However he was. He just wanted him to be there. He just wanted him to be.

And he didn't want him to help him, he didn't want him to fight with him even if they were strongest together and always fought together for a while. He just wanted him to be there in the crowd and cheer him on. He just wanted him to stand there and give him one of his sweet, heartwarming smiles that shaped his eyes into crescent moons. He just wanted him to be. Then even if Gojo had died in the end anyway, he would have been satisfied. It would have been worth it. Only if Geto was there.

[turtleblogatlast]

Leo frowns at his phone.

Or more specifically, at the test on his phone.

Around him, he hears the sound of his brothers tapping their own devices, much faster than he is. Looking up just makes Leo feel worse about his own progress - or lack-thereof.

Mikey’s the fastest, speeding through the test like nobody’s business. He’d been the one to make them all do this stupid test in the first place, so it makes sense that he’s having a blast.

Raph’s slower than Mikey is, but he’s still clearly answering the questions at a steady pace. Sometimes he looks unsure, but he powers through anyway.

Donnie often looks frustrated, which relieves Leo somewhat because at least someone is struggling like him. But that “struggle” isn’t nearly as big as his own, considering that Donnie is answering about as fast as Raph is.

Leo turns his gaze back down to his own test. He’s still near the beginning, he thinks.

He’d put the same answer for the past seven questions - the middle of the road answer, neither a “yes” or a “no.” Then, whenever he does come across one that is more one direction than the other, he second guesses himself and restarts the test!

Sure, there are a few he could definitely give a yes or a no to, but…never the “strongly agree” or “strongly disagree” that the test seemed to want from him.

He eyes his twin sitting nearby, the softshell absorbed in the test. Maybe Leo should copy what Donnie put for some of these…

“DONE!” Mikey’s shout makes Leo freeze in place just as he started to lean over.

“What?” Donnie squawks, “No way you’re already finished, you must’ve been cheating!”

“It’s a personality test, Dee!” Mikey stuck his tongue out, “You can’t cheat at those!”

…

Leo settles back into his seat.

Ignoring Donnie’s mutterings about how it was “just because it’s not an academic test” that he didn’t finish first, Raph smiles encouragingly at Mikey.

“Hey, good job! So what’d you get, Mike?”

Mikey looks back down at his test, reading aloud, “Says that I got the “Campaigner”!”

“What’s that mean?” Leo asks, his phone screen going dark.

“Apparently, I’m an “enthusiastic, creative, and sociable free-spirit”.” Mikey reads, smiling at them, “You think it fits?”

“Oh, to a T, bro!” Leo laughs, giving Mikey a thumbs up, making Mikey’s smile grow larger.

Inside, Leo was feeling a lot more mixed about this. He has no idea how Mikey knew himself so well. Maybe Donnie was right and Mikey did cheat, because how could he answer those questions so easily?

Leo’s phone burns in his hand. He keeps it locked.

“Wow, that really is you.” Raph says, his eyes flitting back and forth between his own test and Mikey, “Do you think it fits?”

“I guess? It’s fun to see at least!” Mikey shrugs with a grin.

“Hold on, I think…” Raph makes a noise of satisfaction, “Okay, done!”

“Sigh, now I’m relegated to the straggler group.” Donnie grumbles, his thumbs moving faster as he tries rushing through the questions.

“Ooh, what’d you get Raph?” Mikey asks, practically bouncing in curiosity.

“Says, uh…I got something called the “Consul”?” He squints his eyes to read more, “Uh, “caring, social, and community-minded.””

“Sounds about right to me.” Leo nods. Can’t be more “community-minded” than being a hero.

“Yeah, no one’s more caring than you, Raphie!” Mikey says, moving to lean across Raph’s shell.

“You do put the community in mind, that’s for sure.” Donnie states, not looking up.

Raph chuckles, a bit embarrassed, “Aw, thanks. It’s just some test, but it feels kinda good to hear that.”

Just a test. Right.

Leo unlocks his screen.

The test stares back at him.

Right. Okay. He can do this. He can.

The screen ends up going dark again.

Frustration builds up in Leo. Was he even halfway done with the test? At this rate, soon even Donnie will-

“FINISHED.”

Leo unlocks his phone.

“What’d you get, DonTon?” Leo asks as his thumb taps the top right of the screen.

Donnie puffs up proudly, a self sure grin on his face, “I got the result “Logician” which states that I, obviously, am an “innovative inventor with a thirst for knowledge.” Truly could not have described me better, if I do say so myself.”

“It is pretty accurate.” Raph agrees with a nod, “Even calls you an inventor, so extra accurate.”

“Super accurate.” Mikey jumps in, eyes shining.

“Yes, yes, almost like reading my own character synopsis.” Donnie’s grin had not dwindled since the word “innovative” had left his mouth.

Leo just nods along, eyes on his own screen as he skims the words. “Yeah, kinda creepy how close it got. Could have called you a nerd for extra accuracy, though.”

Donnie turns to him, eyes narrowing, “Have you even finished your test? I can think of a few words that’d describe you fairly well.”

“Test-y, huh?”

Before Donnie can strangle Leo, Raph cuts in.

“Ok, ok, calm it down, guys.” He rolls his eyes before turning to Leo. “But really, you’re not done yet?”

“Leo’s taking this self reflection seriously.” Mikey sports a faux intellectual expression as he gives a jokingly serious nod. “Maybe we all should’ve taken our time.”

“Says the one who sped through the whole thing in a record time.” Donnie mutters.

Leo waves them all off, “Nah, I finished it ages ago.”

He grins when Donnie immediately shoots him a suspicious glare. “Oh, you did, did you? Then what could you have possibly gotten, Nardo?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Leo clears his throat, “Neon Leon just so happens to be an “Entertainer.””

“Ah. That confirms it. This test is meaningless.” Donnie drones.

“Hey-“

“What’s an Entertainer like?” Mikey asks with a tilt of his head, still hanging off of Raph’s shell.

“Glad you asked, Miguel!” Leo exclaims, “It says that “life is never boring” around yours truly~”

He emphasizes this “result” of his by waving his phone with said “result” on screen.

It’s just an image he found of his chosen personality result, but they don’t need to know that.

Raph nods slowly, “Well, I guess that’s true…”

“”Never boring” is one way to put it.” Donnie hums.

“You are pretty fun, Leo!” Mikey says emphatically, because he’s great like that.

“Thank you, thank you, life of the party, right here.” Leo grins, pointing both thumbs at himself.

He’s careful not to go too overboard with it, or else it might tip someone off.

Not that it…really matters. It’s just a test. Like Raph said.

As the topic around him shifts to something else, jumping away from this brief activity as fast as any other among them, Leo finds himself unlocking his phone and pulling up the test again.

Unanswered questions stare at him. He knows what answers Lou Jitsu would pick. He knows what answers Jupiter Jim would pick. Hell, he knows exactly what answers his brothers would pick.

He doesn’t know what answers Leonardo would pick.

Leo stares at the test for a second longer, before he exits the site and throws himself into the conversation happening around him.

It’s just a stupid test, nothing to worry about.

Just a test…

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I'm sorry I let down my guard.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[tizniz]

WIP Wednesday 🌙

Tagged by @theotherbuckley & @daffi-990

I wrote a cute little Buck/Eddie/Tommy story, called First Choice, that I am hoping to post soon (after I write a different BuddieTommy story first...) but here's a lil something from it:

“Hey.” Buck says softly, but it’s enough to make Tommy pause, him and Eddie both shifting their attention to him. He smiles at them both, placing one hand over the hand Eddie is using to hold his forgotten fork in and reaching across the table to take the one Tommy has lowered there. “I’m happy.” His voice shakes a little, and there’s a blurriness to his eyes, but Buck stays steady in his words. “I’m really happy.” “Oh, baby.” Eddie exhales, leaning over to press his forehead to Buck’s temple, tilting his head to kiss the corner of Buck’s mouth. “I’m happy too.” “The happiest.” Tommy assures, squeezing tightly onto Buck’s hand. “Thanks for choosing me.” Buck admits, not knowing why tonight he’s saying this but needing to nonetheless.

NP tagging: @hippolotamus, @actualalligator, @actuallyitsellie, @bidisasterevankinard, @spotsandsocks, @fortheloveofbuddie, @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove, @jesuisici33, @cal-daisies-and-briars, @exhuastedpigeon, @theplaceyoustillrememberdreaming, @monsterrae1, @epicbuddieficrecs, @elvensorceress, @eddiebuckley-diaz, @eddiebabygirldiaz, @spagheddiediaz, @wildlife4life, @evanbegins, @devirnis, @loveyouanyway, @perfectlysunny02, @smilingbuckley, @watchyourbuck, @loserdiaz, @excuseme-greentea, @wikiangela, @sunshinediaz, @scknight05, @dangerpronebuddie, @kitteneddiediaz, @incorrect9-1-1, @underwaterninja13, @bigfootsmom 🩵

[callmeteach]

oh she remembers VERY clearly and vividly, wouldn’t let us, the readers forget about it