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November Creator of the Month: Lizzybeth1986
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Each month CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers, and this month’s writer of the month is @lizzybeth1986 We hope you will enjoy learning more about them and their work below! The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page.
Quick Links:
Tumblr Blog: Blog Masterlist
How do you want to be known on Tumblr?
Lizzy, absolutely 😁
*Center art by @sazanes
More below...
When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played?
I started playing mid 2017, I think. I played the flagship books (TF, TCaTF, MW), and def preferred TF at the time.
When and why did you join Choices fandom?
I joined the Tumblr fandom in 2017, around the time of the TRR finale. Mostly because the Liam hate at the time was intense and I wanted to write metas about why Liam was, in fact, not “a dick who betrayed the MC” 😂
I did have a Tumblr account before that (made it in 2015 to follow Bollywood film posts), but never actually used it.
How did you pick your blog name?
I was lazy af so it was my middle name plus my birth year haha
Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it! 
I started out with a couple reblogs, but my first actual post was about the romance points mechanism in TRR1. There was a point in the middle of the book where one nice word to Drake would give you an automatic romance point, and I was like, “Huh??? Either treat him like shit or risk him catching feels for me? Is that how it is???”. Thankfully, that stopped after two chapters. After that, I did an essay series analyzing Liam’s actions in the finale called “The Crown, The King and The Flame.” Romance Points Post The Crown and the Flame
How long have you been writing fanfiction?
Almost 6 years now! I started doing Liam fics around the beginning of TRR2.
What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to write about?
I’m the most invested in TRR and PM, but between the two I’d probably say PM is my fave book overall. But yeah, my favourite book to write about would be TRR, because Liam, Hana and Kiara are such fantastic characters to write about! (Hayden and Sloane, too, but I’m still in the process of getting comfortable writing them).
Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were writing it today?
It was Keychains, my two part fic series featuring my MC and Liam. It was set around the time the MC was waiting in the airport in TRR2, just before Maxwell and Bertrand intervene. It had a follow up with Liam’s PoV too.
I really like it. It included some really good hc’s I made at the time, like Esther buying an apple keychain to represent Cordonia at the same time, and Liam calling her his wife in Greek and Esther not realizing what the phrase meant. I thought the pathos and slight humour was quite well-done. I can’t think of much I would want to change in the story.
Keychains 1 Keychains 2
What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?
As a series – Eleanor’s Kitchen! It’s ongoing, and it’s a joy to write. I love exploring food from a cultural lens, and since Cordonia was a fictional country, I could explore a variety of ethnicities and food cultures. Liam had a literal diamond scene that explored gastrodiplomacy, and I wanted to explore his childhood and Eleanor’s friendships too.
Individually – I would say my Kiara fic “An Ear to the Ground”. Kiara is a delightful character and exploring the social season through her eyes was a real journey! I also love “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” which explores the early days of the Sloane & Hayden friendship. I used asterisms and constellations to symbolize moments in their friendship.
Eleanor's Kitchen An Ear to the Ground The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
Do you have a fic that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to be but found could use a little more love?
Cordonian Waltz was definitely a surprise in terms of reception!! It was written in the style of headcanons I was seeing at the time, and I wrote it in second person. It became my most widely-read fanfic very fast, and every once in a while it would experience a major surge in readership. I enjoyed writing it and thought it was a lovely, romantic piece, but I really wasn’t expecting it to finally have 250+ reblogs out of it, and people coming and telling me this was the fic that got them into Liam x MC in the first place. I find that deeply gratifying 😍
There’s a lot of fics that I feel need more engagement and appreciation, but I can understand that those characters also don’t exactly get much of an audience. My entire PM set comes under this category; they typically get low readership. I think my Hana and Kiara fics too could do with more of an audience.
@twinkleallnight once told me that when she reads my stuff, she usually takes a long time just to ruminate on the story, and I like to believe that often, that’s why the engagement isn’t always immediate. Which I like too!! I like that some of my stuff can make people stop and think, and I like to believe that over time, the work will have its own impact.
Cordonian Waltz PM Set
If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?
Probably fluff but with a lot of observation and sometimes somber reflections. I’m not that great with angst…and I’ve never actually tried smut? But maybe one day 😄
Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?
Yes! Some of my MCs are v different from me but I always incorporate something from my life experiences in them. Like Esther taking photos of the sunset or Basil not being science oriented but still having an interest in space.
Character wise I find I put a lot of myself into a lot of the characters I write. Notably, Liam, Hana, Kiara, certain Haydens and Sloane. Liam’s love for learning, different aspects of Hana and Kiara’s experiences as queer women, Sloane’s experiences as a neurodivergent woman, and especially my Scholar!Hayden’s (Iris) observations. I tend to incorporate a lot of my feelings and experiences more into certain canonical characters than in MCs.
What element of writing do you struggle with most?
Dialogue, I think. Especially when it’s a character I don’t relate to that much. But also sometimes when it’s a character I love but am only starting to write because then I really overthink it!
Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?
Hmm…probably neglected wouldn’t be the word I’d use…I just take a very long time to kickstart them 😂
But yeah, definitely my Petals and Thornes series? That’s the fic series I’m doing for Hana x Kiara, that is supposed to explore TRR2 and 3 from their PoV (with significant changes). So far I’ve only been able to do some one-shots and hcs in that universe, but I do want to start the actual series soon!
I have some essay series’ I’d love to work on too! My Hana essay series which has two essays left, The Hayden Young Project, and a possible series on the alternative Lis of TRR!
Petals and Thornes Hana Lee: A Study in Erasure
If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?
Hmm. A few people have asked me, actually, and while I’m not fully opposed to showing them I’ll probably take some time before I do show my work. I’ll probably overthink how much will be understandable to a reader who doesn’t have the context of the source, and what they may not understand.
What to show them first? I’m not sure! Maybe the smaller ones first, like Cordonian Waltz. Or my RCD fic Snowstorms, because it doesn’t have more than 2-3 canon characters featuring and I do talk a little about being a closeted queer teen figuring out their sexuality through cinema, which is an overall relatable experience to some! Snowstorms
Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing?
In my early years I used to emulate Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s style. Much of her work that I read as a teen was pretty flowery, sometimes bordering on purple prose, and I really loved that style and tried to go that way. But now I think a variety of writers from different genres inform my writing. In terms of published authors, Jhumpa Lahiri, Helen Hoang, and non-fiction ones like Rukmini Pande, Ruby Hammad and Mikki Kendall.
In Choices fic, @callmetippytumbles for sure – a lot of the questions she was tackling with her MC in her Home series served as inspiration for some of the ideas I’ve been having in mind for Petals and Thornes. @thefirstcourtesan is a great writing buddy to have, too, and she has a knack for saying a lot in very few words! There’s also my amazing group of friends (shoutout to @cassiopeiacorvus, @thecapturedafrique, @mand-delemonde, and @beyonceswigs, as well as @twinkleallnight , @dcbbw @mariemarieohcontrary , @choicesfrog, @grapecaseschoices and @ohsnapitzlovehacker…the discussions are so good and leave some much to think about afterward 💖💖). All these discussions ALWAYS fuel my ideas and make me think out of the box.
I’ve also recently started writing polyamorous characters and relationships, and @angelasscribbles stories and resources have been such a great help in navigating that!
Home
@angelasscribbles Poly Resources
Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series?
Haha! I’ve not even started the proper series yet but I think Petals and Thornes? But besides that maybe Eleanor’s Kitchen may work as a series idk 😄
Do you write original fiction?
I do try! I’ve done a few short stories but before I started fanfic, I did a lot of spoken word poetry and that was fun.
What other hobbies do you have?
Reading, watching video essays, spending months on hyperfixations 😂 and a little cooking. My kid’s gotten into craft recently and has succeeded in taking me down that rabbit hole too haha.
I used to be into making fruit wines but have gotten inconsistent with that over the years.
What’s your favorite emoji?
Because I have a huuuge thing for nerds – this one: 🤓
BONUS – tell us anything you’d like (if you want to).
A story my mum often tells about how I got into writing, began with some good old-fashioned sibling rivalry. Apparently as a child I was notorious for writing things on the walls of our house. One day my older brother got a hardbound royal-blue covered notebook to write in, with gold lettering on the cover…and I got instantly jealous that I didn’t get one (I was 6 or 7 and already fond of telling stories). When I complained my mum made me a deal – she would get me the same notebook…IF I stopped writing on the walls and began writing in that instead 😂 It worked. My mother is a smart woman.
I love spoilers!! I will read the end of a novel I’m reading and then go back and read the rest. Sometimes I even read books all the way backwards lol.
I love romance, and my favorite tropes include second-chance romance and mutual pining while believing the other person will never love you back! Because, at heart, I’m a dramatic bitch.
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lizzybeth1986 · 11 months
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Skills vs Passions - What's the Difference?
(Read the rest of the "Hana Lee: A Study in Erasure" series here!)
Previous: China, Cordonia and "Home"
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I had mentioned, way back in my first essay of this series, that descriptors used for Hana are vastly different from that of the other LIs. The three male LIs got descriptors that emphasized their personalities and loyalty to their loved ones.
Hana's descriptors, on the other hand, came down to two things - what the MC could be physically drawn to, and what the MC could use her for.
Hana can be dedicated, devoted, open minded, explorative. You don't have to look too far to see a consistent display of these qualities in Hana, throughout both series. Yet none of these words - nor the many others that could even slightly capture her personality - are used to describe her.
What the team views as appealing in Hana, boils down to two things. What the MC can find fuckable if Hana is a love interest, and what the MC can use her for if she isn't (though to be honest, even the MC that romances her still benefits disproportionately from her labour).
Her looks...and her skills.
Ironically, even with this lack of care and forethought, Hana's story still manages to retain some nuance when it comes to exploring the things she learned. They are not things she randomly became perfect at. Nor is the process of how she became good at those things, identical.
Most times, there is a story behind how she became that good at those activities, a process that Hana often worked and struggled towards, before she could be the "Jill of All Trades" of TRR.
Her journey to acquiring all of these skills is not the same. If we do not acknowledge the differences in those journeys, we are doing her story a grave disservice.
Acquired Skills.
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(Note: In this section I will be leaving out Hana's more intuitive skills, such as stealth, cunning, deep research and resourcefulness, and focusing more on the ones she had to learn. This is because her intuitive skills fit better in a different essay that I will be working on soon)
There are several things the above screenshots share in common.
One is that they are all things Hana learned as a part of her training to become the perfect debutante, the perfect noblewoman, the perfect courtly wife, the perfect hostess. In the Cordonian Waltz scene in TRR1 Ch 7, Hana speaks of being pushed from an early age to learn all the courtly and social arts. She speaks of being "groomed [every day] to bring fame and fortune to my family", primarily because they were devastated she was not a boy and the only way she could possibly be of use to them was by acquiring these skills. These weren't just hobbies she was encouraged to cultivate - they were things she had to do well, do perfectly, whether she liked doing them or not.
Another - and perhaps easier to miss - similarity between all these pictures is Hana's expression in them. Neutral. Unmoved. Bored. None of these activities actually appeal to her, or are things she is happy doing.
We will find out later on, that that was exactly the point. In her parents' plan for Hana's life and future, Hana's own needs and identity are practically a non-factor.
One of Hana's major epiphanies about her childhood, is the recognition that what she wanted, should have mattered. That her needs deserved to be met just for being her needs, not because it served a purpose for anyone else. On more than one occasion Hana tells us that "enjoying myself never factored into my parents' expectations of me".
How damaging can this obsession with making your daughter the perfect noble wife - to the exclusion of any other possible life - be? Let's find out:
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Hana isn't just expected to excel in skills that mean very little to her. She isn't just forced to prioritise - again and again and again - the enjoyment of others over her own. She isn't just made to consider the needs of some nebulous future husband, to the point where she cannot even ask herself what she wants.
Over and above all this, she is never allowed to be her authentic self. She is never even allowed to figure out what that authentic self would be. From an early age she is deprived of toys and pets and real consistent friendships, ensuring a complete isolation, ensuring she doesn't even have the opportunity to safely indulge in pretend play. (That she manages to scrape together whatever she can find to make her "toys" is only a testament to her own tenacity; she should never have been put in such a position in the first place). Her parents robbed her of those early, exploratory years.
She has been told how she must be and what she must do; she never has the freedom to decide whether that is something she is even comfortable being. In the context of this scene Hana may be using this skill to help another woman, but the fact remains that even in expressing her femininity, Hana is constantly expected to perform - as if her authentic self was never good enough.
It is no wonder then that the moment she finds herself no longer answerable to her parents, Hana fears that she will discover she's nothing more than a "collection of skills...with no one underneath". TRR3 shows Hana in a full-blown identity crisis once she is completely outside her parents' influence.
In her post "How Parents Fuel Identity Crises in Their Children" on the Good Therapy Blog, psychotherapist Beverly Amsel talks about the effects controlling parenting can have on a child's sense of self thus; "When a loving parent is so certain that he or she knows what is right for the child and does not consider that the child may have valid, different ideas about what he or she wants, needs, and feels, there is no space and no invitation for the child to develop the ability to express his or her own self with separate ideas, feelings, and needs. Over time, as the child grows to adulthood and is exposed to more ways of thinking about things, there is typically a good deal of confusion about identity, thoughts, and feelings. Unless there is an opportunity to develop a separate sense of self, there will likely be a lot of anxious thinking about what is real but little ability to think for oneself in a self-reflective way."
Fortunately for Hana, her time in Cordonia does seem to present those sort of opportunities. There are story threads in TRR3 that address this identity crisis. But does it culminate into something that benefits her, or only the people around her?
Things She Does For Those She Loves
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Before we move into passions, it's important to acknowledge a category that toes the line between acquired skill and interest. These involve activities that she's not entirely passionate about, but still derives some enjoyment from doing.
Her enjoyment of these skills is usually less about the activity itself, and more dependent on her fondness for sharing or socializing through it. Despite her mostly-isolated childhood, Hana is by nature a very social person. She is enthusiastic (though initially a bit wary and fearful of rejection) about making friends, loves sharing her knowledge and skills, and does not hesitate to reach out even to people who don't treat her well and accommodation them into whatever she's doing (eg. every single time she included Olivia in something in TRR2). So it makes sense that there are certain things she enjoys doing because it involves her helping someone, or allows her to spend time with them, or helps her relive precious memories.
On some level, you see this with some of her skill scenes. Often a scene will end with Hana following up a confession about her lack of interest in a particular activity with a line about how sharing that knowledge makes her happy. But you also see this enjoyment in other contexts.
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Another context where she truly enjoys doing things, is when they're of a competitive nature. She thrives on the thrill of outwitting opponents and friendly rivalries. A great example of this is the dance-off she does with Maxwell in TRR1 Ch 18, where she enjoys pitting her skills against Maxwell's so much that they both agree they'd be great as a dancing duo. You also see this whenever she's competing in games with her trusted friends. This is perhaps why you see at least a handful of sequences where she expresses an interest in sports.
But perhaps the activities she enjoys the most - that aren't for herself - are ones that have her share space with someone she loves and trusts. Cooking and baking rank high among these skills. Baking began as a domestic skill that would serve her well in a noble household, but she loves sampling batter/dough and practically glows on seeing the other person's enjoyment of her craft. Her creating her own recipe for hot chocolate is especially interesting because it's a skill that she values highly, and that she only shares with people very close to her.
Hana's interest in fashion design also has interesting origins. She is skilled in embroidery and knows fashion trends well, and has learned from her grandmother to make her own clothes. Of particular note is the black-red-gold qipao/cheongsam that was the last dress she ever made with her grandmother. Her attachment to the dress is so strong that she experiences intense distress when Lorelai threatens to take it from her in Valtoria. She also loves designing dresses for loved ones - for the MC herself, we see her conceptualize and design dresses at least twice (a traditional-inspired outfit in Shanghai which is appropriately titled "Hana's Heart", and a blue and white dress for their engagement photoshoot).
Through these examples we can see instances of Hana finding joy in things she didn't have as much interest in, just through the process of sharing that experience with someone else. It's great, on the one hand, because Hana is no longer alone and she gains a renewed perspective on something that came from a very painful part of her life.
On the other hand, "I find this more fun now that I'm doing it with you" comes with its own downsides. If you use it too often, you're in danger of using it as a copout that centers the person she is teaching rather than her own journey.
And if you're a writer that makes efforts for her story with great reluctance...such an explanation will rapidly change into an excuse to be lazy with that journey.
Passions
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Among the many, many, many skills Hana was made to learn in the bid to make her the perfect debutante and the perfect noble wife...just a few rank as ones she does wholeheartedly, joyfully, passionately. But they are perhaps the most important.
After all, these are skills that Hana had honed for herself. They're meant for her consumption and her enjoyment, and she often shares them only with people she trusts.
Not only are these things, interests that she enjoys and lovingly cultivates...but she is also fiercely protective of them. She will not allow anyone - not even her parents - to turn something so personal into a public spectacle that she's uncomfortable with. This is most clearly seen when she tells us about rebelling against her parents for piano performances. At a very young age, Hana recognises the value of her music, and she pushes back against any attempts to cheapen it or turn it into some warped form of social currency. She takes ownership of her gift, and from that moment on anything she does with that talent is done on her own terms.
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Like music, reading was a skill cultivated to make her an attractive prospect for noble matches - only for Hana to find pleasure in the act of reading herself. Here again, building a passion for reading allows her to rebel in her own unique way. She smuggles in books that she knows her parents will find either too frivolous or too objectionable - often by hiding the books, or modifying the purpose of the book to them so it would sound appropriate.
We must remember - this is a woman who still feels nervous breaking rules even a year after she has left her parents' home. It would take such a woman considerable amounts of imagination and courage, to be able to do what she did in an environment as restrictive as her's. For Hana to be able to do this, she must have really valued the joy that reading books had given her.
Flowers are an extremely important part of Hana's life. Symbolically, they are part of her mother's House Crest, and personally, she is someone who is naturally drawn to flowers. In TRR2 Ch 4, she confesses to devouring the words of The Language of Flowers, and knows the symbolic meaning of each one by heart. She can even make her own bouquets. During the Costume Gala in TRR3, she dresses up in a heavily floral gown as the Goddess of Spring.
One of the most captivating sequences that captures her love for flowers in the TRR2 Conservatory scene, where she takes the MC to see the spectacle of a night-blooming flower unfurling under the light of the moon. It is especially fascinating that her already latent passion for flowers grew further with the help of another passion - reading.
Another thing you will clearly notice about each of these "passions" is that when she speaks about them, she is expressive. Liam confirms this in his Diplomacy scene in TRR3, where he tells the MC that her passion always shows in her eyes.
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The proof for what Liam says here is in every one of these scenes. In the scenes compiled under the "Acquired Skills" category, her expression rarely changes and her tone is indifferent. In contrast, we are exposed to a variety of moods when she talks of these things that she's so passionate about.
She seethes with anger at the memory of her parents forcing her to perform the piano to crowds, whispers conspiratorially about forbidden literature, loses herself in the scent of flowers. These are moments where Hana acknowledges her individual pleasures, and expresses pride over the way she guards them from people who will not respect what those things mean to her.
These are things she knows forwards and backwards, but not because she was forced to cultivate and perfect those talents. They're things she knows because when Hana Lee is truly interested in something, she will plunge herself into it, body and soul. These are things that gave her comfort at a time when she had no one, and they form the happiest memories she has had for her childhood so far.
These are passions that are so intricately a part of her that it is impossible for her to give them up. Not for her family, not for her friends, not for her wife - no one.
Conclusion
The base of Hana's story has always been rich with possibilities. There were various ways the writing team could have written it to benefit her story. At the hands of a skilled writer who loved the character for who she was rather than for what the MC could gain from her, the writing of these talents could have been used to further enrich Hana's journey and give her a chance to find herself. Unfortunately, the writing team at the helm of TRR were neither.
Over and over again, the writers used Hana's plethora of talents to make her useful to people, rather than turn the focus of that arc back on her. The MC learns these skills and goes up the ranks, the MC benefits from Hana's offers of help, the MC is the one who becomes a Duchess and Champion of the Realm. Even on a level of resolving her issues with her parents, the writers have her prove that she can still be useful to them without getting married to a man. In the eyes of her writers, her skills are still meant to make her useful to someone - just that the person at the center changes from her parents to the MC.
Because the MC is positioned as someone who "enlightens" Hana to how harmful her situation was, and because the narrative expects Hana to be forever grateful to her - the MC is allowed to use her and take credit for Hana's hard work (eg. The windmill move during the polo game) and get away with it.
When you put all this evidence together, and then go back to the descriptors I put up at the very beginning of this essay, you will see what the team's intention with her, always had been. To create a woman the MC could be attracted to, a woman whose skills the MC could use to advance her own interests...while still being viewed as her hero and saviour. Despite being one of the few people to get the most detailed account of her upbringing and struggles, the MC still chooses to view her in the most simplistic ways, still praises her for her skills and "perfection" rather than support her in any consistent way (more on this in other essays).
The fandom wasn't much better in this respect either. Lots of TRR fans still see no real distinction between the skills Hana had to struggle to learn, and the interests that made her truly happy. The writing team itself contributes to this inaccurate conflating of her interests and skills by having multiple characters label her 'perfect' over and over.
This results in a situation where those hard-earned skills and those moments of joy are conflated together, and spoken of like they are the same thing. But they are not. To speak of the two as if there were no difference, is to ignore completely the difficult, even disturbing, history behind how she acquired them.
The skills the MC grinningly labels her perfect for, are skills that emerged from a very traumatizing environment. Her joys - that many in this fandom so mockingly placed alongside the things she forced herself to do - were perhaps the only opportunities she had to take back her agency and claim something for her own.
To pretend that the two are one and the same is a gross misrepresentation of what was actually depicted in canon.
Next: "Perfect!Hana": Author Bias and the Importance of Framing (coming soon!)
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choicespride · 7 months
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Bisexual Awareness Week 2023 Masterlist
Blades of Light and Shadow
Ask Answered - f!human!MC (Daenarya of Riverbend) - @storyofmychoices
Ask Answered - Mal Volari x Tyril Starfury - @storyofmychoices & @lilyoffandoms
Love is love is love! - Mal Volari x f!human!MC (Daenarya of Riverbend) x Nia Ellarious - submitted by @storyofmychoices; art by coffeesforchloe (IG)
Picrew Mal & Daenarya - Mal Volari, f!human!MC (Daenarya of Riverbend) - @storyofmychoices
Sculpting Desires - Mal Volari x f!human!MC (Daenarya of Riverbend), Tyril Starfury x m!elf!MC (Maiele), Mal Volari x Tyril Starfury - @storyofmychoices
Crimes of Passion
bisexual awareness week '23 q's & a's - f!MC (Nora Rose) - @inlocusmads
Cover Redesign - m!Trystan Thorne x nb!MC (Gabriel Rose) - submitted by @lilyoffandoms; art by artbyainna (IG)
High School Story
Questionnaire - f!MC (Evie) - @cadybear420
Open Heart
A Quick Study - f!MC (Casey MacTavish) x f!OC (Jessica Phillips) - @jerzwriter
Ask Answered - Bryce Lahela - @storyofmychoices
Dr. Casey MacTavish Carrick - @jerzwriter
Sydney Serving Absolute Cunt - m!MC (Sydney Valentine) - submitted by @peonyblossom; art by @somewillwin
Perfect Match
Saffron Sugar, Turmeric Spice - f!Hayden Young x poly m!MC (Basil Park), f!Hayden Young x f!OC (Nilkushi Sierra), implied Sloane Washington x MC - @lizzybeth1986
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A late post for Writers appreciation Day.
@dcbbw you make royals look normal... The DC AU is one of my favourites. I can't stop there though, there is Liara, Riam, Driam, there are so many AU you have written that I love to read, i sort of lost the count. And then you are capable of doing just the opposite when you make us commoners turn into royals with your magic wand ( your Remix series). You are one mature person who the fandom will always look up to.
@alj4890 My fav Dralivia person. It doesn't end there though. "While we are young" brings another level of creativity like we have season 2 of TRR. The way you have made me fall for Emerick and Juliette! There is always so much fluff in your writings i feel a sugar burst after reading them. Keep going. 💖
@phoenixrising0308 your one scene where Jessica was mishandled by one of the guards in the end of TRR1 carved a deep niche in my fluff loving mind. I hate that moment so much for what it did to Jessica yet I love how you have shown the face of the brutal real world to the readers. You are angst machine. Never stop resurrecting phoenix. ❤️‍🔥
@angelasscribbles rare to find someone writing Leo seriously. Your mind is a mine of fics, neverending with so much to give us. Always.
@flowerpowell my go to person for Drake fics. When i read your fics, it feels like I am in a movie theatre. Just need some popcorns, sir back n enjoy the show, the firecrackers, the oceans of angst added before we reach the paradise. Keep writing!❣️
@ao719 the angst queen as they call you.i haven't enjoyed any crossover as much (i hardly played any more books on choices after trh). But Vancross is mind blowing. It takes herculean efforts to bring all the PB royals and VIPs under one roof. You are doing it and we are reaping the fruits. ❤️
@sfb123 for the uncle Drake series. I miss them!
@choiceskatie Gone girl was one of my first fics that I read on Tumblr. You are the reason I started loving Leo. I wish someday you comeback and complete that fic.
@princess-geek my friend from the another fandom (desires and decorum) i love you not just as an author but the loving and caring human being that you are! I love how you make me keep going through thick and thin. Sending loads of love to our Lady Fordale. 💞
@lizzybeth1986 you can't be just into a writer's list.. but just for today I want to take chance to appreciate that part of your personality too. I look at you as someone more than a writer and i call you a critic. You have the flair of dissecting those characters in you gripping essays. They are sometimes more than an essay to me.. they are research work of a literature master. Thank for being there!💓
One person I miss the most is Pam of @speedyrascaloperaparty who left the fandom this year. My favourite author, i wish you happiness and success wherever you are.
@dcbbw, @alj4890, @phoenixrising0308, @angelasscribbles, @flowerpowell, @ao719, @sfb123, @choiceskatie, @princess-geek, @lizzybeth1986, @speedyrascaloperaparty
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thecapturedafrique · 1 year
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY Nikki!! Go be your fabulous self and hope you have a great time and amazing cake 🥰🥰🥰 So proud of you for all the worldbuilding and amazing hcs and ficwriting you've been doing this year... you're definitely going to wow everyone in the years to come 👏🏼
Thanks for such a sweet birthday wish Lizzy! 🥰💗🫂
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grapecaseschoices · 1 year
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🐹 - “You? Intimidating? Hell no.”
From the time we've known each other both your reblogs and your chats with me have been the sweetest 💕 I actually started loving tag reblogs a lot after we became mutuals.
Wow real bold of you to slide into my inbox with your whole face and say something so insulting to me. And on a Friday too!
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lorirwritesfanfic · 1 year
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Re: the memorable scenes in fanfic, I did want to point out one of yours! I think these were three of the most memorable ones:
1. The final scene in "Heavy" where Liam remembers Jade speaking about how heavy the Crown seems and contemplating how it didn't truly hit him until the moment he was actually crowned, without her by his side.
2. In "Fate/Coincidences" when Hayden and Natasha are teasing each other over birthmarks being places where lovers from a past life kissed them 🥺
3. In "In Bloom", undoubtedly the scene where Hana comes out to Leo. I don't mind fics where she is paired up with a guy as long as there is acknowledgment and preferably exploration of her being queer and you made that an integral part of that fic, with such lovely support from Leo.
So glad to see you keeping on writing and thank you so much for telling me what was your fave scene!!
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Thank you so much! I didn't reblog the memorable scene post because I wasn't so active this year (and 95% of followers are either inactive or follow me for the stuff I reblog), but thank you so much for sharing these.
It's kinda ironic Liam deserved better from writers given that TRR/TRH/TRF series only exists because of Liam, but we never get to see those moments of vulnerability from him. And when we do, it's always through someone's perspective (Drake, Leo and even Eleanor through a freaking letter from the beyond 🤦🏻‍♀️). It was heartbreaking for me that he was only allowed to shed one single tear once. The dude has been through so much, but he has to pretend he's fine even to his wife?! I love Liam dearly and whenever I have the chance, I will write a more realistic version of him.
I saw this thing about birthmarks here on Tumblr and I found it adorable. Choosing Hayden for this may have looked odd for anyone who didn't pay close attention to the story, buy who is to say matches don't have souls and past lives? His creators didn't even expect his personality to evolve the way it did, so I thought "why not?" 💕
Oh, my dear Hana... She's adorable as friend and as LI and everyone who says she's meh or weak is just heartless lol. I can't even begin to say how much I wish she had a decent character development (because she deserved it), but anyway... If only fanfic writers can do justice for her, I'll gladly be among them 💕 Hana's sexuality is still unclear to me and there are so many nuances that could be considered. I like to go for bi because the bisexual spectrum includes so much than attraction to men and women (no one ever thought she could be bisexual but not biromantic, or demisexual, etc). It's a fun subject for me.
Btw, I still don't know what the hell I had the night I thought Leo and Hana would make a good ship (... 😂), but I like building their relationship from scratch.
Thank you once again for this and I wish you a wonderful new year!
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lilyoffandoms · 2 years
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✨ - definitely give yourself and your writing a compliment coz you're awesome!!
🌞 - Do you have a preferred time of day to write?
🎶 - Do you listen to music while you write? What kind of music?
🛒 - What are some of the common things you incorporate into your fics? Themes, symbolisms, feels, scenes, imagery.
🥺 - Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between characters that never fails to put you in your feels?
Hope you enjoy the asks! Love your writing ❤️
I adore nice asks in all their forms! Thank you for the asks and for you lovely lovely comments! You’ve made my day 💕 Truly! 💕
Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉
Aww your comment! Thank you 🥹
I love the attitudes and personalities I write for my ocs. I love the voices I have found for them and I write them well.
[Do y’all know how hard I have to try to not throw self deprecating comments into my compliments to myself. I fail most of the time but I’m trying. I’m really honest to goodness trying.]
Do you have a preferred time of day to write?
Morning. Definitely morning. I get up and it’s just me and my coffee writing near or on our porch in the sunlight (hopefully) with the birds singing in the trees and my partner near by reading the news and sharing tidbits with me as he drinks his own coffee. It’s so unhurried and unrushed and peaceful.
Do you listen to music while you write? What kind of music?
For fic writing, yeah, I’ll often listen to a playlist I have for the characters I’m writing. For other writing, still yeah, but it’s usually classical, jazz, or blues instrumentals.
What are some of the common things you incorporate into your fics? Themes, symbolisms, feels, scenes, imagery.
Family. Whether is found family or the one you are born into. I just love exploring healthy families or fixing them in some way or another if they are not healthy. Write what you know they always say and I know what a loving family (despite its faults and challenges) looks like, both growing up and today. I like exploring those relationships and showing they can be beautiful and not painful.
Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between characters that never fails to put you in your feels?
When there is a disagreement or two characters just aren’t talking and one takes the time to sit and wait the other out or takes the initiative and talks first to heal the divide. I’m not good at that irl but have someone that is and it amazes me to no end that others can be that selfless and devoted. So yeah, writing that and experiencing that always gets me.
Fanfic writer ask
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(this awesome poster is the handiwork of our wonderful host @sazanes!!)
Note: So sorry for the delay in getting this out!! IRL has been a little tricky these days.
It gives us great joy to announce our third edition of the Hana Lee Appreciation Week!!
This year we are holding the AW around World Book Day (23rd April) in honour of Hana's passionate, long-lasting love for books!
Hana is talented at a great number of things, but is passionate about just a few. One is music - the other is reading. It was originally a hobby her parents introduced her to, to gain an advantage as a noblewoman, but Hana grew to love it far beyond what her parents expected. Her fondness for Jane Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, her delightful rebellions in secretly reading Wuthering Heights and manhuas, her adorable habit of leaving sweet notes behind, between the pages of a library book. Her love for books has deep and wonderful, and allowed her a window into worlds she didn't even realize existed!
But books and reading aren't our only themes for this AW! Take a look at our theme list for what we plan to do for each day:
April 21st - Character Appreciation/Throwback
April 22nd - Flowers/Fashion Design
April 23rd - Bookworm/AU
April 24th - Competitive Hana!/Culinary Love/Music
April 25th - Family/Friendship/Romance
This event will be held from April 21st to 25th. Any content is welcome, as long as it is Hana-centric and shows a positive depiction of her! Fanfic, fanart, meta, edits, moodboards, playlists, headcanons, interactive media - even simple appreciation posts and screenshots of fave scenes will be great!
It isn't absolutely necessary to post content only on the day of the theme! We often accept pieces even when sent on a later date, and also keep a bonus week in case you couldn't finish your pieces during the week. We also don't mind WIPs, so if you have one that is Hana-focused... we'd LOVE to see it!! We also love throwback pieces, so if you have any that you made previously, do reblog them and tag us!
We also will be accepting pieces after the event is over, and all year round until the next HLAW! So even if you have your post ready much later, please don't hesitate to tag us! 🤗
Blogs to Tag: @hanaleeappreciationweek, and hosts @lizzybeth1986 and @sazanes
Tags to Use: #hanaleeappreciationweek, #HLAW, #HLAW 2024
There are some incredible fan-community blogs that work tirelessly both to promote creative fandom works and make the experience fun for their writers! Do check them out!!
@choicesficwriterscreations, @choicesmonthlychallenge, @choicesflashfics, @choicespride, @choicesholidays, @choicesprompts, @wordwarriors
If you know any others who would like to be tagged, please let me know! Here are the amazing works sent in for 2023 and '22 if you'd like to get more inspired!
HLAW 2023 | HLAW 2022
See you all next month, and looking forward to all your amazing Hana content!! 🤗🤗
✅✅Signal Boosts will be greatly appreciated!!✅✅
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choicesbookclub · 5 months
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12 Days of Choices Special Event
Not sure who is planning to participate, but I figured I'd start this thread to talk about it and share info for anyone that is playing.
If you find the hidden item, please share where and when (what chapter + scene)! All clues and hints welcomed. I'll try to update this post with whatever info I see so that it's all in one place for anyone checking in quick!
Day One: December 12
Book: Mother of the Year
Chapter 1
Scene: MC's daughter has the option for the uniform. The Partridge in a Pair Tree is on the stairs in the background.
Day Two: December 13
Book: The Duchess Affair
Hint: In chapters 1-3
Chapter: beginning of chapter 2
Scene: The location is the breakfast room, in front of the large painting and next to the Christmas tree.
Thanks @lizzybeth1986
Day Three: December 14
Book: Bachelorette Party
Hint: "3 French hens, 3 blind mice, 3 is the number you'll want to check twice "
Chapter 3
Scene: The Abracadabra Lounge, right at the front of the room.
Thanks @lizzybeth1986
Day Four: December 15
Book: The Cursed Heart
Hint: "You didn't hear this from me, but it's in a prime number chapter greater than 3!"
Helpful Math: Prime Numbers include: 5,7,11,13,17,19
Chapter 5
Scene: At the stables talking to Sir Montgomery, perched on the ceiling
Thanks @lizzybeth1986
Day Five: December 16
Book: Ms. Match
Hint: "Five Gold Rings: Starting from the left, which finger is your ring finger? 🖐️"
Chapter 2
Scene: walking home from the bar with jack, they very impressively transformed a building
Thanks @alasforher
Day Six: December 17
Book: Untameable
Hint: "Six Geese A-Laying: (four) The perfect amount of geese to have is four! 🪿"
Chapter 4
Scene: The stables, at the very beginning of the chapter.
Thanks, @lizzybeth1986
Day Seven: December 18
Book: The Unexpected Heiress
Hint: "Seven Swans A-Swimming: You'll spot them right away! 🏊"
Chapter 1
Scene: On the ship, immediately after the MC is introduced and says goodbye to her mother and brother.
Thanks, @lizzybeth1986
Day Eight: December 19
Book: Slow Burn
Hint: "Eight Maids A-Milking: You'll only need two maids to get this job done. 🥛"
Chapter 2
Scene: Bunting when you are first in the New Orleans ‘Hushpuppys’ restaurant
Thanks, @alasforher
Day Nine: December 20
Book: Queen B
Hint: "Nine Ladies Dancing: You'll need to be FOURtunate to find this item! 💃"
Chapter 4
Scene: At the sports field on Kickoff Day
Thanks, @lizzybeth1986
Day Ten: December 21
Book: Laws of Attraction
Hint: "Ten Lords A-Leaping: These lords are leaping VERY early on. 💯"
Chapter 1
Scene: Sadie McGraw's office
Thanks, @lizzybeth1986
Day Eleven: December 22
Book: Wake the Dead
Hint: "Eleven Pipers Piping: You'll need five fingers to play this pipe. 🖐️"
Chapter 3
Scene: Second scene in Red Meadows Cabin discussing the surge, after the upstairs has been cleared
Thanks, @alasforher
Day Twelve: December 23
Book: Roommates with Benefits
Hint: "Twelve Drummers Drumming: These drummers are marching in twos. 🥁"
Chapter 3
Scene: Opening party scene in the dorm room
Thanks, @alasforher
More to Come
*Note, according to PB, you don't have to click on the item or do anything special, once you past that scene/chapter, the app will remember it and the rewards will be granted at the end of the event.
*Rewards will be granted on 12/26 at 11 AM PST
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(this beautiful poster is the handiwork of our wonderful host @sazanes!)
Welcome to our third edition of Sloane Washington Appreciation Week!! This gorgeous, adorable, kick-ass, incredibly relatable woman with her love for science, her admiration for ambitious, knowledgeable women and her endless capacity for bravery - she's been such an integral part of the Perfect Match story 💜
Every year, we try to celebrate her around Feb 11th, which is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This year's themes are a mix of some of the previous years, along with some exciting new ones! We hope you're inspired by them.
This event will be held from February 11th to 15th. Any content is welcome, as long as it is Sloane-focused and shows a positive depiction! Fanfic, fanart, meta, edits, moodboards, playlists, headcanons, interactive media - even simple appreciation posts and screenshots of fave scenes will be great!
Here's a list of the themes we have for SWAW 2024:
Day 1 (Feb 11th) - Women in STEM/Girl Power
Day 2 (Feb 12th) - Written in the Stars
Day 3 (Feb 13th) - Throwback/Character Appreciation/Friendships
Day 4 (Feb 14th) - Happy Valentines Day!
Day 5 (Feb 15th) - Hobbies/Pets
It isn't absolutely necessary to post content only on the day of the theme! We often accept pieces even when sent on a later date, and also keep a bonus week in case you couldn't finish your pieces during the week. We also don't mind WIPs, so if you have one that is Sloane-centric... we'd LOVE to see it!! We also love throwback pieces, so if you have any that you made previously, do reblog them and tag us!
We also will be accepting pieces after the event is over, and all year round until the next SWAW! So even if you have your post ready much later, please don't hesitate to tag us! 🤗
Blogs to Tag: @sloanewashingtonappreciationweek, and hosts @lizzybeth1986 and @sazanes
Tags to Use: #SWAW, #sloanewashigtonappreciation, #SWAW 2024.
There are some incredible fan-community blogs that work tirelessly both to promote creative fandom works and make the experience fun for their writers! Do check them out!!
@choicesficwriterscreations, @choicesmonthlychallenge, @choicesflashfics, @choicesprompts, @choicesholidays, @choicespride, @wordwarriors, @wip-wipeout-weekend, @moodmusicmonday
If you know any others who would like to be tagged, please let me know! Here are the amazing works sent in for 2023 and '22 if you'd like to get more inspired!
SWAW 2022 | SWAW 2023
See you all next month, and we hope to see some amazing Sloane content from all of you!! 🤗🤗
✅✅ Signal Boosts will be highly appreciated! ✅✅
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sazanes · 3 months
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Day 1 - Women in STEM/Girl Power - Workplace Safety
"Oh, my! It seems as though this computer cable is malfunctioning! I better report this to IT right away. It's a serious safety concern!"
I remembered this movie that Sloane was in and I think she always cares about the safety of her employees, everyone feels much safer and more focused with Big Boss Sloane by their side 🥰
Thank you! @sloanewashingtonappreciationweek @lizzybeth1986 🥰
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lizzybeth1986 · 9 days
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The Moodboard that Hopes to Give Hana Her Flowers.
Tagging @hanaleeappreciationweek and @sazanes for HLAW Day 2: Flowers!
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(FC for Hana - Kaitlin Marianelli)
I often think of Hana in terms of homes. She is the only court lady besides the MC who is away from home, and in TRR2 she tells us how - on her return to Shanghai - her parents' home hardly felt like home to her anymore. Once she is disowned and kept away from her family, Hana stays in Cordonia and starts to consider that her home instead.
There is also her mother's home province which canon doesn't tell us much about (besides flowers being part of their sigil). I have headcanoned that it is named Bethulia and is the home of a thriving Indian Parsi community.
In the Hana x Kiara series I've begun to write, Liam eventually confers the title of Duchess of Krysanthe on her, and in a lot of ways this place becomes a new home for her. So essentially in my P&T-verse, Hana has three homes (besides Castelserraillan - her wife Kiara's duchy).
I have associated each home with three flowers -
Shanghai with Plum Blossoms. In China, the plum blossom is a symbol for resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity, because plum blossoms often bloom most vibrantly even amidst the harsh winter snow. Hana's name, among her father's side of the family, is Lǐ Méi Huā, which is the Mandarin name for the flower as well.
Bethulia with Water Lily. Typically symbolising enlightenment and purity (as it blooms in muddy wet areas), Bethulians associate the flower that graces their coat-of-arms with the Zoroastrian yazata/angel Aban Yazad (angel of water). The water lily is said to be her representative flower. To Hana, the water lily too seems to be a very resilient flower, surviving in water and mud and staying beautiful and fragrant.
Krysanthe with Yellow Crocus. Crocuses come in a range of colours, and the yellow one often symbolises joy and cheerfulness, as well as a return to spring after a harsh winter. The crocus in general seems to symbolise new beginnings through its association with spring, and in many ways Hana's rise to power in Krysanthe was indicative of a new beginning for her.
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Shouting out some other users that create for queer and/or poly pairings @dcbbw @lizzybeth1986 @justcallmefox89 @aria-ashryver @coffeeheartaddict2 @judeschoices @storyofmychoices @aallotarenunelma @deb-1106 @sazanes @jerzwriter @mariemarieohcontrary @harleybeaumont @queenrileyrose @aallotarenunelma @angelasscribbles 🏳️‍🌈
@dcbbw ; @lizzybeth1986 , @justcallmefox89 , @aria-ashryver , @coffeeheartaddict2 , @judeschoices , @storyofmychoices , @aallotarenunelma , @deb-1106 , @sazanes , @jerzwriter , @mariemarieohcontrary , @harleybeaumont , @queenrileyrose , @aallotarenunelma , @angelasscribbles
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grapecaseschoices · 1 year
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57, 48 and 82 for the spotify wrapped asks 💖
57. Arsonist's Lullaby - Hozier
When I was 16, my senses fooled me Thought gasoline was on my clothes I knew that something would always rule me I knew the scent was mine alone
All you have is your fire And the place you need to reach Don't you ever tame your demons But always keep 'em on a leash
48 is here
82. Shut out of Paradise - SLO
You were my broken imperfect reflection The kiss on my skin And I know that if we are Shut out of paradise For all that was it was never for you and I Heaven is here in the wreckage All that is broken but all that is true
Ty for the ask hun! <3
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(This awesome Halloween-themed poster is the handiwork of @sazanes!)
Welcome to our first ever Lily Spencer Appreciation Week!!
She's a tech-savvy gamer, the best friend you could ask for, amazingly funny, and often uses her humour to cope with extremely stressful situations. She loves everything supernatural - even writing werewolf fanfic.
Bloodbound has seen her grow from an ordinary woman just navigating a world she thinks is normal, to a baby vampire, to someone confident in her skills and powers and ready to join the fight against forces like Gaius Augustine and Rheya Apostolous.
This week is about celebrating every aspect that makes Lily the fantastic character she is! We will be beginning at Halloween, then spending some of the first week of November celebrating her as a character! Hope you will join us!!
Here's what that schedule will look like:
31st October - Happy Halloween!! 🎃
1st November - Lily the Gamer
2nd November - Lily from Wisconsin/Throwback
3rd November - Lily the Baby Vampire
4th November - Lily's Friendships/Relationships/Family
Any and all content is welcome!! Fic, art, edits, moodboards, gifs, meta, headcanons... everything goes! Our only requirement is that the pieces should be centered around Lily, and feature her in a positive way. WIPs and Throwback pieces are also welcome.
Be sure to tag @lilyspencerappreciationweek, and hosts @lizzybeth1986 and @sazanes in your posts. Also make sure that you tag your posts with #lilyspencerappreciationweek and #LSAW! This is to make sure we don't miss any of your posts!
A lot of fan content blogs will be running some great events around this time, and we highly encourage you to check them out! @choicesficwriterscreations, @choicesmonthlychallenge, @choicesoctober, @choicesnovchallenge, @choicesholidays, @choicesprompts, @choicespride, @choicesflashfics. If there are any other Choices fan content blogs you would like us to tag, let us know!
See you all at Halloween!! 🎃 👻 🦇 🎃 👻 🦇 🎃 👻 🦇
✅✅signal boosts are always appreciated!✅✅
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