princepotatosack

[princepotatosack]

Hispanic Cai says they're from the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago

thanks!! Pilsen is the biggest and most well known hispanic neighborhood in chicago and it's majority mexican american, so i guess this is supposed to imply that hispanic cai is mexican american!

#playchoices #along came treble #choices along came treble

[princepotatosack]

nabbed these screenshots from youtube, it looks like the area in chicago where the LI grew up is race determinant, fascinating!!! does anyone have a screenshot for the brown LI face?

#wasnt familiar with altgeld gardens but its a housing project on the far south side #back of the yards is south side as well. interesting that they decided to be really specific with this!! #chicago is actually pretty relatively segregated so im impressed with the attention to detail #playchoices #along came treble #choices along came treble

[princepotatosack]

does the act li have a tattoo of the CHICAGO FLAG????? HAHAHAHAHA YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

#playchoices #along came treble #CHICAGO MENTION!!!!!!!!!

[princepotatosack]

woolsey college

wool <- sheep

sheep get eaten by wolves

main characters are wolves

aaaaaaaaaand POST❗️

#idk what the symbolism even means but im easily entertained #playchoices #choices alpha #alpha choices #disclaimer i dont read the current releases anymore :( i just keep up through yt playthroughs bc im curous

[princepotatosack]

Glad you enjoyed this! Naming conventions are my special favorite research topic so it's really great to have someone else appreciate this information too<3

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

[princepotatosack]

The tan Drew is actually South Asian. Their CG files are labeled "bgz_timeline_romance_int_drew_party_male_southasian_night"/"bgz_timeline_romance_int_drew_party_female_southasian_night" and "bgz_timeline_romance_int_drew_rooftop_rain_southasian_male_night"/"bgz_timeline_romance_int_drew_rooftop_rain_southasian_female_night"

The main files are probably just called Asian to shorten it (and since there were no other LIs at the time with the male/female bodies who were South Asian or Indian). Even one of the separated files for male Drew is labeled as South Asian ("item_male_athlete_face_southasian_confident")

Oh thats super interesting!! I looked up some surnames used in India/Pakistan for a South Asian Drew and I found the Arabic Yousef, which could work (anyone is welcome to check me on this) if they have Muslim/Arabic roots? Or Yadav which is a very common Sanskrit surname

#roommates with benefits #choices roommates with benefits #roommates with benefits choices #drew young

[princepotatosack]

i'm actually dying bc I picked Asian Ash and used the surname Harada and gave my Middle Eastern Casey the surname Jamil 😭 ain't no way

us rn bro<3

#genius recognize genius........

[princepotatosack]

Awesomee information can you tell I just always love hearing about naming practices :-D

What If Choices' Race-customizable LIs Had Surnames Reflective Of Their Ethnicity?: An Experiment Just For Fun (Part 2/3)

Info in Part 1

Part 3

HOT COUTURE

Marco Diallo

This face option is described in the asset files as "Black". I did a cursory research and learned that there is a significant Black Italian community of immigrants from Cameroon, so that's my headcanon for him and his family. I chose the Fulani surname Diallo because it starts with a Di like Di Vincenzo.

Marco Diệp

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". The most significant Asian Italian community is Chinese Italians, but I didn't find a Chinese surname starting with the sound Di that sounded right to me. So I went with the Vietnamese Diệp.

HOT SHOT

Casey Jamil

These face options are described in the asset files as "Middle Eastern". The Arabic surname Jamil was a spelling match for Jameson, and this spelling appears to be common in Syria and Iraq. So if they had this surname they could be Syrian or Iraqi.

IMMORTAL DESIRES

Cassius Han / Cassandra Han

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". The Japanese surname Harada is a spelling match for Harlow but I already used Harada for the LI of Guarded. Also, I keep seeing people comparing the masc face to this one Kpop singer, I forget who, so it gave me the headcanon that these faces are Korean. The Korean surname Han seemed like a pretty solid match for Harlow, and it's also a Chinese surname too so they could be Chinese with this surname. Also I know fem Cas's full name is canonically Cassie but like many others on this internet website I am a Cassandra Harlow truther because I think it sounds better.

Gabriel Almánzar / Gabriela Almánzar

These face options are described in the asset files as "Latinx". Couldn't find any Spanish or Portuguese language surnames that start with "Ad" so I went with a Spanish surname that starts with "A" and retains the "A-al-ar" sounds from Adalhard.

LAWS OF ATTRACTION

Gabe Ryu

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". Almost went with the Korean surname Rhee but I already chose it for TPS LI and also I think the Korean surname Ryu looks cooler on a law firm plaque. lol

MS. MATCH

Jack Mansour / Jacqueline Mansour

These face options are described in the asset files as "Arabic". Mansour was a close Arabic-language sound match to Monroe. This spelling seems to be common across all of North Africa and the Middle East. So I guess they could be from any of those places with that surname.

MY TWO FIRST LOVES

Noah Higuchi

This face option is descrbed in the asset files as "Asian". Another LI with a surname starting with "Har" which can correspond with the Japanese surname Harada but I already used that and also "Noah Harada" has too many open "A" sounds in a row for my liking. So I just chose a cool sounding Japanese name starting with the letter H because this face option looks Japanese to me.

Ava Lozano

This face option is described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Lozano was the closest Spanish-language surname I could find to Lawrence. The Spanish form of the first name Lawrence is Lorenzo, but it doesn't appear to be used as a surname like Lawrence is in English-speaking countries.

Mason Jiménez

This face option is described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Couldn't find Spanish-language surnames that start with the same sound as Jennings. If my memory is correct I don't think Spanish has that sound? Jiménez has a lot of the same letters though so? That should work?

THE NANNY AFFAIR

Sam Delgado / Samantha Delgado

These face options are described in the asset files as "Hispanic". I considered the Spanish surname de la Torre because it retained the D-L-T-O sounds from Dalton but I thought Delgado sounded cooler……?

THE PHANTOM AGENT

Karan Gill / Sameera Gill

These face options are described in the files as "Indian". I considered the surnames Giri (broadly Indian, common in Nepal I think?) and Ghauri (common in Pakistan as far as I can tell?) for sound matches for Gray but Gill (Punjabi) sounded cooler. Also there was nothing necessarily wrong with the names Callum and Samara other than I don't like them. So I assigned them new Indian names…….

Part 1

Part 3

[princepotatosack]

@itlovesinthewoods Thanks for your input, I appreciate your ramble! It's really interesting what you said about the associations with Pashtun background, it would've been really neat to see what PB would've done if they actually fleshed out Gray's background. I chose Karan for masc Gray cause it sounded similar to Callum, but how about Karam? I found that in some Punjabi lists and I think it sounds more similar than Karan lol.

What If Choices' Race-customizable LIs Had Surnames Reflective Of Their Ethnicity?: An Experiment Just For Fun (Part 2/3)

Info in Part 1

Part 3

HOT COUTURE

Marco Diallo

This face option is described in the asset files as "Black". I did a cursory research and learned that there is a significant Black Italian community of immigrants from Cameroon, so that's my headcanon for him and his family. I chose the Fulani surname Diallo because it starts with a Di like Di Vincenzo.

Marco Diệp

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". The most significant Asian Italian community is Chinese Italians, but I didn't find a Chinese surname starting with the sound Di that sounded right to me. So I went with the Vietnamese Diệp.

HOT SHOT

Casey Jamil

These face options are described in the asset files as "Middle Eastern". The Arabic surname Jamil was a spelling match for Jameson, and this spelling appears to be common in Syria and Iraq. So if they had this surname they could be Syrian or Iraqi.

IMMORTAL DESIRES

Cassius Han / Cassandra Han

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". The Japanese surname Harada is a spelling match for Harlow but I already used Harada for the LI of Guarded. Also, I keep seeing people comparing the masc face to this one Kpop singer, I forget who, so it gave me the headcanon that these faces are Korean. The Korean surname Han seemed like a pretty solid match for Harlow, and it's also a Chinese surname too so they could be Chinese with this surname. Also I know fem Cas's full name is canonically Cassie but like many others on this internet website I am a Cassandra Harlow truther because I think it sounds better.

Gabriel Almánzar / Gabriela Almánzar

These face options are described in the asset files as "Latinx". Couldn't find any Spanish or Portuguese language surnames that start with "Ad" so I went with a Spanish surname that starts with "A" and retains the "A-al-ar" sounds from Adalhard.

LAWS OF ATTRACTION

Gabe Ryu

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". Almost went with the Korean surname Rhee but I already chose it for TPS LI and also I think the Korean surname Ryu looks cooler on a law firm plaque. lol

MS. MATCH

Jack Mansour / Jacqueline Mansour

These face options are described in the asset files as "Arabic". Mansour was a close Arabic-language sound match to Monroe. This spelling seems to be common across all of North Africa and the Middle East. So I guess they could be from any of those places with that surname.

MY TWO FIRST LOVES

Noah Higuchi

This face option is descrbed in the asset files as "Asian". Another LI with a surname starting with "Har" which can correspond with the Japanese surname Harada but I already used that and also "Noah Harada" has too many open "A" sounds in a row for my liking. So I just chose a cool sounding Japanese name starting with the letter H because this face option looks Japanese to me.

Ava Lozano

This face option is described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Lozano was the closest Spanish-language surname I could find to Lawrence. The Spanish form of the first name Lawrence is Lorenzo, but it doesn't appear to be used as a surname like Lawrence is in English-speaking countries.

Mason Jiménez

This face option is described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Couldn't find Spanish-language surnames that start with the same sound as Jennings. If my memory is correct I don't think Spanish has that sound? Jiménez has a lot of the same letters though so? That should work?

THE NANNY AFFAIR

Sam Delgado / Samantha Delgado

These face options are described in the asset files as "Hispanic". I considered the Spanish surname de la Torre because it retained the D-L-T-O sounds from Dalton but I thought Delgado sounded cooler……?

THE PHANTOM AGENT

Karan Gill / Sameera Gill

These face options are described in the files as "Indian". I considered the surnames Giri (broadly Indian, common in Nepal I think?) and Ghauri (common in Pakistan as far as I can tell?) for sound matches for Gray but Gill (Punjabi) sounded cooler. Also there was nothing necessarily wrong with the names Callum and Samara other than I don't like them. So I assigned them new Indian names…….

Part 1

Part 3

[princepotatosack]

@gaiuskamilah Thanks for your input, I like Adriano for Adalhard!

What If Choices' Race-customizable LIs Had Surnames Reflective Of Their Ethnicity?: An Experiment Just For Fun (Part 2/3)

Info in Part 1

Part 3

HOT COUTURE

Marco Diallo

This face option is described in the asset files as "Black". I did a cursory research and learned that there is a significant Black Italian community of immigrants from Cameroon, so that's my headcanon for him and his family. I chose the Fulani surname Diallo because it starts with a Di like Di Vincenzo.

Marco Diệp

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". The most significant Asian Italian community is Chinese Italians, but I didn't find a Chinese surname starting with the sound Di that sounded right to me. So I went with the Vietnamese Diệp.

HOT SHOT

Casey Jamil

These face options are described in the asset files as "Middle Eastern". The Arabic surname Jamil was a spelling match for Jameson, and this spelling appears to be common in Syria and Iraq. So if they had this surname they could be Syrian or Iraqi.

IMMORTAL DESIRES

Cassius Han / Cassandra Han

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". The Japanese surname Harada is a spelling match for Harlow but I already used Harada for the LI of Guarded. Also, I keep seeing people comparing the masc face to this one Kpop singer, I forget who, so it gave me the headcanon that these faces are Korean. The Korean surname Han seemed like a pretty solid match for Harlow, and it's also a Chinese surname too so they could be Chinese with this surname. Also I know fem Cas's full name is canonically Cassie but like many others on this internet website I am a Cassandra Harlow truther because I think it sounds better.

Gabriel Almánzar / Gabriela Almánzar

These face options are described in the asset files as "Latinx". Couldn't find any Spanish or Portuguese language surnames that start with "Ad" so I went with a Spanish surname that starts with "A" and retains the "A-al-ar" sounds from Adalhard.

LAWS OF ATTRACTION

Gabe Ryu

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". Almost went with the Korean surname Rhee but I already chose it for TPS LI and also I think the Korean surname Ryu looks cooler on a law firm plaque. lol

MS. MATCH

Jack Mansour / Jacqueline Mansour

These face options are described in the asset files as "Arabic". Mansour was a close Arabic-language sound match to Monroe. This spelling seems to be common across all of North Africa and the Middle East. So I guess they could be from any of those places with that surname.

MY TWO FIRST LOVES

Noah Higuchi

This face option is descrbed in the asset files as "Asian". Another LI with a surname starting with "Har" which can correspond with the Japanese surname Harada but I already used that and also "Noah Harada" has too many open "A" sounds in a row for my liking. So I just chose a cool sounding Japanese name starting with the letter H because this face option looks Japanese to me.

Ava Lozano

This face option is described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Lozano was the closest Spanish-language surname I could find to Lawrence. The Spanish form of the first name Lawrence is Lorenzo, but it doesn't appear to be used as a surname like Lawrence is in English-speaking countries.

Mason Jiménez

This face option is described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Couldn't find Spanish-language surnames that start with the same sound as Jennings. If my memory is correct I don't think Spanish has that sound? Jiménez has a lot of the same letters though so? That should work?

THE NANNY AFFAIR

Sam Delgado / Samantha Delgado

These face options are described in the asset files as "Hispanic". I considered the Spanish surname de la Torre because it retained the D-L-T-O sounds from Dalton but I thought Delgado sounded cooler……?

THE PHANTOM AGENT

Karan Gill / Sameera Gill

These face options are described in the files as "Indian". I considered the surnames Giri (broadly Indian, common in Nepal I think?) and Ghauri (common in Pakistan as far as I can tell?) for sound matches for Gray but Gill (Punjabi) sounded cooler. Also there was nothing necessarily wrong with the names Callum and Samara other than I don't like them. So I assigned them new Indian names…….

Part 1

Part 3

[princepotatosack]

@gaiuskamilah Thanks so much for your input!! I like Yulo for Young, I think it sounds closer to Young. and I definitely knew Villanueva is pronounced like that in Spanish haha so I don't know why I wrote that about the "il" sound lmfao. And I totally agree with you, I have all the same thoughts about the "Hispanic" descriptor

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

Info in Part 1

Part 2

THE PRINCESS SWAP

Derya

This is a special case and not only because Clarke doesn't have a canon surname: the top row of face options are described in the asset files as "Middle Eastern" and the bottom row are described as "Caucasian". Caucasian is used in the U.S. interchangeably with "white" even though the Caucasus region is in east Europe/west Asia and can be interpreted to encompass parts of Turkey.

Clarke's family members (including parents of both face options) all have Turkish names and if I’m remembering correctly, it’s heavily implied in the text and art that their country is based on Turkey. Which makes the name Clarke really confounding. I wanted to replace it with a Turkish name but I couldn’t find anything that sounded remotely similar. So I chose the unisex name Derya because I like how it sounds!!!!!

Devin Rhee

These face options are described in the asset files as “Asian”. The masc face option’s haircut leaves me no choice but to headcanon him (and by extension the fem face option) as Korean. What the extremely common Korean surname Rhee lacks in being spelled similar to Wright, it makes up for in sounding kinda like Wright. If you were hearing it spoken from another room. Lmao

QUEEN B

Ian Wang / Ina Wang

These face options are described in the asset files as “Asian”. As discussed in Part 1, there are not a lot of sound matches in Asian languages or Spanish for King(sley). I did read a theory online that this LI’s name comes from the fact that they’re the counterpart to the MC who is the titular queen of the series, so I went with the thematic route and chose the surname Wang, which means “king” in Chinese and Korean. The fem face option reminds me of several Korean women I know so I headcanon these face options as Korean, although Wang is a rare surname in Korea whereas it is one of the most common (if not thee most common?) surnames in China. So I guess they could also be Chinese?

Ian Reyes / Ina Reyes

These face options are described in the asset files as “Hispanic”. Same as above, not too many Spanish sound matches, king/queen themes and motifs, etc., so I chose the Spanish surname Reyes which means “kings”.

ROOMMATES WITH BENEFITS

Drew Yáñez

This one was so hard lmao. These face options are described in the asset files as "Hispanic" and there were not a lot of Spanish-language surnames that are a sound match for Young.

Drew Yadao

Also a hard one! These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian" which is really broad, and they don't look "typically" East Asian to me or like any East Asian person I know. The masc one reminds me of someone I know who's Filipino so I'm going with that for my headcanon. Again not a lot of sound matches for Young just like in general, and I decided on the Ilocano surname Yadao because it was one of the only Filipino surnames I could find that started with a Y.

SHIP OF DREAMS

Theodore Kassavetis / Theodora Kassavetis

These face options are described in the asset files as "Mediterranean", although the wiki does note that there's a scene where they say they're Greek. So I initially decided on the Greek surname Karakostas since it kept the "K-AR-T" sound pattern from Carter but then I changed my mind and gave them the surname Kassavetis because I like John Cassavetes the Greek-American director.

SURRENDER

Reagan Tong

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". The "th" sound in Thorne that's found in very few other languages like come on now don't piss me off. These face options honestly give Vietnamese to me but I couldn't find any Vietnamese surnames that matched Thorne and the Cantonese surname Tong sounded closer in my opinion.

UNBRIDLED

Ryder Villanueva

The face option on the left is described in the asset files as "Hispanic", and the one on the right is described as "Filipino". A unique situation here as many people in the Philippines have Spanish-language surnames and some speak Spanish due to Spain's historical colonization of the Philippines, meaning "Hispanic" can sometimes apply to Filipinos. We're touching on a complicated issue of using "Hispanic" as an ethnic descriptor but this post is not the place to discuss that. Sooooo since Spanish does not traditionally use the letter W (?) there aren't any Spanish-language surnames starting with W, and the only surname from a Filipino language starting with W that I cound find was Wenceslao which I didn't think was a good match for Wilson. So we're going with the Spanish Villanueva which has the initial "il" sound . Also means "new house" which I think is thematically appropriate for this book? Idk I don't have VIP so I can't play it yet and I just read the summary.

Part 1

Part 2

[princepotatosack]

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

Info in Part 1

Part 2

THE PRINCESS SWAP

Derya

This is a special case and not only because Clarke doesn't have a canon surname: the top row of face options are described in the asset files as "Middle Eastern" and the bottom row are described as "Caucasian". Caucasian is used in the U.S. interchangeably with "white" even though the Caucasus region is in east Europe/west Asia and can be interpreted to encompass parts of Turkey.

Clarke's family members (including parents of both face options) all have Turkish names and if I’m remembering correctly, it’s heavily implied in the text and art that their country is based on Turkey. Which makes the name Clarke really confounding. I wanted to replace it with a Turkish name but I couldn’t find anything that sounded remotely similar. So I chose the unisex name Derya because I like how it sounds!!!!!

Devin Rhee

These face options are described in the asset files as “Asian”. The masc face option’s haircut leaves me no choice but to headcanon him (and by extension the fem face option) as Korean. What the extremely common Korean surname Rhee lacks in being spelled similar to Wright, it makes up for in sounding kinda like Wright. If you were hearing it spoken from another room. Lmao

QUEEN B

Ian Wang / Ina Wang

These face options are described in the asset files as “Asian”. As discussed in Part 1, there are not a lot of sound matches in Asian languages or Spanish for King(sley). I did read a theory online that this LI’s name comes from the fact that they’re the counterpart to the MC who is the titular queen of the series, so I went with the thematic route and chose the surname Wang, which means “king” in Chinese and Korean. The fem face option reminds me of several Korean women I know so I headcanon these face options as Korean, although Wang is a rare surname in Korea whereas it is one of the most common (if not thee most common?) surnames in China. So I guess they could also be Chinese?

Ian Reyes / Ina Reyes

These face options are described in the asset files as “Hispanic”. Same as above, not too many Spanish sound matches, king/queen themes and motifs, etc., so I chose the Spanish surname Reyes which means “kings”.

ROOMMATES WITH BENEFITS

Drew Yáñez

This one was so hard lmao. These face options are described in the asset files as "Hispanic" and there were not a lot of Spanish-language surnames that are a sound match for Young.

Drew Yadao

Also a hard one! These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian" which is really broad, and they don't look "typically" East Asian to me or like any East Asian person I know. The masc one reminds me of someone I know who's Filipino so I'm going with that for my headcanon. Again not a lot of sound matches for Young just like in general, and I decided on the Ilocano surname Yadao because it was one of the only Filipino surnames I could find that started with a Y.

SHIP OF DREAMS

Theodore Kassavetis / Theodora Kassavetis

These face options are described in the asset files as "Mediterranean", although the wiki does note that there's a scene where they say they're Greek. So I initially decided on the Greek surname Karakostas since it kept the "K-AR-T" sound pattern from Carter but then I changed my mind and gave them the surname Kassavetis because I like John Cassavetes the Greek-American director.

SURRENDER

Reagan Tong

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". The "th" sound in Thorne that's found in very few other languages like come on now don't piss me off. These face options honestly give Vietnamese to me but I couldn't find any Vietnamese surnames that matched Thorne and the Cantonese surname Tong sounded closer in my opinion.

UNBRIDLED

Ryder Villanueva

The face option on the left is described in the asset files as "Hispanic", and the one on the right is described as "Filipino". A unique situation here as many people in the Philippines have Spanish-language surnames and some speak Spanish due to Spain's historical colonization of the Philippines, meaning "Hispanic" can sometimes apply to Filipinos. We're touching on a complicated issue of using "Hispanic" as an ethnic descriptor but this post is not the place to discuss that. Sooooo since Spanish does not traditionally use the letter W (?) there aren't any Spanish-language surnames starting with W, and the only surname from a Filipino language starting with W that I cound find was Wenceslao which I didn't think was a good match for Wilson. So we're going with the Spanish Villanueva which has the initial "il" sound . Also means "new house" which I think is thematically appropriate for this book? Idk I don't have VIP so I can't play it yet and I just read the summary.

Part 1

Part 2

#playchoices #the princess swap #choices the princess swap #the princess swap choices #devin wright #queen b #choices queen b #queen b choices #ian kingsley #ina kingsley #ship of dreams #choices ship of dreams #ship of dreams choices #theo carter #surrender choices #choices surrender #reagan thorne #unbridled choices #choices unbridled #unbridled: an untameable story #ryder wilson

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What If Choices' Race-customizable LIs Had Surnames Reflective Of Their Ethnicity?: An Experiment Just For Fun (Part 2/3)

Info in Part 1

Part 3

HOT COUTURE

Marco Diallo

This face option is described in the asset files as "Black". I did a cursory research and learned that there is a significant Black Italian community of immigrants from Cameroon, so that's my headcanon for him and his family. I chose the Fulani surname Diallo because it starts with a Di like Di Vincenzo.

Marco Diệp

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". The most significant Asian Italian community is Chinese Italians, but I didn't find a Chinese surname starting with the sound Di that sounded right to me. So I went with the Vietnamese Diệp.

HOT SHOT

Casey Jamil

These face options are described in the asset files as "Middle Eastern". The Arabic surname Jamil was a spelling match for Jameson, and this spelling appears to be common in Syria and Iraq. So if they had this surname they could be Syrian or Iraqi.

IMMORTAL DESIRES

Cassius Han / Cassandra Han

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". The Japanese surname Harada is a spelling match for Harlow but I already used Harada for the LI of Guarded. Also, I keep seeing people comparing the masc face to this one Kpop singer, I forget who, so it gave me the headcanon that these faces are Korean. The Korean surname Han seemed like a pretty solid match for Harlow, and it's also a Chinese surname too so they could be Chinese with this surname. Also I know fem Cas's full name is canonically Cassie but like many others on this internet website I am a Cassandra Harlow truther because I think it sounds better.

Gabriel Almánzar / Gabriela Almánzar

These face options are described in the asset files as "Latinx". Couldn't find any Spanish or Portuguese language surnames that start with "Ad" so I went with a Spanish surname that starts with "A" and retains the "A-al-ar" sounds from Adalhard.

LAWS OF ATTRACTION

Gabe Ryu

This face option is described in the asset files as "Asian". Almost went with the Korean surname Rhee but I already chose it for TPS LI and also I think the Korean surname Ryu looks cooler on a law firm plaque. lol

MS. MATCH

Jack Mansour / Jacqueline Mansour

These face options are described in the asset files as "Arabic". Mansour was a close Arabic-language sound match to Monroe. This spelling seems to be common across all of North Africa and the Middle East. So I guess they could be from any of those places with that surname.

MY TWO FIRST LOVES

Noah Higuchi

This face option is descrbed in the asset files as "Asian". Another LI with a surname starting with "Har" which can correspond with the Japanese surname Harada but I already used that and also "Noah Harada" has too many open "A" sounds in a row for my liking. So I just chose a cool sounding Japanese name starting with the letter H because this face option looks Japanese to me.

Ava Lozano

This face option is described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Lozano was the closest Spanish-language surname I could find to Lawrence. The Spanish form of the first name Lawrence is Lorenzo, but it doesn't appear to be used as a surname like Lawrence is in English-speaking countries.

Mason Jiménez

This face option is described in the asset files as "Hispanic". Couldn't find Spanish-language surnames that start with the same sound as Jennings. If my memory is correct I don't think Spanish has that sound? Jiménez has a lot of the same letters though so? That should work?

THE NANNY AFFAIR

Sam Delgado / Samantha Delgado

These face options are described in the asset files as "Hispanic". I considered the Spanish surname de la Torre because it retained the D-L-T-O sounds from Dalton but I thought Delgado sounded cooler……?

THE PHANTOM AGENT

Karan Gill / Sameera Gill

These face options are described in the files as "Indian". I considered the surnames Giri (broadly Indian, common in Nepal I think?) and Ghauri (common in Pakistan as far as I can tell?) for sound matches for Gray but Gill (Punjabi) sounded cooler. Also there was nothing necessarily wrong with the names Callum and Samara other than I don't like them. So I assigned them new Indian names…….

Part 1

Part 3

#playchoices #choices hot couture #hot couture choices #marco di vincenzo #hot shot choices #choices hot shot #casey jameson #immortal desires #immortal desires choices #choices immortal desires #cas harlow #gabe adalhard #laws of attraction #choices laws of attraction #laws of attraction choices #gabe ricci #ms. match #ms. match choices #jack monroe #jacque monroe #my two first loves #my two first loves choices #choices my two first loves #noah harris #mason jennings #ava lawrence #the nanny affair #the nanny affair choices #choices the nanny affair #sam dalton

[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

#playchoices #choices alpha #alpha choices #channing lowe #choices baby bump #baby bump choices #clint covington #choices dirty little secrets #dirty little secrets choices #charles king #charlotte king #distant shores #choices distant shores #distant shores choices #edward mortemer #the duchess affair #the duchess affair choices #nat pippin #first comes love #first comes love choices #blake marshall #choices foreign affairs #foreign affairs choices #blaine hayes #choices guarded #guarded choices #ash harada

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THREEP BE FUCKING?!?

[princepotatosack]

just remembered that “volare” is also italian for “flying”. ⬆️+250 slay points

wait ok ok ok i know its been almost 4 years of opportunities for me to notice this but does mal’s surname volari come from the french word for thief (voleur) because that would kinda be a gigaslay

[princepotatosack]

merry bladesmas to one and to all. see you all again in 2027 for blades 3

#playchoices #blades of light and shadow