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Speaker 1: Theme party of the podcast episode three, first and Last

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by Netta lja Ed.

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Speaker 2: We met at the game store. You noticed me first,

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and we ended up playing at the same table you've

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told me. My scarf caught your attention. My books kept it.

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We didn't exchange numbers. Unfortunately, I had to step away

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from D and D to study for an exam. I

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distinctly remember the look of confusion on your face when

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I said goodbye to the group, explaining why being gone.

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One day, I was gushing about critical role in the

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game shops discord server when you asked to message me directly.

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We hit it off right away. You gave me a

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reason to laugh every day. I was in a dark place,

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processing my dad's death while also starting out as a

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state all while dealing with keeping an estranged family at armsland.

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On the first night, I returned to D and D,

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still reeling from everything that was happening and unsure of

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my test results. You surprised me by asking me out

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of course, I said yes. For our first date. We

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had hot pots, eyes flash broth on your white and

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black shirts. I'm such a klutz. You must not have minded. Though.

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We spent five hours together and somehow it felt like

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no time at all. For our second date, you tried

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to teach me how to longboard. I had never tried

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anything like it before. Our biggest mistake was starting out

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on a slope. You held my hand trying to guide me,

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but I still ended up flat on my back, laughing

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while you chased down the board. On the third date,

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we went to your house. I'd never been alone with

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a guy at his place before, and I was so

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nervous I bounded up the sandwich I'd had for dinner.

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You never made me feel bad about it, though, in fact,

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you had an entire game plan for how to make

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me comfortable and more open on our dates. You explained

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that it was things like sitting against a wall at

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D and D, so I didn't feel trapped actively building

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up the relationship through discord first so it didn't feel

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like you were a stranger when we met up again,

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creating situations where holding hands wouldn't be awkward like longboarding.

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The amount of thought you had put towards me was

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unbelievably flattering. We had our traditions. Once a month, we'd

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have game night with your friends from high school, though

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we usually ended up doing more talking than playing, much

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to our chagrin with all of our busy lives. We

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even scheduled a night each month to watch TV together.

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Whatever the hot news show was, our group devalored it.

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Eventually we started a yearly tradition. Of course, you got

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put on the spot to give this event a name,

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the Nanual Bonfire, So silly. Everyone had a blast and

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all enjoyed the s'mores, and since I remember to pick

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up the halal mushmallows, I did too. During the summer,

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we would go boating with my family friends. I had

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been trying to awake surf all season, but I still

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couldn't get up on the board. Of course, you got

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up on the first try. I was so impressed and

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so proud. It was the perfect thing to show off

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to everyone. We'd go hiking, just the two of us.

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You'd turn it into a marathon, running me ragged mister

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guide at the cross country in high school. You always

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pushed me to do more than I believed I could.

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To celebrate you getting a new car, I arranged a

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National Park weekend trip for just us two. We experienced

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all four seasons in those few days. Driving up, we

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roasted from the heat despite the air conditioning. Luckily, we

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found a little waterfall to splash around in. The next day,

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we drove one hundred miles east where we hiked through

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ten feet of snow to see the sulfury hot springs. Okay,

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I trudged, you breezed right through. On the day we

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headed back, it was deliciously cool. We got a two

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of some amazing caverns. After we got home, you surprised

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me with a thank you. You hugged me from behind,

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a simple gesture that I had mentioned before, felt extra

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nice to me. Still using that game plan from when

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we first met. During the winter months, we loved the

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snowboard I'll never forget when you took me to Tahoe

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to see snow for the first time, so magical and

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felt so surreal. It felt that way every time we visited.

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Every year, I urge you to enjoy the more difficult

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slopes while I worked on the greens and blues. You

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had joined me. Afterwards, after three seasons of you patiently

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teaching me, I finally felt like a real snowboarder until

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I fell and broke my arm. It was strange to

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see you so unsure of what to do I had

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to tell you how to get help at the hospital.

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You were back to your usual self, cracking jokes and

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distracting me from the pain. We got to see what

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would be like to live together for the next three weeks,

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as you took care of me at your place, I

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relied on you for basic things like getting around and

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feeding us, even though you could not cook. Despite all

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the extra work I made for you, you confess that

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it was nice having me around. When you were with

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someone for a long time, you'll eventually develop some holiday traditions.

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We loved Halloween, but after hanging out candy for several years,

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we decided to go out with your friends for a change.

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We suffered Star Wars characters, but I went as Han

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Solo and you went as slave Princess Leah. That night,

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you were the center of attention every time we walked

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into a new bar. The reactions alone made it worse

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for you to freeze your butt off. The holiday season

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is busy, so of course your friend group arranged an

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annual tradition of a get together combining Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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Thanksgiving miss it was pot luck. Oh and one year

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my mom helped by making a lentil suit for everyone,

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and I made Egyptian goulash at your place. It's a

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deliciously layered buttered philade with cheese and brown leafs sandwiched

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in the middle. Unfortunately, it wasn't very crispy. I used

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too much Ghei woots. It didn't matter, though everyone loved it.

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The kitchen was one of the places where I could

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happily outshine you. That same year, for the white elfin

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gift exchange portion of the evening, you were able to

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outdo me once again. I went way overboard with my gift.

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I added too many things and nobody could decide if

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they wanted it all or not. You went with the

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targeted approach of finding a personalized gift for a friend

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that they couldn't resist. Last year, Christmas time meant driving

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to your parents' place each day. On Christmas Eve, we

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wrapped presents with the insane amount of wrapping paper. Your

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mom has some bit even older than you. Breakfast on

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Christmas Day was sausage and gravy on homemade biscuits. Since

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I don't eat pork, he thoughtfully asked what I would

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like instead and made me some over easy eggs. Afterwards,

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I worked on a puzzle with your family. You wouldn't

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since your color blind puzzles are annoying to you. One

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thing I wish we could have done together would be

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to celebrate Ramadan. I wouldn't make you fast, but you'd

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have to listen to me complaint of wanting to eat

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this or drink that, fantasizing about what tonight's meal would

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be and planning for the next. I would definitely want

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kuftaburgers and fries. I would have to be the grill

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master again. Since you're color blind. You would have a

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hard time telling when the burgers were done. But you'd

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be my sous chef doing all the chopping because apparently

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I can't cut something without also cutting myself. As far

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as the holiday, I drag you to visit my family,

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you'd promise to not go with my brother too much.

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My niece would be happy to see you. You've had

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a soft spot for her ever since she called you

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a princess when you first met. You were always willing

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to spend time with my family, even if, even if

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there seemed to be an invisible wall between you and them,

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since they aren't a national holiday. If or Aidladha fell

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on a weekday, getting together with family and family friends

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would have to be put off until the weekend. Those

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get togethers would always be a pot look. Mom would

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make everyone different types of Egyptian style mashi, different kind

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of rolls stuffed with herb rice, cabbage, grape leaves with

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added lemon, and veggies like bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant

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with herb rice. You would have an easier time mingling

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because the house would be full of people. You know

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how to motivate me. The only reason I'm comfortable in

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the water is because you taught me how to swim.

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You know how to calm me down when I'm anxious.

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You're the reason I pass an important exam to get

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into school. You know how to get me to smile

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and laugh. You would go the extra mile to bring

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joy to my day. You put so much emphasis on

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my happiness. Those are some of the things we would

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have done for the rest of our lives. I hate

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the circumstance we're in. There's deep love and friendship, but

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because of who we are, these traditions we've made together

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and the ones we haven't even begun, will never be

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more than what they are now. You fear your love

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will turn into your resentment. If you say the words

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I need you to say, our union would be based

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on a lie, because you'd be like me on the surface,

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but not any deeper, fearing you wouldn't be the man

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I deserve if you didn't fully believe. I've told you

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I don't need that from you. I know who and

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what you are, and I accept it. But you know

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I cannot marry someone who isn't Muslim. You are so

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cold when I asked you one last time to take

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a leap of faith. I understand your reasoning, and I

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can't be angry with you in this one most important thing.

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I wasn't enough for you to make the effort. I

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can't wait for you anymore, and you don't want me

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to wait, despite you starting to look into it. I

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hate that you making the choice appears easy even if

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it isn't.

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Speaker 1: It sucks.

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Speaker 2: It sucks so much. It's not your fault, it's no

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one's fault. I don't want someone who feels like they're

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being coerced to be with me. We both deserve to

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be with someone who wants us fully well. They'll always

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be in each other's lives. I must hold my best

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friend at a distance and eventually create new traditions without you.

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Speaker 1: Firsts and Last was written by nedda elsa Ed and

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Maretta Mose, starring nedda El Sayed as the narrator. This

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episode of Theme Party of the podcast was directed by

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Jordan Autumn Kalina, Sound design and engineering by Jamie Lewis,

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with additional music credits in the show notes. Production coordination

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by Moreta Mo's, story development by Alissa Esteban. The theme

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song for Theme Party the Podcast was composed by Bad Machine.

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Episode art by Alissa Esteban. This episode was produced by

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Netta Elseyad. The executive producer and host of Theme Party

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the Podcast is Mereta Mos. If you've enjoyed this episode,

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please consider supporting us on Patreon by visiting Patreon dot

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com slash Lengthy Tangent. Learn more about this episode and

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all of our shows at lengthy tangent dot com and

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follow us on social media. Our theme for this season

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has been family traditions. I've been Mereta Mo's and this

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has been Theme Party the Podcast. We'll just edit that

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part out Lengthy Tangent