#mcl dake

[mrs-veilmont]

screenshot and whover mcl character/s you get are the ones who make up your personality☘️ good luck!!

[madsmikkelsonsharlot]

!!!!!! 

Lys Baby getting jealous is my favorite 

[joyxcelestia]

Some of My Candy Love aesthetics of Dake with some face claim.

The player Dake is portrayed as Rudy Pankow, an American actor.

The choice of the face claim are my opinion, that’s how I see Dake for the purpose of my Wattpad stories.

Edits made by me.

I hope that you like the aesthetics of Dake.

Have a great day❤️

[eldaryadiary]

Dake: A toast. To the woman who came roaring into my life like a one-eyed wombat.

Candy:

Dake: It's a good thing.

[secretsandpurplethoughtss]

Moodboards

I'll add more and more to this, but here are some moodboards for some characters I'm writing fanfics about!

Castiel🎸🐕

Ella (Castiel's girlfriend) 🛍️💗

Lysander 🎶🐇

Crystal (Lys' girlfriend) 🎤🐎

Armin👾🎲

Violet (Armin's girlfriend) 🎮📝

Nathaniel 🐈📚

Esha (Nathaniel's girlfriend) 🥼🪻

Kentin 🍪🎖️

Vanya (Kentin's girlfriend) 🧶🧘‍♀️

Hyun 🍰🍵

Lexi (Hyun's girlfriend)����🌊

Dake 🌊🌶️

Priya⚖️🏳️‍🌈

Laura (Priya's girlfriend)🧠🍷

Rayan🖼️🎓

Chelsie (Rayan's girlfriend)🎨☕

Amber 📸🥂

[magic-belodie]

When Do The LI Fall In Love From MCL Is Online!

[thedevilprobs]

Yo en 2013: oh qué es este juego llamado corazón de melón :0 voy a jugarlo

Mí novio ahora: se parece a Kentin, ropa/hobbies de Armin, modales de Lysandro, reputación de Nathaniel y personalidad de Castiel

Y hornyness de Dakota oop

[serenithyhalliwell]

Portada del último capítulo de mi fanfic de Corazón de Melón, Viviendo en un isekai en el Sweet Amoris, capítulo 67 (https://www.wattpad.com/1317907980-viviendo-un-isekai-en-el-sweet-amoris-coraz%C3%B3n-de)

[kanraandchrome]

Opinion on the LIs of MCL New Gen

I WAS RIGHT ABOUT RED SHADOW LEGEND. Anyways, here are my two cents about the characters, their designs and hopes I have for their routes.

Devon

I really love his eyes full of wonders, since you have to be extrovert and always searching for new ideas when you work in event management (how to market it, how to please both the clients and the people you're going to source the project to, finding catchy sentences or downright awful puns) but I love his hands even more, the way the interior is lighter, his long fingers, it reminds me of Mahershala Ali's hands and I hope he was one of the models to create the character. His hair are also a nice touch, especially the colors blending ! Seeing him in bright colors is refreshing, he seems fun and full of peps ! Sure black clothes give a more classy vibe, but we're managing events not burials. And do you even know how bright are the colors of some African clothes (search for dashikis, they are amazing and bright and joyful and...) ? I'm overall really happy to see a black man not bald nor fully dressed in black because god forbid they wear colors.

I'm hoping for a route like Rayan's, with a bit of conflict because dating your boss can lead to a lot of inequalities and risks for the low-rank involved, but I'm pretty sure we won't get a lot of dramas this season (apart coming from players who are so chronically online they can't not play a game that will make them miserable but that's another issue). I think he might have an ex ? Or past relationships that failed because his balance between work and personal life is bad ? Maybe Candy and her freshness/ability to surprise him and take him out to touch grass will be the balance he needs ? Honestly I'm hoping for praises from him, awful puns, dad jokes and a lot of complicity.

Roy

Oh, is he gonna be the Castiel of the game, but more chill ? People seem to love him a lot already and I can't fault them, he's handsome, looks nice and has tattoos (you can see it on his right shoulder, the black strip). His long hair looks very nice to braid, and I can just picture him as the outdoor guy, the one who always want to see the places the events are gonna take place since he's probably very good with spatial thinking !

He looks a bit "bland" at first sight, but I'm sure he'll show another side, probably more caring once he notices MC is not here to only get in his pants. He looks like he'd listen to any rant without taking side and just feed you until the anger dies down. Himbo maybe ? We'll see ! But he looks like the most gentlemanly of them all and I'm sure he'll be the one to ask Candy out first, probably after a date to the beach or so. Dake style but less flirty ? he's my least liked LI so I have a hard time thinking about possibilities about him.

Amanda

Oooooh she looks like a Targaryan !! Joke aside, she looks preppy enough and is probably the most down to earth of them all (and not just because she's a Taurus). I'm thinking that maybe, she'll get Yeleen's kind of personality ? The fair but harsh one ? She'll get the job done for sure, and the color palette is really soft and fashionable. Having a plus size LI is already a remarkable step forward, but making her so pretty AND dateable ? Now that's improvement.

And I can already picture people saying "they'll ruin the wlw romance like they did with Priya" but Jesus Christ and all his Apostles combined, didn't you notice Chino wasn't the one managing it ? That all the mistakes you blame on her are actually Uncoven's creators' mistakes ? That they sabotaged everything (MCL, Elda S2) just because they were so woke and so enlightened ?? Now that they're out of it, I'm pretty sure we'll finally have nice things, and without misandry nor biphobia. I'm hoping an enemies or rivals to lovers with her, just like I hoped one with Yeleen uwu.

Thomas

I WAS RIGHT ABOUT HIM FROM THE START. Ok time to be serious, his design is really nice, the high cheekbones, the milky white skin, he lost his freckles but gained piercing eyes looking directly in your soul and his curls look so nice to ruffle. He has the most guarded pose out of the four and is skinny, which gives us two "no six pack abs" characters (thank Gods beemoov). I don't know if he still plays the guitar, but that could be one of his special interests along a lot of things we need to discover about him.

My guess is that, as we saw him being precocious, he's neuroD and will be the harshest without meaning harm. You ask him something and he answers the raw truth, which could give a very good dynamic depending on the Candy's personality, which could also give us an interesting dynamic when dating or falling in love ? Like not touching but hesitantly grabbing her sleeve between two fingers, or gifts, or stuttering, or all of the above. I just hope he's aloof enough for Candy to have to "run after him" (no harassment involved) just to show him she cares about him, and so he could open up at his own rhythm. A soft slowburn or an abrupt hook up ? I don't know, I hope he surprises me a lot !

[taylormiharu]

Okay, so pre-registration for MCL New Gen is going, who will be playing?

[i-donot-forget]

I had stayed out of the debate (but believe me I have read everything) and I feel that the whole problem with the plot of episode 8 is the lightness with which they take the situation. what is the situation? with all its letters. sexually harassing a co-worker outside of work.

Beemoov is not afraid of plots with sensitive themes and that is part of the reason why I will always play his games (as long as they are good) because they bring something different, made up in cliches but different and now I will list situations where themes of sexual violence are treated by Beemoov correctly to contrast the uncomfortable situation of NG8.

MCL HL Dake and the famous image where he sees us in our underwear, I got it but I know there is an important part of the fandom that doesn't like Dake for the same reason, because he doesn't listen and doesn't respect, BUT THE CHARACTER IS LIKE THAT SINCE WE KNOW HIM.

MCL UL we are assaulted in the first episodes, the situation is what it is, some guys tried to abuse us in an alley. And that little situation that happens in the first episodes is left to rest, the trauma sleeps inside Candy until it explodes much later, because it is what it is, an abuse towards our person.

Eldarya Lance kidnaps us and takes us with him for many days, when we return to HQ Karuto asks us if Lance abused us, because he is violent, unpredictable and dangerous. And yes there were some moments where Lance puts his hands on us with other intentions, the issue is treated for what it is again, abuse and violence.

MCL LL Rayan is accused of harassing/abusing a college student, we all know what happens, what happens to Rayan and how the whole situation almost ends with him. Again they treat the situation for what it is… Abuse/ Harassment.

So with all the respect in the world, with all the LOVE I feel for MCL and Eldarya, it's not an issue of “it's because it's a game and it doesn't have to be realistic” or whatever the excuse is. Sexual harassment is BAD, Beemoov in different situations has shown us that it is BAD, that it leaves TRAUMAS in those who suffer it, don't come to me NOW all these years later to say that it doesn't have to be realistic.

it's as simple as if Devon doesn't want to talk about his first time, doesn't want to spy on Jason, respects his own and others privacy, why would he want the whole office to see Roy naked…at least to me it doesn't make sense. They could have handled the situation in a different way maybe for so many jokes, be left with the curiosity of tasting Roy's “forbidden pleasure”.. It would have been just as funny if they all bumped into each other in the pool by accident, not looking to spy on Roy but to go swimming naked because it just sounded a little cool and that's all.

it was a MISTAKE the way they handled the plot of Ep 8, yes, does that mean they are the worst in the world? no. Can they make mistakes from time to time? of course they can, the problem is when the company is not able to say even if they will take into consideration our opinions, personally I don't want anything more than “in the future we will try to do better” and do you know why I want that? because I KNOW THEY CAN, I HAVE SEEN THEM, the fandom KNOWS that Beemoov can do better, because they have games that prove it, we don't hate the company WE LOVE THE GAME AND WE WANT IT TO BE THE BEST.

I just remembered that a couple of years ago, when they first started working on New Gen, Beemoov shared a survey so that they could take players' opinions into account as they created the new game, and this was a section of that survey

So what we see today in game, is a direct consequence of the results of this survey.

Social media isn't representative of the totality of people playing this game. Also, being vocal doesn't mean being the majority, the number of people that have contacted me in private after I posted my last message saying that they agree but that they won't speak because they don't want to be harassed and fight on the internet...

[mrs-veilmont]

Castiel's Jealousy Moment

i realized i live for the drama in that scene

[madsmikkelsonsharlot]

But... But I don’t want to call him a creep. Where is the dialogue option to go back to his place?!

[joyxcelestia]

Some of My Candy Love aesthetics of Marina with some face claim.

The shy Marina is portrayed as Anna Cathcart, a Canadian actress.

The choice of the face claim are my opinion, that’s how I see Marina for the purpose of my Wattpad stories.

Edits made by me.

I hope that you like the aesthetics of Marina.

Have a great day❤️

[truly-morgan]

Judging the My Candy Love redesign

[Long Post!!]

So I've been replaying Amour Sucré (or My Candy Love for my English folks) and got curious about what the redesign looked like. I've played the game in the past from 2012-2014 ish, ended up deleting my accounts in 2016-ish and then finally came back like, a week or two ago.

I know the design for some has changed quite a lot, but it's been so long since I last played it without the redesign so I'll check that out!

So this post will be me judging all the characters that have had redesign (and bonus with either even older design or first concept). Maybe later on I'll make a post about the reaction spirits, but for now, it's only the design with the neutral poses.

I won't be adding some of the outfits that are added later on in Episodes if they weren't in a previous version (just so I don't end up with too many outfits for some character). This will also include "one time" used outfits, like the track suit for example.

Also am doing this in alphabetical order just because it's easier for me.

Aunty Agatha

I'll say, the new design didn't change much, I'll put aunty in the "Just updated the art style" folder (since it is what happened to many). Though, I think the wings were a bit more interesting in the older version, a bit more detailed. Now they look more like cracked stones.

And... we won't talk about the older design. The overall design is the same, but the art style was... not it. Changing the wand for a heart though is an interesting choice that I like. The wings were also cool, although I do feel like the details in them are a bit hard to see, but it could be the quality of the picture too.

Alexy

I'll be totally honest, I prefer the older design for Alexy. I think the shirt was more interesting, the pants were cooler (I'd legit want them), I also like the pose a lot for some reason. I don't know why, but I feel like the collar of his new shirt and his headphone just sit a bit weird and awkwardly on his neck.

I am sure the older design would look just as good in the new art style as it did before. I don't know if it's a question of animation of not, but am certain it could have worked.

Armin

Another "Updated Art Style" character, Armin looks just as good as he did before in my opinion. I'd argue that I would probably have left a bit more spikiness to the hair on his neck (same for Alexy obviously). This is really the only critic I have, the hair looks really smooth. Probably not my favourite outfit of all the characters, but I like it.

Ambre

Nothing changed much for Ambre in the newer version, although I think it is a bit more detailed for some parts and the proportions are better too. I also think the frills of the shirt look better, and I personally prefer the newer colours.

Although I do think the jeans have lost in details though (but I guess it is more hidden most of the time).

And I know concept art is just concept art but... Damn. I have lots of difficulties sometimes with the pre-2011 design. Interesting how her overall outfit didn't change since her concept tho.

Boris

Okay, this teacher was never my fav, but boy does he look WAY better now. I feel like part of why I found him a bit creepy was the design, somehow (I remember really not liking him). This is totally an "updated new art style" that was really needed.

For one, his proportions are way better and his muscle are GOOD, keep it up, my man! No more yaoi hand and giant rose either, just big muscle that looks more real >:)

No more nips tho :'3

Capucine

Another "Updated to new art style". I also like the new version though, I think it looks pretty cute.

Though I'll say I did like the stray strand of hair from the previous version, and something about her expression gives me another vibe. A bit more... I don't know, sneaky? Like she's hiding something? Maybe it's the shading on her forehead that gives me this impression.

Castiel

Again, "updated to new art style". I really like how it came out tho, he looks good. Without a surprise, Castiel has been my fav since I first started playing it >:3. Anyway, now let's do by outfits to be more precise

Pre-EP 17: The T-shirt and necklace are fine (tho I do prefer the red of the previous one), but the pants and leather (?) jacket is... not it. His pants have the same problems as Amber, no more detail, but now also weirdly baggy. I feel like the newer style is more soft/round, but am really not into that jacket, the wrinkles on the jacket just don't feel right.

Post-EP 17: I really like it, That's a pretty fine update. On this one, the pants also look pretty fine! This outfit is actually something I'd probably wear too if I had it. It's a good update, better than the pre-17 one.

And the 2010 one... Let's say I'm not made that it's only stayed like this for a year and the 2011 one came out. They feel like a placeholder because the gap between the two is just too big.

Charlotte

"Update to new art style", I also think they fixed up some proportion issues. Charlotte has such a big head in the pre-updated one, it surprised me when I changed the picture. Like, most characters weren't too bad, but her and Debrah's heads are so big XD. They also fixed her broken wrist!

And honestly, she's another character for whom the design hasn't changed since 2010, it actually very accurate. Also, I'll say that Charlotte 2010's drawing is probably the only one I think looks good pre-2011 :').

ChiNoMimi

I think her updated sprites look cuter than before, look at her smile :D. Also, I think her pose has a better silhouette than before (not that with her wings it would be hard to guess who she is.). I also think the colours are a bit prettier.

Also, looking at the years, you can tell which character is more important to the story or not, because, Like Tata and Boris, she was updated quite late compared to some others.

Dajan

God, if a character needed re-spriting, it was this man. There's so much to say about Dajan

1] What the fuck was the deal with his jersey?!? Like, I get it, clothing gets wrinkled when you play sports, but not like THAT.

2] His hair sure is a glow-up. Before it was just a black flat colour, now we can see more detail in it. Love it.

3] This basketball looks way more like a ball than the previous one. Like, line one the old one gives me the impression that it's not a sphere somehow TToTT.

Dake

Wow, a character I can spot some changes! Although I will not lie, I do not get why they got rid of the orange shirt, I think it was looking good personally, fits him pretty well.

He looks more like a pretty boy now, although I assume it was always supposed to be like that. I prefer his new hair too. Pretty much the same, but I think it was drawn better this time.

Also those muscles sure look more like muscle than they did before, good for him!

Also, dunno why I noticed it now, but for some reason, he's not wearing his necklace in the older surfing sprite like he does now.

Debrah

As much as I hate her, I think the updated version did her pretty well. No more big head!! Now we had more proportioned. Also, I feel like her eyes look even more half-lidded than before and just had this feeling of her being bitchy. (yes, I am very biased).

I like what they did with her top, making the back shinier and making the patterns on it way more visible than before. I really like it.

Tho I do miss the high boots, I think they could have looked nice (even if the reason is likely that they are hidden most of the time by the text box).

I overall really like the new sprits and it all looked better.

Iris

An update to new style character. Tho I feel like somehow, her expression looks a bit blank than it was before? I just think it's kinda... flat. Do like the hair it looks a bit more realistic in a way, and the braid is a little bit more detailed.

I do miss the chocker tho, I think it went well with her personally.

The 2010 concept must have been good since it did stay similar to it. Tho am nearly surprised the legs changed when now they take away some details. Even if am not too keen on the furr of the shorts, I do like purple and black leggings/stockings. Iris really gives me Halloween vibes.

Jade

So, I don't know why, but I prefer the older one for Jade? Maybe it's the pose? the somewhat close-up? I don't know, there's just something about it that I prefer. But he still looks really nice and pretty?

I do miss the weird belt that doesn't seem to serve anything do, added something to the big green expend of his apron.

Also, funny how Jade seems to be the only character for whom the character seems so close to us.

Kentin

The overall design didn't change, but oh boy did my man Kentin needed this update xD Especially his first sprite, sure we see him only in EP 1 (and then later I believe) and it shows that it was the 2010 style.

Ken: Honestly he looks so much cuter than before. I know he's supposed to be the "haha ugly nerd who gets hot", but looks at him, he's so cute. Give him a better wardrobe and tada, he'd be absolutely fucking adorable. Though I nearly wish they got rid of that calculator, who goes around with a calculator on their hips TToTT.

Kentin: His older sprite has such a weird face. I feel like it's the angle that made it so he needed to look from the side, but it could have been better. He overall looks much better than before. But his right hand! Why is his right hand so awkwardly posed, close your finger dude xD

Kim

Honestly, Kim stayed pretty much the same, there's really not much I can say about her. I do like the updated colours a little bit more tho. Love how for her they managed to keep the same vibe from the early 2010's to right now.

Leigh

The overall design hasn't changed too much. Tho I feel like some of the folds and frills look a little bit less detailed than before (but the character is also "less close" than before to see it I guess. I do wonder too what it the thing at his thighs. Is it mirrors? Is it supposed to be a hole that shows something under it? Now that I try to look at it more closely am so confused.

Also bonus, I am pretty sure the one with fabrics is the old sprite that welcomed us at the clothing store.

Li

Even if the whole design of Li is pretty much the same, I do like the newer version a bit more. We kinda lose in silhouette, sure, but something about the newer version seems a bit better than the other one.

And you can tell the older one followed more the concept, but am happy they fixed the forehead. somehow it looks so big and strange.

Louis

The updated art style didn't change much. But oh boy did our man Louis need it. He went from... a bit rough old man, to your nice and gentle grandpa. I like that they kept the little rainbows on his vest, it's goes really well with him. It's a nice sigh seeing him in the bazar.

Philippe and Lucia

Nothing changed too much, very much just an updated version. But the update did them good I think. They weren't bad, but obviously, now they fit the other character better. The colours look a little bit better (especially the green jacket), but that's my opinion. The hair looks also better in my opinion. Very similar, but it's still a little bit better in my opinion.

Lysandre

The updated to new art style is very similar, but the little changes made make it that I do prefer the updated the new version.

I like the turquoise/green undertone that they gave to his coat, I feel it goes a little bit better with the other turquoise details of his outfits.. I like how the head is slightly tilted, fits him pretty well, and gives him an even bigger vibe of "lost in thoughts". And the silver is shinier and has more details too and I like it.

Also, I lied above when I said Charlotte is the only older drawing I like. I think Lysandre's older version is pretty good too, better even. Maybe it's helpful that it is very similar to his rendered version.

M. Fraizer

I'm not really surprised that M. Fraizer looks didn't change too much. I do prefer the newer version though. The lighter hair and shirt fit him a little bit better I think. The haircut looks a little bit better too (and the highlights sure help this).

Melody

I think Melody looks really pretty in her new updated style. The necklace/chocker being a bit loser looks a bit better I think, fits her character a little bit more. Also, like other characters that have them, the frills looks better now.

Dunno, I just like the newer one better.

Mme Shermansky

I'm legit surprised by what she looked like before?!? I had completely forgotten just how... simplistic her design looked like. Sure, she's not often seen, but even Mr Fraizer and Boris had more details than her.

Everything looks better honestly, like the little bit of hair before her ears, love the new belts too. The colour is a little bit better in my opinion too, and goes well with the overall look.

Nathaniel

Aside from the pose, nothing changed much in the many outfits Nathaniel as had (and I believe there's another one!). I think the pose looks better, especially for the non-clipboard poses, because it looks a bit less awkward. I also think the slightly more bright colour is better than the previous one.

Past: I think the overall colours looked better, a bit less dull. I do like the new pattern on his sweater (is that the name) although it does give me "old person patterns". Also like the jean, a pretty casual look for who Nathaniel is at the start of the game.

Pre-EP 18: Like the other one, prefer the colours for this one, a little bit more saturated. A good small detail that is changed is the tie being fully tied. Goes better with the image he has, especially at the start, but also with what his father wants him to look like.

Post-EP 18: Pretty similar honestly, Though it does look a little bit better in the newer version. This actually has to be my fav HSL Nathaniel look (because I've seen the other one and to me it's just... meh). I really like this one.

And the 2010 is... I still don't like the art style. Although I also note that the tie was fully done. I wonder who decided to undo it a little bit.

Nina

The updated style seems to mostly fix proportion in my opinion. Like others, the frills of the dress looks better than before, so does the corset (although I feel it does because its has more place to be right now).

Overall, I really like her look overall, really pretty.

Peggy

Can I start first with: For some reason, Peggy gives me SNK vibes. Dunno if it's the green dress with the huge ass recording box.

Not much changed in this update, but I think it's alright, nothing seems bad in my opinion. I do prefer the news haircut, Looks a bit more fluffy and flowy.

But I also have to ask: Where did the freckles go TToTT Bring back the frickles, they were cute QwQ

Rosalya

Nothing changed too much for Rosalya, but what did are things I quite like. I like that the edge of the dress is a bit more discreet. Love the wrinkles being a little bit less big, giving the impression that the dress is more satin than before. The golden detailing being shinier is also a nice touch. She's just pretty.

Violette

Like a lot of the characters, not much changed, but I overall do enjoy the new design. I like the grey looking a little bit lighter, fits her better in my opinion.

Love the texture on the art folder, it's not too much, but I do prefer it a little bit more than the older one. Though I do have to say, I do like the paper sticking out of it from the older one, it added a feeling of it being pretty filled.

Overall, aside from something her and there (and Alexy) I quite like the newer version of the character, I think they all look good and more fresh.

[secretsandpurplethoughtss]

MCL Dake: In his grasp

🌊pairing: Dake x Candy (named Lexi) - female, using she/her pronouns

🌊wc: 2'447

🌊 summary: Lexi has been in an on-and-off relationship with Dakota for the past five years. She wanted to move on many times before, but it seemed impossible to free herself from his grasp as she always ended up forgiving him. But today… feels different.

🌊warnings: toxic relationship, cheating, gaslighting, eating disorder, mental health problems

🌊a/n: If you ever find yourself in a relationship or situationship with someone like Dake (in this story at least, though I also disliked him in the games), RUN. You deserve better!! And so does our girl Lexi in this story.

Alexandria “Lexi” Petrelli, a young woman who has always been sought after, found herself in a whirlwind romance with Dakota Newman, her on-and-off boyfriend of the last five years. They met while Lexi was on holiday in Australia, and her life took a turn. Her teacher there was Dake, who worked as an instructor and lifeguard at the beach. The two of them had a passionate summer love affair, and Lexi was glad it didn’t end there as Dake would move in with his uncle in September and go to a school close to Lexi’s. As years went by, Lexi often found herself completely captivated by Dake’s green eyes, frequently forgiving him for his never-ending mistakes and missteps. One day, she would find herself in his arms, safe and content with her life because of his presence. Still, then the next day, they would get into an argument about him flirting with other girls, cheating, or pushing for them to open their relationship because he didn’t want to be monogamous. Before her never-ending problems with Dake started, before the two of them met, Lexi would have described herself as a confident person, but the relationship changed her. She would often question herself in every way possible: her looks (which she was constantly praised for), her choices in life, her wording, her behavior, and even her feelings.

She started to believe something was fundamentally wrong with her for not being able to maintain a relationship with Dakota for more than 3 months and for him always choosing other girls over her. Lexi fully started to believe that she just wasn’t enough. Maybe because she wasn’t as bright as her friend Esha or as easy-going as her friend Sandy. She tried to change herself many times before, even though her friend circle kept telling her there was nothing wrong with her and to break up with Dake, who was the real problem in their eyes. Her friend’s opinions didn’t matter because they saw her differently than Dake. Although they hoped to stay friends until the end of their days, Lexi knew that in a romantic relationship, a partner was someone who would see her the most intimately and understand her the best. In her mind, if Dake was not interested in her for longer than 3 months, if she could not keep him, or if he kept looking for other women, she was not enough because he knew her the best. He got bored of her so often; therefore, Lexi needed to keep trying and change herself and perfect herself into the version that would keep his attention on her forever.

She would find herself cyber-stalking the women Dake flirted or cheated with. Instagram, Facebook, and over time, even their LinkedIn accounts would keep her up at night as she’d write notes on these women. Fashionable, bold, experienced, flirty, social, physically attractive. Lexi knew that “taste” could not be bought, but her mother had a good eye for fashion, and the one time they would spend time with each other without Lexi feeling like the world’s biggest disappointment was when she and her mother went shopping and her mother would teach her about clothes and fashion. Lexi has always been flirty, and next to Dake; whenever their relationship status was “off,” she flirted and had short flings with other guys, so she knew she could be bold, had experience besides Dake, and was not bad at flirting either. Lexi had a big circle of friends and was often invited to parties, so she was naturally social and could provide anyone with gossip because she was always aware of the latest scandals. And all her life, people commented on Lexi’s attractive features – she had long, wavy dark blonde hair, her skin was always perfectly smooth and sun-kissed, she had long lashes and dark blue eyes with big boobs, the kind of boobs Sidney Sweeny or Billie Eilish had. The only constant “imperfection” Lexi could pinpoint regarding her looks came from her mother, who always wished Lexi to lose weight. So, she stopped eating, and if she would eat, she’d eat little to no food. Eventually, this decision would open doors to her professional life, as she’d get scouted by model agents while walking in the city one sunny afternoon. Lexi, a face that graced magazines, TV ads, and social media, was often labeled as 'perfect' by those around her. Despite the constant attention and numerous date offers, her heart remained steadfastly with Dake, even in their times apart.

She often swore off Dake, men, and dating in the last five years. She promised her friends to work on her insecurities, to go to therapy sessions, and even to quit modeling, but all these promises were never close to being upheld. As toxic as the modeling industry was, Lexi couldn’t imagine herself working in any other field; as annoying as men were, she loved the attention because she didn’t get nearly enough from her family growing up. As big as an idiot Dakota was, he had her heart between his fingers since they first met. One drunken encounter, a couple of late-night texts, and longing gazes across rooms were enough for Lexi to cave and give in to Dake time and time again. She was stuck in a never-ending cycle of love and hate. Next to that, she had major issues, which she was deep down aware of, but she never even tried to get rid of them to fix herself. She would often beg Dakota for reassurance, asking him to tell her she was enough, perfect, and all he wanted. He would always oblige, and she would believe him for a couple of weeks or even months. But then he would always leave, always mess things up, and she would end up heartbroken in bed, crying over his lies and betrayal.

The worst of the worst was when her childhood friend Lucy came to visit her in Lexi’s first year of university. Lucy often ran away from home and ended up at Lexi’s place (now Lexi’s dorm room). Dakota also showed up by coincidence, and Lexi shamelessly flirted with him – like she’d always do with any attractive guy. Lexi was mortified but then pleasantly surprised when Dake shut Lucy down. However, when she and Dake had an argument over the weekend, he went to a club without her, and from photos on social media, she knew that Lucy had ended up at the same nightclub. Lexi was always too scared to ask him and her friend if anything happened between them that night because she knew she could never get over it if it did. But sometimes she’d remember that day, that night club, and that night, and the questions would haunt her until her head would hurt, and her mind would be filled with made-up images of Dakota and Lucy making out or having sex in the bathroom.

Her attempts to be “enough” for Dakota seemed to all be in vain. One day, Lexi looked into the mirror and realized that this whole thing started out when she was a sixteen-year-old high school student with pink glasses to shield her heart from the truth. Now, she was a twenty-one-year-old adult who was tired of the games and politics of her relationship. She wanted out of her relationship. No, it was more of a situationship, but either way, she was scared to make such a drastic change in her life and walk away from the only thing she had known for the past five years. Her friends around her seemed to have their lives and, more so, their dating lives in order or at least were happy with how they handled it – Lexi was scared of ending up alone if she walked away from Dake. She was afraid no one would ever love her, and no one would ever stay. She couldn’t imagine what she’d do if Dake turned out to be correct, and she couldn’t ever keep any man’s interest for long enough or if she would never end up in a serious relationship because she was, in fact, just not good enough.

“I need you to stay this time. I need this to be real.” She told Dake the following day when they woke up in bed together. He had his strong, muscular arms around her, and they were half-awake and half-asleep.

“Okay.” Dake didn’t say anything more; he just placed a small kiss on her shoulder before getting up to take a shower. Lexi wasn’t satisfied with his short “okay,” and the cogs in her brain kept turning as she watched the ceiling in her dorm room. She decided to do something she had done many times before, something she wasn’t proud of and yet always felt desperate enough to keep coming back to: she took Dake’s phone from her nightstand. She typed in his password – a password she secretly watched him type in whenever his Face ID didn’t work – to look through his messages. It didn’t take her long to find messages between him and other girls from yesterday. He texted these girls before he came over to hers to talk things out, which they both knew would result in them ending up in a relationship again. He exchanged nudes with one of these girls. He even told her that he was “sort of in a relationship” but was trying to convince his partner to open their relationship, so she had nothing and no one to worry about (as the girl in the messages didn’t want drama with jealous girlfriends).

Lexi knew that Dake wasn’t interested in real polyamory at all, as he wasn’t interested in relationships of any sort. He wanted fuckbuddies, and Lexi was just an occasional “lover” for him but also a safety net for when he had no one else around him he could get his hands on or needed attention from or someone to bring around to family dinners. He was a fuckboy. He was a player. Most of all, he was a liar and a manipulative asshole who just did about anything to keep her satisfied enough to never fully walk away from him – but he’d never commit to her as he’d never commit to anyone. Lexi did enough research on monogamy and polyamory to know that Dake was only throwing the word “polyamory” around to make her feel like she was in the wrong for restricting his preferred “relationship form.” But polyamory needed the consent of all people involved, and he had never gotten hers, nor really cared for her opinion if it wasn’t “sure, go and fuck some girl tonight you meet at the club.”

Dake was the kind of guy who guilted other people into submission by using words he heard on the internet: “Polyamory,” “bodily autonomy,” “healthy curiosity,” and “natural sexual desires.”

Lexi was sick of hearing all these words being used as excuses for Dake’s failings, and she wanted to walk into the shared community-male bathrooms of her university and tell Dake off right then and there while he was in the shower. Still, she couldn’t move from the safety of her bed. Instead, she returned his phone to the nightstand and pretended to sleep. Dake tried to wake her, but Lexi insisted on staying in bed, so after his shower, he left, kissing her goodbye on her cheek. Only after she knew he wasn’t lurking in the halls of her dorm anymore did she have the strength to sit up and face the reality of her situation. She couldn’t stay in a relationship with him anymore – her mind and body were equally exhausted, not to mention how embarrassed she was whenever she’d tell her friends about her relationship and her fights with Dake. As much as it pained her to think she waisted five years on a guy who constantly gaslit her and made her look like an idiot in front of anyone who was around to hear his arguments and manipulation tactics, she knew that she’d finally reached the point where she’d actually go through with the breakup. In the past, she thought many times that she had reached this point already, but all those other times felt different from what today felt like. She reached an all-time low. To her surprise, she was calm when she came to this realization that today was the fated day everyone around her was waiting for. She got up, brushed her teeth, showered, did her skincare, got dressed, and put on some makeup before leaving her dorm room to go… nowhere really. Lexi had no idea what she wanted to do before she laid out the news to Dake. She just enjoyed this newfound calmness and watched people with newfound interest as they rushed past her in the halls and on the street. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and her walk, where she didn't even really watch where she was going, brought her to the Cosy Bear Café. Because of her issues with her weight, she usually ordered an espresso, even though she hated the taste of it. But not today; she approached the cute barista and ordered a latte macchiato.

"Venturing into new territory, I see." He greeted her with a warm smile, clearly recognizing her. Lexi had also noticed him before, working diligently behind the counter and engaging in light-hearted conversations with customers in good spirits. And if she wasn't mistaken, she might have spotted him on campus, too. Before today, she hadn't paid him much attention; her thoughts were always consumed by Dake and their tumultuous relationship.

"Yes, it's that kind of day." She returned his smile.

"I'll bring it to you on the terrace as soon as it's ready. I can't wait to hear what you think about it!"

Lexi expressed her gratitude before stepping outside to bask in the sun at one of the tables. Indulging in things she had denied herself for the past five years, like latte macchiatos or getting bangs, filled her with a sense of liberation. The idea of no longer having to cater to Dake's needs, to be free from his constant opinions and the pressure of always striving to be "perfect for him," a task always out of reach, warmed her heart. Previously, every time she envisioned a life without him, it was shrouded in darkness and loneliness – but now she knew that was not the reality. Without Dake in her life, the sun still shone brightly in the sky, and she could relish a sweet, caffeinated drink on the terrace of a café. And right now, finally, that was enough for her.