OC Introduction

OC Introduction

Liliana Clarke-Reyes

“Boy, you’ve really got people fooled into thinking you’re the villa sweetheart," Priya said. Lili rolled her eyes. “I never claimed to be anything of the sort. I say fuck far too often to be anyone’s sweetheart.”

MC of The Sun in My Eyes. Call her Lili. Or Lil. Or even Liliana if you're nasty. Just don't call her perfect. She hates that shit.

24 | she/her | afro-latina | scouser | bilingual | belly dancer | foster care charity worker | 7 secret tattoos | optimist | loves spicy food | swiftie | perfectionist | sweet & snarky | great with kids | bad with animals | bubble baths are a religion |

lili's mood boards

Mood boards are how I build characters. It gives me a chance to play and discover their likes and dislikes. So I have tons of them for Lili. Please note that in the story and in my head, Lili is quite a bit darker than the faceclaim I used for her. I will post seperately about that, because it was a whole THING.

Board 1: Villa Lili

In my head this is how the show depicted Lili initially. Bubbly and bright. And all of this stuff IS her, but it's not all of her.

Board 2: Real Life Lili

This is Lili on the inside. Wistful, organized, emosh, and obsessed with shoes.

Board 3: Lili's Home Aesthetic

I just love interior design and had fun building Lili's home aesthetic.

Board 4: Lili's Fashion Sense

I always pictured her wearing mostly blacks, whites, and neutrals. With some random pops of gold/yellow and red thrown in. She loves her a one sleeve top and ripped jeans. Overall she has edgy autumn vibes. Lots of sweaters hanging off the shoulder and ankle boots clacking on the pavements. Super dark lipstick and black fingernails, always. A little tribute to her inner emo-kid.

Board 5: Lili's Life in Liverpool

This might be my favorite of her boards. This is a little taste of Lili's life outside the villa. Her exes, her bestie, her siblings. And all of her tattoos. I cannot tell you what a hardship it was to spend hours looking at pictures of Harry Styles in order to find one for that album.

So yeah. That's Lil.

Holy fuck, I chose Lulu and then dug out Suresh like three or four times as he was booted from the show. It was so fucking satisfying, I don't even care to finish the season. If I can't have actual romance, I'll take spite, thanks.

"Get tired of my “baggage”? Well, hit the fucking gym, Alfie, if you can’t carry it, I don’t care."

YASSSSSSS. AND SERIOUSLY. EFF HIM. ALSO HE STILL NEVER APOLOGIZED FOR THE KISS. BECAUSE HE STILL THINKS YOU FUCKED AROUND WITH SURESH EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T.

Spoilers! (Sorry!)

“I told Finn I was done with you”

“It was nice to have Meera put all her eggs in my basket”

nghaaAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

And why exactly were you done with me, Alfie? What was it that I did that made you so appalled by me? Give a friendly hug to Suresh as we were trying to resolve our “baggage”? Not hearing me out and kissing Kat’s face off behind my back as some petty revenge? For your information, Alfie, I also put all my eggs in your basket! And not once - not even once was I disloyal to you! And you? What did you do? Get tired of my “baggage”? Well, hit the fucking gym, Alfie, if you can’t carry it, I don’t care. You believe Kat of all people about a kiss that didn’t happen and go ahead and cheat? And then you have the AUDACITY to even CONSIDER that I might want to be with you after Meera is dumped. You know who’s done with you? This girl! Me! I am! Fuck you, Alfie. Fuck. You.

I had so many more rants in me about yesterday's episode. So many. But you know what? I'm tired. I'm sure I'll have plenty to rant about next week. Today? Enjoy this picture of a smiling hedgehog in front of a sunflower.

I've been lurking in fandom (I'm @litg-lover) for a while but I thought I'd send around some love:

This Momentary Blue was the highlight of my week when you posted it - just the whole Felix/Kassam pairing was perfect, and regardless of my views of Felix, it took those issues and made them make sense, so regardless of it being AU, thank you for that.

(also adore The Sun In My Eyes but This Momentary Blue is a favourite, sorry)

Ah, thank you so much, you don't know what that means to me! I worked on This Momentary Blue much longer than I did any of my other one shots. I spent well over a month brainstorming before I even started writing. I am so proud of it. Sadly most of my one shots tend to get nothing but crickets, at least compared to my longfic, so I've been kind of bummed that I got so little feedback on it.

I'm beyond happy that it's your favorite. It's one of my favorite things I've ever written, too.

Thank you, Amy!

I have a take on this. But first it needs context.

I knew a girl named Beth, who was not a vulnerable person. Far from it. She prided herself as being a tough, take-no-shit bitch (🎶 I'm the baaaaaad guy... duh 🎶). Anyway, Beth dated someone that she kind of controlled emotionally. Ron. Quiet guy. Passive. She bossed him around, browbeat him and then dumped him all the time. But then would always take him back. Eventually he got tired of it. Beth dumped him one time too many and instead of begging for her back, he said, alright, and moved out. After a month or two, he started pursuing this other girl, Josie.

Miss Independent Beth was furious and had nothing to be mad about. He didn't cheat. She dumped him. But some people rallied around her, all supportive, and she realized that she could WEAPONIZE VULNERABILITY. I watched it happen. Like a car crash.

Beth told me flat out that she started calling Josie and spilling all this pain and heartache at her, all in order to get her on Beth's side. She leaned on Josie for emotional support, in the hopes that she'd twist her up emotionally until she felt too guilty to ever give Ron a chance.

It worked. And once Beth had Josie staying far from her man, she suddenly dropped her as a friend and began crying and carrying on to our mutual friends about what a bad person Josie was. Beth systematically turned everyone against her. Josie was so confused. This girl had been weeping on her shoulder two days earlier, calling her her closest friend, and now she was telling everyone that Josie seduced Ron and was a slut who only wanted to hurt Beth. She even convinced Ron that Josie had been manipulating HIM.

Beth's sobbing, fake emotional breakdowns literally convinced Josie's closest friend to turn her back on her. And eventually, once Beth had used everyone else to emotionally beat Ron into taking her back, they got married. Big church affair. Very fancy. Spared no expense. I was in awe of the beautiful blonde bride in her fancy Carolina Herrera gown, standing smugly at the alter with Josie's now ex-bestie as HER MAID OF HONOR. A girl she def didn't even like (and who she dumped as a "friend" immediately after the wedding, because her point had been made). She'd used vulnerability to manipulate everyone so effectively, that no one but me thought any of it was shady or wrong until years later.

So with that experience living rent free in my cranium, Kat's vulnerability doesn't feel authentic to me. Not fully. It feels calculated. I think she's immature and impulsive but she also knows that MC is her biggest competition and getting her on her side by systematically letting her in on her feelings is a way to keep MC away from Finn. Why else would this tough, take-no-shit bitch open up when she is not even MC's bestie. She's not even a casual friend. She's not really supportive of MC unless it benefits herself, though she's super supportive of the girls who are mean to MC. Though she will turn on MC fast as lightning, gleefully slagging her off to everyone and then faking her half-assed apologies that are really about continuing to keep MC feeling guilty while doing damage control on her own impulsive behaviors. She's like a little kid who sobs because they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, not because they're sad, but because they know mommy will stop being mad if they shed enough tears.

So I don't trust these flashes of vulnerability that seem to coincide with Finn flirting with/showing interest in MC or generally showing less interest in Kat. Her feelings might be sincere but she's not opening up for any reason except to guilt MC into staying away from her man.

Suresh's apologies have felt just as insincere this entire season. A real, selfless apology doesn't come with a weepy request for forgiveness or another chance. Because that makes the apology about the apologizer and their needs, and not about the person they wronged. Just sayin'.

Can I say that I find it interesting that MC has the opportunity to be involved in cheating twice this season? Or in what would count as cheating in the Villa?

Once with Suresh while still coupled up with Alfie/Dana and now apparently with Finn.

Because both times there was no clear communication in the couples. (Counting the Suresh thing here too because Alfie/Dana is clearly coded as thinking things are great between them and MC no matter what MC says.)

And considering MC's dating history, that's just... an interesting choice from the writing team/the management.

(Obviously nothing against people taking these options. We have been deprived of love etc. for so long in this game that we are now starved. I just find it weird that MC gets put into these messy situations here - though it's absolutely fitting for this season.)

👀👀 BESTIE!! this is soooo true and even if you don't indulge in the cheating the fact that they push it on you a few times is interesting. like why would MC engage in that behavior! I mean I did with Suresh...but I also look at it as she's obviously harboring deep feelings for him and same with him for her, and technically I wasnt like ALL about Alfie. I told him I wasnt sure about choosing him for the end of the summer before I kissed Suresh...so thats not "cheating cheating" 😬 right? LOL

but the Finn one this/next week is actually kind of messed up (if you're not on the Finn route) not only did Kat just pour her heart out to you and tell you how she feels about Finn, but Suresh has literally never been more genuinely apologetic or vulnerable. So you're just meant to go to pound town in the dead of night while Kat sleeps peacefully downstairs?? NAUR...that aint on. And I get that Kat hasn't been MCs ride or die this season but if there's one thing she has done all season long is be extremely vulnerable with MC about her feelings for Finn. idk besties...shops closed for Finny boy next week. Sorry