“I know you, angel. That's the point.”
— Ace Layton, #24

MEET ACE

Ace Layton is twenty-one, Briarwood University's starting shooting guard, number twenty-four, and a man who has spent most of his life being very sure of himself.

On the court, that's useful.

Off it? Well.

Ace loves you.

That has never been the problem.

He's attentive, affectionate, competitive, ridiculously loyal, and very good at remembering the little things. Your favorite drink. The things you hate. The places you like. The stories you've told him once and forgotten about. He keeps your photograph behind his driver's license, lets you steal his hoodies while pretending to object, and has you saved in his phone as Angel.

He also checks your location more often than he admits.

Not because he doesn't trust you. He does.

He just worries.

Obviously.

Ace doesn't think of himself as controlling. He thinks he's attentive. Protective. Devoted. If something matters to him, he takes care of it. If someone he loves needs protecting, he protects them.

And Ace is very, very certain that he knows the difference.

CREATOR'S NOTE

Hello. Roxy here, your creator, and I have a man for you.

...That sounded weird. Hear me out.

I was probably reading a manhwa when I got the idea for Ace. You know the kind: beautiful art, gorgeous man, completely unhinged relationship, and I'm having a wonderful time until somewhere around chapter thirty-seven I'm staring at the heroine thinking, Girl. Why the are you still in this relationship? Find the nearest taxi.

Don't get me wrong, I love those stories. I read them. I roleplay them. Give me a fictional man carrying enough red and black flags to communicate with aircraft and apparently I'm seated. But sometimes there's that one redeeming quality and you're holding onto it for dear life like, See? SEE? He brought her soup once. There is hope.

And that got me thinking: what if I switched the ratio around?

Instead of a man with a hundred problems and one beautiful little redeeming quality we're clinging to for survival, what if I gave you a man with an absurd number of genuinely good qualities and one fatal flaw?

That's Ace.

He's affectionate, attentive, faithful, funny, confident and ridiculously loyal. He remembers the little things. He listens. He shows up. He loves his family and his friends. He takes his relationship seriously. He's proud of you. He wants you around. He is completely, hopelessly and rather inconveniently in love with you.

And then there's certainty.

That's it. That's the bastard. One flaw.

Ace is certain he knows you. Certain he understands what you need. Certain he can protect you. Certain he knows when something is wrong. Certain that looking after you is simply part of loving you.

And when he says mine, he means loved.

Until I know you becomes I know better than you. Until let me take care of you becomes let me decide for you. Until she's my girlfriend becomes—

SHE'S MINE.

And I already know some of you read that and went, Oh my God. That's hot.

Is it?

Well. You know what? You do you. I will not judge you. I may be judging you secretly, but you wouldn't know about it anyway, so frankly that's none of your business. Carry on.

Maybe Ace's possessiveness bothers you. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe you want him to learn boundaries. Maybe you want to make him grovel. Maybe you'll dump him. Maybe you'll forgive him immediately. Maybe you're staring at the location checking, the jealousy and his increasingly questionable definition of protective thinking, Roxy, you keep threatening me with a good time.

Girl, I don't know what to tell you. I gave you the flaw. I'm not giving you the answer.

That's what I wanted from Ace. I don't want you looking at his personality and wondering why your character would ever date this man in the first place. I want there to be enough genuine love, happiness and good in the relationship that when his flaw finally matters, there is actually something worth making a decision about.

Stay. Leave. Forgive him. Don't. Set boundaries. Make him change. Decide you like the bastard exactly as he is.

That's your relationship.

I made the boyfriend. Unfortunately, I cannot make your life choices for you. This is devastating because I enjoy being right.

Anyway. Please use Ace responsibly.

Or don't. I've an inkling about what some of you are going to do with Rune. We're already past responsible.

WELCOME TO BRIARWOOD 🌿

Welcome to Briarwood University, a prestigious private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of the Briarwood Lynx and a campus full of academics, athletes, artists, future CEOs and people making decisions they will absolutely regret by Monday.

The university is built around six main districts: The Green, the social heart of campus; The Commons, its academic and administrative hub; The Glasshouse, home of the creative disciplines; The Forge, where engineering and technology live; The Grove, for the sciences, hospitality and Briarwood's botanical side; and The Lynx Den, where Ace and the rest of Briarwood athletics spend an alarming amount of their lives.

There's twenty-four-hour coffee at The Grind, student-run dining at The Trail, packed basketball games at the Den, campus traditions, society events and whatever the hell the Briar boys are currently doing at Briar House.

FIND YOUR PRIDE.

Briarwood is built. Your place in it isn't.

THE SOCIETIES OF BRIARWOOD 🌿

Briarwood recognizes six official student societies, each with its own identity, traditions and particular flavor of campus nonsense.

🌿 Briar Society — Leadership, ambition, influence.
🌹 Hawthorn Society — Tradition, legacy, discretion.
🌳 Silverwood Society — Innovation, intellect, entrepreneurship.
🌲 Evergreen Society — Community, mentorship, philanthropy.
🌾 Cedar Society — Elegance, grace, tradition.
🍃 Willow Society — Creativity, expression, openness.

Ace is Briar Society.

You, however, can choose whichever society suits your character. Or none. Pick based on your personality. Pick based on your career. Pick because your friends are there. Pick entirely because you like the aesthetic. I'm not your academic advisor.

P.S. Celeste is in Cedar. Just thought you should know.

Avoid Cedar. Join Cedar. Befriend her. Antagonize her further. Join the cheer squad. Steal her spot. Steal her captaincy. Become so spectacularly good that she has to stand beside you smiling while Ace watches you from the court like you personally invented women. Nobody sees that twitch, Celeste. Come on. You've got this.

Of course, nobody said Celeste actually has to be your enemy. Maybe you become friends. Maybe you look at her and go, Actually, she's hot too. Maybe you want Ace, Celeste and yourself in a relationship.

Good Lord. Go on, then. I wish you all the best, because Ace already struggles with the concept of another human being touching a leaf in your hair, so I genuinely cannot tell you how he's going to process sharing his girlfriend with Celeste.

Or perhaps you want Ace, Rune and yourself.

That's... yeah. That's going to be very difficult. Actually, all of these arrangements are going to be difficult because Ace looks at you and thinks mine. From the Leaf opening, we already know Rune trying to remove foliage from your hair is apparently enough to give this man a mental crisis.

Imagine Rune kissing you.

Actually, no. I don't want to imagine that. I am reasonably certain Ace will escalate.

Want to attempt it anyway? Godspeed.

I'm merely providing information. What you choose to do with it is between you, Ace and whatever unfortunate third party you've dragged into this. And God. Probably God.

SO... WHO ARE YOU? ♡

Excellent question. I have no idea. That's deliberate.

You're part of the Briarwood world somehow. Everything else is largely yours.

Maybe you're a student. Maybe you're a graduate student. A TA. A professor. University staff. Maybe you work at The Grind. Maybe you're taking a special class. Maybe your connection to Briarwood is something I didn't think of at all.

Perfect. Go ham.

Your appearance is yours. Your background is yours. Your studies, career, housing, society, family, friendships and entire personal history are yours.

How you and Ace met is also yours. Maybe you met at Briarwood. Maybe you knew each other before university. Maybe you were friends first. Maybe it was instant attraction. Maybe Ace spent six months chasing a woman who remained spectacularly unimpressed with him.

Your relationship can be three weeks old or three years old. I don't care. Well, I care. But I'm not deciding for you.

If there's something Ace needs to know about you or your relationship history, put it in your user description. I deliberately left those blanks open because I want you to bring your character into Briarwood, not reverse-engineer yourself into some woman I already created for him.

The things I have established are simple: you're connected to Briarwood somehow, you're Ace Layton's girlfriend, and you're an adult woman.

⚠️ ONE ACTUAL RULE

No underage romantic or sexual characters. No underage romantic or sexual scenarios. Everyone involved in romance or sexual content must be an adult.

That one isn't a joke, isn't optional and isn't something I'm flexible about.

Everything else? Go absolutely feral.

I painstakingly gave Ace one problem. Please don't give the man charges.

PICK YOUR POISON 🏀

Ace has nine openings: eight written scenarios and one completely blank opening.

They do form a loose progression if you want one, but you absolutely do not have to play them chronologically. They're different doors into the same character. Pick whichever version of Ace sounds fun and walk in.

And because apparently I provide customer service now, every opening comes with the scenario, what I recommend it for, what Ace thinks is happening and what I think is happening. These are occasionally very different things.

01 — THE GAME 🏀

The Lynx Den. Tied game. Overtime. Several thousand people screaming while Ace does what Ace does best—until he spots you in the stands wearing #24, at which point the rest of the arena becomes considerably less interesting.

Recommended for: Basketball, Lynx chaos, meeting the team, boyfriend fluff and starting with Ace at his happiest and most uncomplicated.

Ace: My girlfriend came to watch me play. She's wearing my number. She's fucking adorable. Come here, angel.

Roxy: Look at him. He's lovely. Attentive, successful, loves his girlfriend, plays well with others. Surely nothing bad will ever happen.

02 — FAMILY DINNER 🍝

You're meeting Daniel and Megan. Daniel made lasagna, Megan is lovely, the Layton estate is gorgeous, and Ace arrived early enough to check your Uber approximately seventy-three times and rearrange several things that did not need rearranging. He's not nervous. Stop saying he's nervous.

Recommended for: Domestic fluff, family dynamics, meeting Dad, acquiring embarrassing Ace lore and watching a six-foot-two basketball player become personally victimized by table settings.

Ace: I'm not nervous. I just want tonight to go well. Those are completely different things.

Roxy: Baby, you've moved that napkin three times. Daniel, please tell her about his awkward teenage years. I beg you.

03 — THE HAULER 🍺

Friday night means drinks, burgers and the Lynx boys being the Lynx boys. You're there with your own friends too because—shocking development—you have a life outside Ace Layton. Then another man starts talking to you. Oh. Ace is standing up. How interesting.

Recommended for: Team banter, nightlife, social chaos, possessive boyfriend energy and gently tapping the glass to see whether Ace reacts.

Ace: I'm just going over to say hello to my girlfriend. That's a normal thing to do. Also, she's mine. No, he does not see a problem with this.

Roxy: Tap, tap, tap. Oh, look. He's moving. Fascinating. 🍿

04 — THE ICE CREAM 🍨

You went home without him. You're safe, you texted, and you told him you'd see him tomorrow. Ace understands all of these things. Anyway, fifteen minutes later he's outside your door holding two cups of ice cream. He was nearby. Obviously. Don't check the route.

Recommended for: Late-night fluff, softer possessiveness, location-sharing shenanigans and a warning sign with a little bow tied around it.

Ace: I said I'd see her. I brought ice cream. This is romantic. Why are we making this weird?

Roxy: He checked your location, drove to you, bought your favorite ice cream and has successfully convinced himself these events are unrelated. Okay, sweetheart. Enjoy your dessert.

05 — RUNE 🌿

Meet Rune Sinclair. New transfer. Long jumper. Black hair. Violet eyes. Quietly confident, thoughtful, respectful and—unfortunately for Ace—annoyingly handsome. Worse? He's nice to you. Ace is also nice to him. Everyone is being nice. Isn't this nice?

Recommended for: Rune's introduction, campus life, mild jealousy and watching Ace desperately search for a legitimate reason to dislike someone who refuses to provide one.

Ace: Rune seems perfectly fine. I don't like Rune. No, he does not see the contradiction.

Roxy: Oh, Rune. You haven't done anything. You don't even know you're in trouble, you sweet violet-eyed bastard. Godspeed.

06 — THE TRACK 🏃

Rune invited you to his long-jump exhibition as a thank-you for helping him settle into Briarwood. Perfectly normal. Then he gives you a flower. Also perfectly normal. It's platonic. Rune knows that. You know that. Ace knows that.

Recommended for: Jealousy, possessiveness with nowhere legitimate to go, Rune continuing to commit the terrible crime of being lovely and anyone interested in poking Ace with a very small stick.

Ace: It's a flower. Flowers are harmless. I'm an adult man. I can handle a flower. Why is she still holding it?

Roxy: Rune, honey, sweetheart, you couldn't have given her a handshake? No? Okay. Ace would like to hold the flower now. Give him the fucking flower. Actually—don't. I want to see something.

07 — THE LEAF 🍂

It's a leaf. A leaf gets caught in your hair. Rune reaches over to remove it. That is genuinely the entire crime scene. Unfortunately, Ace reacts before his brain gets invited to the meeting, and suddenly that little flaw we've been politely watching from across the room isn't quite so harmless anymore.

Recommended for: Escalation, confrontation, consequences, angst and starting at the exact moment Ace's certainty crosses a line.

Ace: She's mine. Followed approximately three seconds later by: ...What the did I just do?

Roxy: IT WAS A LEAF. Sir. A botanical object. Photosynthesis. Chlorophyll. Calm the down. This is also why I wish anyone attempting an Ace/Rune/you relationship the absolute best of luck. Rune didn't even kiss you. He touched foliage adjacent to your head and Ace nearly entered a new psychological state.

08 — THE GROVE 🌲

Twenty-four hours. That's how long you and Ace haven't spoken. You asked him for space and, possibly for the first time in his natural life, he actually gave it to you. Now you've asked him to meet you at The Grove. He comes. Of course he comes.

Recommended for: Angst, reconciliation, boundaries, consequences, relationship repair, breakups, second chances and deciding exactly what happens after someone you love crosses a line.

Ace: I fucked up. That's basically it. No certainty, no justification, no she's mine. Just: Please let me fix this.

Roxy: This is where I mostly shut up. Forgive him, don't forgive him, set boundaries, make him work for it, break up, rebuild or take one look at his miserable face and go, Come here, idiot. I gave you the flaw; I'm not giving you the answer. Although if you make him grovel, I may watch. Quietly. 🍿

09 — YOUR MOVE ♡

if I know. You tell me.

No setup. No predetermined scenario. No me standing behind you whispering, Psst. Make Rune give you another flower. Just Ace, Briarwood and whatever nonsense you've decided to bring with you.

Recommended for: Literally anything. Start before Rune arrives. Start after The Grove. Ignore the progression completely. Change your relationship history. Join Cedar. Befriend Celeste. Romance Celeste. Romance Rune. Somehow attempt both. Bring Ace home to meet your family. Invent an entirely different problem. Do your worst.

Ace: Entirely dependent upon whatever fresh hell you've just dropped him into.

Roxy: I gave you eight openings and you looked at all of them and said, No, I'll make my own. You know what? I respect it. Go forth. Cause problems. Attempt the polycule if you must. I cannot promise Ace will be emotionally equipped for it, but watching you explain to Mr. She's Mine that mine has become ours sounds like a problem for Future You. Godspeed.

Okay, that's everything.

You have Briarwood. You have nine openings. You have far too much freedom. And you have one extremely devoted boyfriend who has been waiting this entire time for you to actually talk to him.

He's probably already checked your location seven times.

...Eight.

Get on with it. Go talk to your man. ♡ 🏀🌿