#Don't Turn Their Entire Development Into Romance

[degloved]

i've threatened to post yet another sotr opinion, so here i go: lenore dove is a great and valuable character, but her romantic entanglement with haymitch felt completely unnecessary and tacked on. there was something about the two of them that kept bothering me as i read, but i think i was Feeling Everything Too Much to stop and pick things apart. having sat down and dissected my thoughts with bestie though, i've identified my four biggest gripes; their relationship is (a) repetitive, (b) useless, (c) clashes with the core themes of the story, and (d) undercooked.

(a) the main trilogy does "dystopia with a sprinkle of romance" perfectly (though i've certainly debated the inclusion of romance before, i'll pretend i don't hold those stances for the purposes of this post.) romance here is both useful in the sense of giving us a feel for who each character is wrt their view of it and, in general, is as good a vehicle for character development as any (especially given that we're dealing with teenagers here.) in tbosas, the romance takes a much darker and more twisted turn, though it plays a similar role—it illustrates the rottenness-to-the-core of president snow. neither the trilogy nor tbosas would be the same if the focal relationships were to be taken out, they're absolutely integral to both arcs. and yet... it gets to a point. is there not another means of accomplishing everything above? is there not another way to explore the characters' personalities, motives, values, etc.? can't they have a different driving force? wouldn't it have been perhaps smarter and, arguably, more fun to go beyond what's expected of a book within the ya genre?

(b) tying into what i've hinted at in the above paragraph—the four books that came before sotr all depended upon their focal romances to drive the story forward & hammer the point in. sure, we could've gotten a glimpse of snow's cycle path mind by other means—there was sejanus, there was dean highbottom, there were others who snow has fucked over in pursuit of his own ends. but nothing could've quite captured his rancidness, i think, that the way his obsession and attempted possession of lucy grey did. we're all familiar with villains who miraculously change around that one person, who dote on their specialest little boy/girl, yet that wasn't the case here. snow's [redacted] for lucy grey did not absolve him, did not change him, did not halt him in becoming who we know him to be at a rapid pace. as for the romance in thg, i don't think i can say anything that hasn't already been said before & much better besides. the girl on fire and the boy with the bread, we all know how that went. we all know what their love for one another made happen. & with that in mind, what did lenore dove and haymitch's romance accomplish? what did it do? did it alter the trajectory of either of their lives? ...no. did it change anything? ...no. would the story have been 100% the same if they'd only been friends? ...yes. would the story have been 100% the same if lenore dove had, god forbid, not even existed? ...yes. "oh but nico, why must a relationship be useful? why must it serve a purpose? can't we simply be in love?" why, yes! in real life! unfortunately, this is a story, and at that one where every single detail matters. every detail must serve a larger purpose, or else its value is automatically diminished (prime example.) and at times, i'd argue the value of the entire work may be diminished by the inclusion of an extraneous, frivolous plot point (though i wouldn't go that far here.)

(c) perhaps the most offensive aspect of the whole thing—its existence alone completely clashes with, in my view, one of the core themes of the book: friendship. sotr speaks of the biggest in-game alliance between the tributes thus far (and ever since.) again and again it emphasizes the "kad se male ruke slože" of it all (roughly, "many hands make light work.") unlike the tributes in katniss' time, they all approach each other. they talk. they make promises. haymitch isn't afraid to ally with louella on the train, and it doesn't take much at all for him to see loulou—a girl who is no one to him, nothing—as something precious to protect. not to mention ampert (no really, i won't, i'll get upset.) his and maysilee's entire arc is so, so beautiful and touching—his perception changing, the admission he had been wrong about her, the journey from refusing to ally, to doing so begrudgingly, to calling her a friend and a sister. even wyatt found his place in haymitch's heart. friends, friends, friends, it's all about friends. haymitch in the present timeline could've been that sad lonely drunk wreck just as believably after losing them. just as believably if lenore dove had been his friend (i hesitate to say only a friend—a friend can't ever be only.) haymitch has really lost so much, so many, and there is something about the pedestal lenore dove is put on—when it comes to these losses—that i can't get behind. would he have been any different, really, if she'd been spared? would all that misfortune not find him if she had been spared? no. no, i don't think so. therefore... two plus two.

(d) and finally, the total nail in the coffin—it wasn't even that good. we're thrown in medias res of their romance & we're meant to take suzanne's word for it. we're meant to do this from the get-go and throughout, because—in a book that can be summed up as So Much, All The Time—there was really not a moment to spare for haymitch and lenore dove. their romance was given no time to develop—and how could it have? how could it have, when the characters were hardly in physical proximity of each other for more than a page and a half total? he fed her the gumdrops and i felt nothing but a passing sadness, because all i could think about was ampert, was maysilee, was wyatt, was loulou, was anyone and everyone whose haymitch gave his all for & still couldn't save. we didn't need this romance subplot to begin with, and it wasn't even good.

[arkiwii]

For me part of it is that I've been playing since global launch, and rhine fam was part of what got me playing, and I've never seen anyone take the divorced jokes seriously even since then (in contrast to doc and kal, where like 80+% were taking it seriously for years)

you can only trust me for word because I don't want to call out anyone, but I have seen fanfictions or art pieces that seriously despicted them divorced (there's some on ao3). and if they're not divorced, they're at least exes. it's a very common headcanon, and I mean it. not saying people really believe it's canon, but at least, they want to imagine it is. as a heads up, it's not wrong, people think whatever they want! I was just bringing the point that it gave a less interesting side to her relationship to make them into bitter exes, imo. it makes it look like "Silence is mad at Saria because Saria betrayed her, and now she's acting really awful towards her, which Saria simply accepts". that's a simplification of their relationship. it's not necessarily wrong, but it's not the real message.

Silence doesn't hate Saria. she can't help being mad at her because she's mad at herself. when she looks at Saria, she sees someone who failed to protect them, and most than all, she realized that she was putting her hopes unti Saria. she's mad at herself because she is weak, because she was depending on anyone stronger than her to do the right things, and had expectations for them. she realized that Saria is just a person, so is everyone, and if she wants to achieve something, she has to do it herself.

as for Saria, she's not just accepting Silence's hate. she thinks that she deserves it, that she really failed. she's the shield If Rhine Lab, she promised that she would protect anyone, and she failed. because she pushed herself to carry this burden, because she unconsciously doesn't trust that the people she's protecting can protect themselves. Silence, Ifrit, they don't need Saria to fight for them. they need her to fight with them.

what really makes them really interesting to me is that it's when they finally open up and show their true selves, they realize that they can work together and that their flaws perfectly complete each other. Silence does not fall in love with Saria the director of Rhine Lab who is strong and hot and perfect looking, but with Saria who is a broken person who needs to love herself and be shown that she can be loved. Saria does not fall in love with Silence the weak and innocent girl who relies on her, but with Silence the woman who learned to fight for her ideals, and who saw the pain inflicted to those close to her, promising herself to never let it happen.

OK I WENT RANTY IN THERE BUT tl;dr in my personal opinion, bringing a romance in their time before Lone Trail doesn't change anything to her development, and it can be very well handled, I'm sure, but all the cases I have seen are just an excuse for spicy exes stuff "I loved you but you betrayed me" and turn their relationship into just "lovers who are still in love but misunderstanding happened", y'know

[notmeowse]

That AMA marks the end of Dragon Age.

In my opinion.

I'll start by saying that I have played all 3 of the previous games repeatedly, I've loved the series for 15 years, more than half my life. These games inspired me to become a writer and they've shaped a lot of my tastes and interests in shows and writing -- to say they were formative is kind of an understatement. Don't want to go on and on about how much I loved them, that's not the point here.

I didn't care for Veilguard for pretty much all of the reasons people have already discussed at length on Reddit and Tumblr. The writing is comprehensively bad, the romances are easily the worst Bioware has written by pure virtue of having the most cookie-cutter pacing and shallow characterization I've seen across their games, the lore has been shafted in every direction, and the nuanced storytelling and roleplay I came to expect from the series has been taken out back and shot in the head.

All, apparently, in the name of a "clean slate". It seems to me that, rather than familiarizing himself with the existing lore of the game he took the creative reins on, Epler clearly had a vision for Dragon Age (or perhaps a different IP entirely) in his head that he decided to transplant into the game (and possibly Trick? But they've said so little beyond defending their work that I can hardly theorize what direction they were coming from). That being a sanitized, wildly self-contradicting, morally absolute shitshow focused on distancing itself from the previous games as much as possible. Now, I know it's unrealistic to blame one person entirely, and I don't blame him entirely. Corinne was there. Trick was there.

But if it wasn't already evident from the numerous interviews Epler's given on the game as well as his participation in the Q&A's (while the actual lead writer of the game has been completely absent in not just the marketing, but in most fan-related interaction pre and post-launch outside of BSKY), this AMA seems to have confirmed, more than anything else, that Epler doesn't understand the game nor does he understand its audience. Neither does Corinne Busche, who despite being Game Director for only the last two years of development, has been answering lore questions a) like she has any fucking clue and b) like she thinks Dragon Age is a cozy-gamer IP, meant to appeal to people that want uplifting stories with uncontroversial characters, morally upright heroes, and unquestionably evil villains.

So as of today's AMA, I think I've finally had enough. We're just outright retconning the lore in Reddit AMA's now, I guess. Among other things. I'll provide a few examples, just so we're all on the same page.

This was part of Epler's response to why Solas didn't have his cult following in the game (insert "We Kind of Forgot" meme here):

Solas' experience leading the rebellion against the Evanuris turned him against the idea of being a leader. You see it in the memories - the entire experience of being in charge ate at him and, ultimately, convinced him he needed to do this on his own. And his own motivations were very different from the motivations of those who wanted to follow him - he had no real regard for their lives or their goals. So at some point between Trespasser and DATV, he severed that connection with his 'followers' and went back to being a lone wolf.

The fact that this (the not caring bit) directly contradicts the writing in the actual game is absolutely INSANE to me, moreso than the lack of Solas's spy network (which he apparently carried with him for 10 years only to conveniently drop right before the ritual? Because he clearly had them research Rook?). But in regards to the not caring -- here's a line from Solas's memory of killing Mythal in Veilguard, which. I'll get to Mythal in a minute:

Why should I not tear down the Veil, and bring back immortality to all the elven people? They deserve it!

Which is it? Does Solas care about the people he's saving (the venn diagram of people he's saving vs. the people following him is surely a circle, i.e. elves) or not? Does he even care about the spirits trapped behind the Veil anymore or is it just convenient to abandon them and have him only care about elves, now? What happened to saving The People? What happened to him not identifying as an elf in his conversations with a Dalish Inquisitor? And what the absolute fuck happened to him wanting to bring back the magical marvels (that the ancient elves did in fact achieve) that were greater than anything we see in Thedas today? Here's what Epler has to say about elven magic, now:

I do agree that the elves have had their place in the sun at this point. [...] The thing about the Evanuris is that, ultimately, they were able to take a very specific type of magic and shape it into doing what they wanted. But even their understanding of magic was only skin deep [...] Even the magic that Tevinter wields, the magic of the Southern mages, is different from what the Evanuris used. The magic of the Evanuris is powerful but it's sterile, and it's constrained. So while the Evanuris have made magic work in a way that's more predictable and understandable, it's not the only kind of magic out there, and even then, I'd say they understood it at a very surface level. People were confidently describing how the natural world worked back in the 16th century. Very few of them were right.

First of all, Tevinter has been stated in previous games to have clumsily adapted ancient elven magic for their own, but they did adapt it. To the point where even Solas is surprised that Corypheus achieved effective immortality -- by binding himself to a dragon the same way the Evanuris did. So, cool, more contradicting the lore here. "They understood it at a very surface level" you mean when all of the magic of the Fade wasn't locked behind the Veil? You mean when magic flowed freely through the world? What do you mean, Surface Fucking Level? The entire point of the Dalish elf culture is what they lost; this wasn't the ancient elves thinking the sun revolved around the earth, the Veil was their fucking Library of Alexandria burning. Oh my god. I still cannot believe he said this.

And how have the elves had their day in the sun? I'm sorry, was Arlathan not given to... the Veil Jumpers? Instead of the Dalish? What happened to all the Dalish clans in the south, who had no infrastructure when the world was apparently blighted to hell? I guess they're just gone now! They've had their day! The story of the Dalish and the Evanuris is over (also confirmed in this AMA), and it apparently ends with the final snuff of the candle that is their culture. Congratulations, Chantry, you've won! Only took two genocides and a double blight, but we're done with the Dalish now! We get your mind-numbingly superficial factions instead!

What happened to Mythal, by the way? What happened to "She was betrayed as I was betrayed, as the world was betrayed! Mythal clawed and crawled her way through the ages to me, and I will see her avenged!" What happened to the reckoning that will shake the very heavens? John's answer to this:

People grow and change over time. Mythal's essence - and in particular, the fragment of her spirit that Morrigan carries, that she got from Flemeth - is not the same Mythal who he knew millennia ago. Centuries of living in this world and being around the kinds of people Flemeth found herself around - the Hero of Ferelden, Hawke, the Inquisitor - changed her views, and made her realize her own culpability in turning Solas into the kind of person he is now.

Oh, right, okay. So she was pissed for like a thousand years, got her big speech about the impending "reckoning" out 10 years ago, and then she just chilled out because the last 3 heroes were neat people. What a fucking joke. And yes, here is the confirmation that the Evanuris story is over --

The story of the Evanuris is done - the gods are dead (or imprisoned) and Thedas is in a state of flux and uncertainty. I imagine that whatever happens next is going to be a surprise to everyone, including the people of Thedas."

So I guess Mythal's reckoning is never coming. One of the most fascinating characters in the series, shrouded in mystery for those first 3 games, PROMISING US a blaze of glory, only to fizzle out in this one. Again, and I can't emphasize this enough, for Epler's clean fucking slate. And we've not just tied up her story, but also the Veil and the Blight:

When Solas bound himself (or, depending on your ending, was forcibly bound) to the Veil, it severed the connection that the Blight had to the waking world. The reality is that the Veil has been leaking ever since the Magisters first entered the Black City, and the dreams of the Titans gave it its terrible and awesome power. Now that the Veil is fully repaired, the Blight lacks that motive force, and being so close to the epicenter of that change has stripped the Blight in Minrathous of its vitality. It's calcified now - dead - and Bellara/Neve no longer suffer its effects. If they'd been anywhere else, further from that epicenter, it would've likely been different and they still would be looking for a cure.

So the Veil is permanently fixed now because our half-dead Dread Wolf bound himself to it (a decision I still don't understand) and that somehow fixed every single hole ever poked in it. Fully repaired. No more holes, no more "Veil is thin here" because tons of people died in the same spot, nope, we're washing our hands and leaving it (and the spirits) behind us because we've wrapped up both the series-long Veil storyline and the blight storyline in a big red bow.

And Epler tells us Solas not only bound himself to the Veil but fixed it entirely in one fell swoop, no ritual required, just a little slice to the hand. Again, all in the name of a clean slate, so any future installments or media centered around Thedas can turn away from this story.

Then there's this. What we can expect from future installments, I freaking guess. The aforementioned roleplay getting taken out back and shot:

Q: "What lead you to the decision to step away from active conversations with the companions as in previous Bioware games, where you can initiate them at any moment and ask exhaustive questions?"

John: "For us, because of tech limitations, it became a choice between exhaustive investigate conversations, or letting the companions move more freely around the Lighthouse. With the kind of experience we were going for, one where seeing the team grow around you is paramount, we felt that seeing them interact in common spaces (and in each other's rooms) made more sense."

Literally confirmed that they chose companions moving freely about the cabin over ... interacting with them outside the handful of cutscenes we got. Who in their right mind would think this was a good call in a Dragon Age game? A series that quite literally prides itself on complex character interactions and storytelling? So they could... sit in different places? Are you kidding me?

They don't see an issue with the game's reception. They don't have any interest in addressing or responding to criticism. They're either happy with their choices or EA's got a gun pointed at their heads, I'm honestly not sure anymore. I used to believe the latter was true, but looking at both Epler's and Busche's responses today, I'm inclined to believe the former.

So I think that's it for the series. Not that I thought it was going to get another game after this, but on the absolute off chance it did, what would be the point? The best stories were ruined. Anything left they have to tell is going to read a lot like Veilguard -- superficial, morally absolute, flagrantly disrespectful to the lore, and delivered in a very poorly written package.

[kateksmallcuteowl]

June 26: Soulmates/Soulmate Marks AU

Your mark shows how old will your soulmate be when you fall in love with them. (Meaning both romantically and sexually)

For an event by @bagginshieldweek24

More headcanons after the cut. Seriously, there’s a lot, as I developed a whole idea but had no time to write a fic because of exams.

— Dwarfs come of age in around 80 y.o., having a soulmate from another race is a very rare occurrence; throughout the history of Middle-earth, there have been at most a dozen such cases, so most dwarves are unaware of this possibility. Having a mark with a number younger than the age of majority is a lifelong shame, essentially an admission of pedophilia. Unfortunately, this happens more often than having a soulmate from another race.

— Thorin spent his entire adult life, from the moment the mark appeared, wearing an extra layer of bandages under his bracers to prevent anyone from seeing the number. Fortunately, among dwarves, it is not considered inappropriate to hide the marks, as many value their privacy.

— The mark and thoughts about it were the reason why Thorin often appeared especially gloomy when the topic of romance came up.

— He truly tried to compensate for his "defectiveness" with his virtues.

— Of course, Thorin is a virgin.

— Bilbo, on the other hand, didn't think much about this; hobbits don't see anything wrong with living without their soulmate or seeing their soulmate as a friend. They are generally a loving people and don't worry about the concept of "the one and only."

— Although the topic of soulmates is considered highly romantic in hobbit literature, Bilbo was somewhat disappointed when he realized he would likely never meet his soulmate. (Hobbits are also unaware of inter-racial soulmates.)

— I tried to make young Bilbo look more like Frodo, so here he has smaller curls and a different style of shirt.

— Thorin and Bilbo both hid their marks, so when they felt an attraction to each other, especially after the Carrock, both were initially upset, thinking they weren't soulmates. Thorin, of course, was much more upset.

— During the two weeks they stayed with Beorn (yes, I'm mixing the movie and the book, what are you going to do about it? Slow burn needs time to be slow), they managed to reach the point of kissing near the river or something like that. But when Bilbo tried to unlace Thorin's tunic, Thorin stopped him and said that, unlike hobbits, for dwarves, sexual interaction is a very serious step in emotional attachment. It wouldn't be fair not to tell Bilbo what kind of monster he was getting involved with, because after seeing what Thorin had to show him, Bilbo might not even want to look him in the eye. Bilbo was honestly frustrated. (It is implied that Thorin used some term characteristic of a pedo... ahem)

— With a terrifyingly serious face, Thorin unwrapped the bandages on his wrist, and Bilbo, with a sinking heart, prepared to see a number like 5 or 12. Instead, there was a very respectable and completely normal age. Thorin turned away, not wanting to see the disappointment in the hobbit's eyes. Bilbo spent a few seconds calculating how long dwarves live and how old Thorin actually was.

— Thorin thought Bilbo wanted to shame him for having the audacity to enter into a relationship at such an age, knowing his soulmate's extremely young age. With closed eyes, he forced out that he was 195 and knew how disgusting he was because of it.

— Instead of a slap or something worse, which Thorin wouldn't have opposed, thinking any normal person had the right to treat him like that after seeing it, Bilbo reached for his own wrist and, with suspicious enthusiasm, pulled off the leather bracelet he had worn since the Shire. On the pale skin was clearly marked Thorin's age, written in dark ink with characteristic dwarvish notches.

— Some time passed in silence as they both realized that such a coincidence simply couldn't be.

— They were in for a very pleasant evening away from the company🌚🌝

— Later, when the entire company gathered by the fire, Bilbo and Thorin would come to them, holding hands, the hobbit nearly glowing with happiness in front, and a red-to-the-tips-of-his-ears Thorin slightly behind. This would be the first time anyone in the company saw Thorin without bandages, and if not for the matching age on Bilbo's wrist, now also not hidden by a bracelet, they wouldn't have believed Thorin could be normal with such a number on his skin.

— And the dwarves would realize how young Bilbo was by their standards.

— Truly, the ways of the Valar are mysterious.

— At the very end of the night, Fili would nudge Kili with his elbow and hint that since their uncle had an inter-racial mark, he might not be so angry and yell when he finds out that his brother has a four-digit number on his wrist.

[tinyyoruichi]

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 ?

featuring : gn!reader + Zoro, Mihawk and Ace

warning : none

masterlist

Roronoa Zoro

His heart suddenly beats more rapidly whenever he sees you smiling, laughing, or even doing the most random thing. On top of that, Sanji's overly complimentary remarks towards you make him want to reach for his swords. No, this can't be. He's stared death down a thousand times, cut through countless enemies. Yet, this new feeling blooming for you – it's terrifying.

Zoro coming to terms with his feelings for you? Buckle up, because it's going to be a hilarious journey. Denial will be his middle name for a while, trust me. This dense swordsman will be in for a wild ride before he finally connects the dots.

Thanks to Nami's interrogation skills (and a little sake), the whole crew knows Zoro has a thing for you. Now, expect endless teasing from Luffy and Usopp, who'll probably try to spill the beans before a certain mosshead gives them his best glare.

Zoro finally figuring out his feelings for you? Great! Now comes the real test: talking to you about them. Because let's be honest, under that tough-guy act, he is probably a nervous wreck, sweating bullets at the thought of rejection.

Zoro's not exactly the Romeo type. So expect a confession that's straightforward, maybe a bit awkward – but heartfelt nonetheless. If you feel the same, a weight will lift from his shoulders. But if not, he'll respect your decision and try to keep things smooth between you.

Dracule Mihawk

Don't be fooled by Mihawk's stoic facade – because he is quite aware of his feelings for you. Years have honed his instincts, and unlike his pupil, he has no time (and he is too old) for childish denial. His emotions are clear, even if unspoken.

That man has a very calculating mind. He'll dissect every interaction, every glance, searching for a sign that you love him as mush as he loves you. Despite his solitary nature, his mind might already be constructing a future by your side – a future dependent on your response.

Mihawk is probably one of the few men in One Piece who are very romantic (Oda told me so). His brand of romance is subtle yet charming. Imagine leisurely strolls through his gardens or watching the sunset with a glass of wine by his side. A subtle offer of his arm, a hint of a blush from you – that might be all the encouragement he needs to take things a step further.

Once confident your feelings mirror his own, Mihawk will approach things in an (VERY) old-fashioned way. Be prepared for a carefully crafted dinner invitation, where he can formally request the honor of courting you. His pride lies in being a gentleman, and rushing into things is simply not his style. He prefers to court you slowly and respectfully, allowing your relationship to develop naturally.

After a series of thoughtful dates, Mihawk will finally take the next step and ask you to be his partner (Perona and Zoro might have placed a bet on the timeline, of course). Like everything he does, Mihawk will approach this new chapter with utmost seriousness. Your well-being will always be his top priority.

Portgas D. Ace

Ace isn't the denial type. The ache when you're gone, the quiet competition with Marco and Izo for your laughter – these are the clues that tip him off. Ace falling for you? It's written all over his flustered face. He stutters and turns red like a tomato when speaking to you unexpectedly.

The entire crew is a nuisance and teases him constantly about his love for you. They have grilled him mercilessly – “When will you confess?” they ask, convinced you feel the same.

Denial ? Once again, not Ace's style. But baring his heart, admitting his love for you ? That's a terrifying vulnerability he fears more than anything. On top of that, I believe he is also afraid of losing your friendship by making things awkward if you don't feel the same about him.

Thankfully, Marco, ever the voice of reason, is there to guide this lovestruck dummy. And honestly, this old man is tired of watching you two pining from afar. A stern talk from Marco might be just what Ace needs to understand that silence could lead to a missed opportunity for a great relationship.

Ace's confession? A masterpiece in the making, at least in his head. Daily mirror pep talks and a meticulously planned romantic gesture – that's how he plans to declare his love. Just imagine the blushing, the stammering, the potential for minor explosions (caused by Ace's nervousness, of course).

Dinner over, Ace reaches for something hidden in his pocket. His nervousness is palpable, a sheen of sweat forming on his brow. But then, with a determined glint in his eye, he throws caution (and the letter) to the wind, ready to confess his true feelings directly from the heart.

[eclipixels]

Nineteen

Oliver Aiku x Reader

Content: You don't know Oliver's actual age and assume that he's just some creep

[2,023 words]

     Oliver casually leaned against the counter nearby, his gaze locking onto you as a mischievous grin slowly spread across his lips. After a brief pause, he pushed himself off the counter, making his way toward you with confident strides.

     "Hey there—"

     Before he could even finish his sentence, you suddenly let out a scream so piercing it could've been heard miles away, your eyes locking onto him in pure shock.

     "Ah! Stranger danger!" you shouted with a dramatic flair.

     The entire room seemed to freeze. Conversations ceased, and a few heads turned in your direction, some with looks of confusion, others with a hint of concern. In an instant, you were off like a shot, darting through the crowd with the speed and agility of a deer escaping a predator. Without missing a beat, you slipped through the back door, leaving no time for anyone to react or stop you.

     Oliver stood there, blinking in complete disbelief, his face a mix of confusion and frustration.

     "What the hell is up with that chick?" he muttered, watching as you disappeared from sight.

     Shuto, his friend who had been standing nearby, couldn’t help but snicker under his breath, shaking his head with amusement. "Dude, that’s the second time she’s done that to you. What did you even do to freak her out so bad?"

     Oliver let out a deep sigh, running a hand through his dark, licorice-colored hair. The green underlayer of his hair caught the dim party lights, adding a subtle pop of color to his otherwise dark look.

     "I literally just said ‘hey,’" he responded, his voice tinged with bewilderment. 

     Unbeknownst to him, you had recently turned eighteen and were hyper-aware of the creepy old men who suddenly seemed too interested in your ‘freshly legal’ status. It freaked you out, so you had developed a habit of running at the first sign of a suspicious-looking older guy. And unfortunately for Oliver, with his strong facial hair, he looked like he had been through two divorces and had a midlife crisis at least once.

     The problem? He was only nineteen.

     It definitely wasn’t the last time you saw him. In fact, it felt like he was popping up everywhere you went. At the café you frequented every morning, there he was, standing in line ahead of you. At the grocery store, you’d turn the corner to find him browsing the aisles, as if the universe had a strange sense of humor. Even at the movie theater, when you were just trying to enjoy a film in peace, you’d spot him in line for tickets or grabbing snacks, like you couldn’t escape his presence no matter where you went.

     He wasn’t actively following you, you were sure of that. It wasn’t like he was showing up in places you were just to make you feel uneasy. But somehow, it seemed like fate had a funny way of throwing the two of you into the same spaces at the most unexpected moments. It was as if the universe had decided that your paths were meant to cross over and over, whether you liked it or not.

     The next time you encountered him, it was a literal collision at the bookstore.

     "Oh, it’s you," he muttered, rubbing his chest where you'd bumped into him.

     Your eyes widened in recognition. "Ah!" Without missing a beat, you turned on your heels and ran once more, nearly knocking over a display of discounted romance novels.

     Oliver groaned. "Seriously? Again?"

     By the time the next inevitable encounter happened, you were at a party—one mostly filled with college freshmen and their friends. You were laughing with a friend when your eyes landed on a familiar face. Your laughter died instantly.

     What the hell was a grown-ass man, who looked like he worked a corporate job and was on his third failed marriage, doing at a party for college kids?

     Your confusion doubled when you got a good look at him. Okay… he looked really good. Like, annoyingly good. His dark hair was styled messily yet effortlessly, and those mismatched eyes were way too pretty to belong to some sketchy older dude.

     Unfortunately for you, he noticed your staring and started making his way over.

     "Hey, gorgeous."

     Oh no. That was dangerous. That was flirting. And worse? It was working.

     You stiffened. "What are you doing here?"

     Oliver blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Uh… what?"

     But before he could even respond properly, you turned on your heels and disappeared into the crowd. Again. You leaned against a wall, your heart racing. What was wrong with you? Why did he have to look so good?

     Was this how girls with older men kinks felt?

     The next incident, you stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for your floor. Just as the doors were about to close, a hand shot in to stop them.

     It was him.

     You made direct eye contact. He sighed. "Oh, for the love of—"

     You slammed the ‘door close’ button repeatedly like your life depended on it.

     Unfortunately, fate was not on your side, and Oliver casually stepped in, letting the doors close behind him.

     Trapped.

     You stiffened, staring straight ahead. Maybe if you didn’t move, he wouldn’t notice you.

Oliver, exasperated, pinched the bridge of his nose. 

     You’ve lost count on how many times this has happened now. 

     One seemingly ordinary day, everything around you seemed to crumble in the most unexpected way. It all began with something as simple as an invitation—your friend had asked if you wanted to tag along to her boyfriend’s soccer practice. At the time, it didn’t seem like anything extraordinary. You figured it would be a good way to kill an afternoon, a casual way to pass the time. Plus, her boyfriend happened to be on Japan’s U20 soccer team, which was cool enough in itself to spark some curiosity.

     You had expected to watch a bunch of talented players showing off their skills, maybe even get a little impressed by their moves. The idea of watching a professional practice session sounded like it would be a decent way to spend a few hours, and that was it.

     What you hadn’t expected, though, was to see him. The very same guy who seemed to keep showing up in all the random places you visited. The one who had somehow made his way into your life without you even realizing it. 

     Dressed in crisp white and coral, effortlessly orchestrating the field with razor-sharp precision, was the very man you had spent weeks actively avoiding like the plague. Every pass he made was deliberate, every defensive maneuver executed with ruthless efficiency. He moved like someone who had spent his entire life perfecting his craft—quick, calculated, untouchable.

     Your stomach twisted violently as the realization hit you like a freight train. The guy you had been convinced was some weird, middle-aged creep with a concerning tendency to appear everywhere you went? The one whose presence had unsettled you to no end? Yeah. Turns out, he wasn’t some lurking menace at all. He was an elite athlete in his prime—one of the country’s top young players, no less.

     And now? Now, he was looking right at you.

     Oh, shit.

     Your breath caught in your throat as he strode toward you, still glistening with sweat from the intense practice session. His damp, jet-black hair clung to his forehead, a few unruly strands falling over piercing, mismatched eyes that locked onto you with an expression teetering between amusement and exasperation.

     There was no escaping it now.

     "You’re strange," he said flatly when he finally approached you. He was half expecting you to bolt again, but was a little taken back when you didn’t. Instead, you looked up at his towering frame with doey eyes filled with embarrassment. 

     "H-How old are you?" you blurted out, because at this point, you needed absolute confirmation that you hadn’t been acting insane for no reason.

     Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Guess."

     “25?" You said so confidently he gasped.

     "WHAT?!"

     "…30?"

     "Now you’re just fucking with me."

     "Um… 29?"

     He stared at you, visibly in pain. "I’m nineteen."

     Your jaw dropped. "What?!"

     "I’m literally on the U20 team," he deadpanned. "That means I am under 20."

     "Well, I didn’t know you were on the team!" you snapped, now feeling thoroughly embarrassed.

     Oliver let out a long, suffering sigh, dragging a hand down his face. "Now that you found out I am, I bet you want me though, right? Tch, shallow women these days."

     "Hey!" You crossed your arms, scowling. "I thought you were some weird old dude following me around! Besides, I don’t even know your name—" Your eyes flickered down to his jersey, where ‘AIKU’ was printed in bold letters.

     '…Aiku.'

     He sighed, clearly exhausted. "Oliver," he corrected.

     You blinked. Oliver Aiku?

     "Yeah." He rubbed his temples. "That’s it. I’m shaving my beard."

     That threw you off. "Wait, what?"

     Oliver groaned. "I look in the mirror every day and think I look fine. But no, apparently I’ve got the aura of a dude with a corporate job and three divorces! Do you know how messed up that is? I’m still in the ‘teens’"

     "Sorry," you muttered, averting your gaze.

     "Unbelievable," Oliver grumbled. "I can’t believe I got traumatized by a random chick who thought I was thirty."

     You snorted, crossing your arms. "Traumatized? I was the one out here fearing for my life every time I ran into you!"

     "Well, maybe if you actually looked at me instead of running away screaming, you wouldn’t have this problem."

     You pointed at him accusingly. "Are you actually nineteen? Or are you a forty-year-old man who got isekai’d into a younger body?"

     He groaned. "For the last time, I am nineteen!"

     You narrowed your eyes. "That’s exactly what a forty-year-old would say."

     "Bro." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stared at you.

     "Sorry, what can I do to make it up to you?" you asked sheepishly, genuinely worried you'd somehow messed up the vibe. 

     Oliver eyed you with a half-frustrated look, his hands on his hips like he was preparing to deliver some life lesson.

     "Give me your phone," he said, not waiting for a reply as you reluctantly handed it over. You were half scared but curious, was he going to take 0.5 pics of you and leak them to the internet?

     Oliver continued navigating your phone, asking "You busy tomorrow night?"

     You blinked. "Uh, no. Why?"

     He turned the phone in his hand and casually added his number to your contacts, tapping the screen before handing it back to you. "You are now."

     Your eyes widened in shock as you looked down at your screen. "Wait, did you just—?"

     "Yep. Don’t make me regret it," he said with a teasing smile.

     Before you could even respond, he was already walking off, leaving you standing there with your phone in hand.

     You tried to shake it off, but when you met him the next night, you were hit with a wave of surprise. There he was, standing at the restaurant entrance, his usual grin on his face. But something was different.

     Oliver had shaved. Completely. No beard. His face, which had previously carried the ruggedness of someone much older, was now startlingly smooth. And if possible, he looked even younger than you remembered—maybe even younger than his real age of nineteen.

     "Oliver?" You stammered, unable to hide the shock from your voice. You had expected some hint of stubble, some remnant of his previous ‘older man’ look, but no. Nothing. Hair really is a man’s makeup. 

     He chuckled, clearly amused by your stunned expression. "Surprised?"

     "You look... like you're actually nineteen," you managed, still processing the sight of his clean-shaven face.

     Oliver grinned, his mismatched eyes twinkling mischievously. "Yeah, well, I thought I'd give it a try for a date with a pretty girl."

     You shook your head, still trying to process the fact that this was the same guy who had spent weeks looking like someone who pays alimony and a mortgage.

[nerdycheol]

I Loathe You Forever? - I

❤️‍🔥Pairing: real estate developer!jungkook x architect!f reader

❤️‍🔥Genre: Enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn romance, comedic misunderstandings, professional rivalry, personal growth, future smut

❤️‍🔥wc: 7.5k

‼️JOIN THE TAGLIST by sending an ask or replying under this post‼️(those who asked to be added to taglist will be added for every part of this series)

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note: ahhh finally here!! sorry for the delay guys. writers block took over me. also, i don't have much knowledge in the field of architecture, all i that have written is based on the little searching i did. so forgive me if anything is wrong. Hope you like it.

(TAGLIST OPEN)

next ⏭

Chapter 1: The Nemesis

You adjusted your blazer, brushing invisible lint off your sleeve as you stepped into the sleek, glass-walled conference room. The sunlight streaming through the high-rise windows gleamed on the polished table, emphasizing the grandeur of the setting. You exhaled slowly, forcing down the irritation bubbling within you. This wasn’t your first time being summoned to a high-stakes negotiation meeting, but today was different. He would be there.

Jeon Jungkook.

Just thinking his name made your jaw tighten. He exuded an air of confidence so thick it bordered on arrogance, his smirk practically a trademark of his existence. You’d crossed paths with him multiple times—at architecture expos, during bidding wars for projects, and once in a particularly heated argument that ended with him walking away smugly as you seethed in silence.

"Good morning," you greeted the group already seated at the table, keeping your tone polite but professional.

The client’s representatives nodded, but your gaze instinctively shifted to the far end of the room, where Jungkook leaned casually against the wall, scrolling through his phone. He looked effortlessly put together, as usual. His tailored suit fit him like a glove, and his dark hair fell just slightly over his forehead, giving him an air of both charm and menace.

"Ah, look who decided to join us," he drawled, not even bothering to look up. "I thought you might’ve bailed when you heard I was attending."

Your fingers tightened around the strap of your briefcase, but you forced a smile. "And miss the chance to outshine you? Never."

That made him glance up, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk. "Outshine me? That’s ambitious."

"Ambition is the backbone of success," you replied coolly, taking your seat across from him.

The room fell into a tense silence as everyone seemed to sense the undercurrent of hostility between you two. It was no secret that you and Jungkook didn’t get along, and while some found your rivalry entertaining, others probably wished you’d sort it out—or, at the very least, keep it out of professional spaces.

The meeting began with formal introductions and a presentation about the project—a groundbreaking, sustainable luxury housing complex that was bound to make waves in the industry. You took meticulous notes, occasionally glancing at Jungkook. He was annoyingly composed, nodding at key points and even asking insightful questions that made you begrudgingly respect him.

When it was your turn to speak, you rose confidently, presenting your ideas with the passion and precision you were known for. You could feel his gaze on you the entire time, but you didn’t falter. Not until he interrupted.

"That’s an interesting take," he said, his voice smooth but laced with condescension. "But don’t you think the budget constraints would make your design unrealistic?"

You turned to him, narrowing your eyes. "Not if the materials are sourced correctly. I’ve already identified suppliers who can meet both cost and quality requirements."

He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "And if they fail to deliver?"

"They won’t," you snapped. "Because unlike you, I don’t make baseless promises. I do my research."

A low murmur spread through the room, and you caught the amused glint in the client’s eyes. Jungkook, however, didn’t seem fazed. He simply tilted his head, as if weighing your words, before letting out a soft chuckle.

"Touché," he said, and for a brief moment, you thought you saw something other than mockery in his expression—something closer to respect.

The rest of the meeting continued in a similarly tense fashion, with the two of you subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) undermining each other. By the time it ended, you were mentally exhausted but determined not to let it show.

As you packed your things, Jungkook approached, hands casually tucked into his pockets.

"Not bad today," he said, his tone almost casual. "For someone who’s always playing catch-up."

You clenched your jaw, refusing to rise to the bait. "Funny. I was just about to say the same to you."

His smirk widened. "You know, if you put half as much energy into working with me as you do fighting me, we might actually accomplish something impressive."

You stepped closer, meeting his gaze with unwavering determination. "I’d rather quit this project than work with you."

"Careful," he murmured, his voice low but teasing. "Words like that have a way of coming back to haunt you."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving you standing there, seething and utterly annoyed. You didn’t know what frustrated you more—his smug attitude or the fact that he always seemed to have the last word.

//

The afternoon sun poured into the cafeteria, warming the modern space with its open design and glass walls. You sat with your friends at a corner table, trying to shake off the lingering annoyance from the morning meeting. A tray of food sat in front of you, mostly untouched, as you poked at the pasta with your fork.

“Are you okay?” Jisoo asked, her brows furrowed with concern. “You’ve been unusually quiet since the meeting.”

“I’m fine,” you muttered, though your scowl gave you away. “Just tired of certain people.”

“Certain smug people?” Yuna chimed in knowingly, grinning as she sipped her iced coffee.

You gave her a pointed look but didn’t respond, focusing instead on rearranging your food into neat sections.

The conversation was interrupted by a familiar voice that made you freeze.

“Well, isn’t this a lovely group,” Jungkook drawled as he approached your table, a casual, almost predatory smile on his face.

Your friends looked up in surprise, while you mentally cursed the universe for your terrible luck.

“Hello,” he said smoothly, his tone polite but carrying just enough of that signature Jungkook smugness to set your teeth on edge. “How are you all? Having a good meal?”

“Hi, Jungkook,” Jisoo replied, her tone warm as she smiled at him.

“Yes, thank you,” Yuna added politely.

You, however, stayed silent, your fingers tightening around your fork.

Jungkook’s gaze shifted to you, and his smile widened. “No witty remarks today? I’m almost disappointed.”

You forced a tight smile. “I’m saving my energy for people who deserve it.”

He chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. “Well, don’t let me ruin your lunch. Have a good meal.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving your table in a sudden hush.

Jisoo broke the silence first, looking after him with a thoughtful expression. “He’s so polite. Why do you hate him so much?”

“Polite?” you repeated, your voice shooting up an octave. “He’s cunning! A fox in a rabbit’s clothing. He only cares about himself, always looking for ways to outshine everyone and make them feel small.”

Yuna snorted, trying to stifle her laughter. “A fox? Really?”

“Yes!” you said, throwing your hands up in exasperation. “He’s smug, manipulative, and—” You paused, groaning loudly. “Ugh! I’ve lost my appetite.”

Jisoo and Yuna exchanged amused glances before Jisoo said, “You should eat. You’ll need energy to fight against the ‘fox.’”

Yuna grinned, nudging your tray closer to you. “Come on. It’s fuel for the battle.”

You huffed, reluctantly taking a small bite of pasta as they laughed at your expense. Despite your annoyance, you couldn’t help but smile faintly at their teasing.

Little did you know, Jungkook had overheard just enough of your outburst to find it endlessly entertaining.

The next few weeks passed in a blur of meetings, phone calls, and emails, all of which included one consistent, infuriating factor: Jeon Jungkook. It seemed as though he had made it his personal mission to counter every idea you presented, every proposal you crafted, and every small victory you claimed. It wasn’t just work—it was war.

At first, you thought you could ignore him. His sarcastic remarks, his polished smile, his irritating habit of leaning back in his chair during meetings like he owned the world. But the more you tried to focus on your work, the more he found ways to disrupt your peace.

It was on a particularly stressful Wednesday afternoon, during yet another project meeting, that he pushed you too far.

“While I appreciate the effort,” Jungkook said, his tone dripping with false politeness, “don’t you think your design is a little… ambitious? We’re trying to appeal to practicality here, not fantasy.”

You inhaled sharply, gripping the edge of the conference table. “Ambitious is exactly what this project needs, Jungkook. Unlike some people, I don’t believe in settling for mediocrity.”

The room went silent, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. The other team members exchanged wary glances, clearly uncomfortable with the escalating hostility.

Jungkook’s eyes sparkled with amusement, as if he lived for these moments. “Mediocrity, huh?” he said, leaning forward slightly. “And here I thought practicality was just another word for success.”

Before you could retort, the project manager—an older, no-nonsense woman named Mrs. Kang—cleared her throat loudly.

“Enough,” she said firmly, her sharp gaze darting between the two of you. “We’re here to collaborate, not tear each other apart. If you two can’t keep your personal rivalry out of this project, I’ll find someone who can.”

The reprimand stung, but you swallowed your pride and nodded. Jungkook, to his credit, looked slightly chastised, though his smirk didn’t entirely disappear.

After the meeting, you stayed behind to gather your notes, hoping to avoid any further interaction with him. Your friends, Jisoo and Yuna, had lingered as well, partly out of curiosity and partly because they seemed to have made it their mission to witness every interaction between you and Jungkook.

“Well, that was intense,” Yuna remarked, leaning against the table with a sly grin. “You almost had him there.”

“Almost?” you said, raising an eyebrow as you shoved papers into your bag. “I’d say I held my ground pretty well.”

“You did,” Jisoo said with a supportive nod, though her expression was tinged with concern. “But maybe tone it down a little next time? Mrs. Kang looked like she was ready to throw her clipboard at you both.”

Before you could respond, a familiar voice cut through the conversation.

“You know,” Jungkook said casually as he approached, standing beside your group with his trademark smirk, “I think Mrs. Kang likes you better when you’re not scowling.”

Yuna stifled a laugh, while Jisoo’s eyes widened slightly. You straightened up, glaring at him. “And I think the rest of us like you better when you’re not talking.”

He laughed, the sound warm and unguarded, catching you—and apparently your friends—off guard. Jisoo blinked in surprise, and Yuna looked between the two of you with barely concealed amusement.

“Relax,” Jungkook said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “I’m just messing with you.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” you asked dryly, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

“Maybe,” he said, his expression softening slightly. “You’re not as bad as you think, you know. When you’re not trying to annihilate me, that is.”

His words left you momentarily speechless. Before you could think of a reply, he turned to Yuna and Jisoo, giving them a polite nod. “Ladies,” he said, before walking away, leaving you with a strange mix of frustration and confusion.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Yuna grinned mischievously. “Did he just compliment you? I think he’s warming up to you.”

“Warming up?” you repeated, incredulous. “I think he’s just finding new ways to mess with me.”

Jisoo tilted her head thoughtfully. “Or maybe he’s just… not that bad?”

You shot her a look. “Not you too.”

Yuna laughed, slinging an arm around your shoulders. “Come on, let’s grab coffee. You’re going to need the caffeine to deal with him tomorrow.”

Despite your annoyance, you allowed them to steer you toward the cafeteria, their teasing chatter providing a welcome distraction from the lingering echo of Jungkook’s unexpected words.

//

Later that evening, you sat cross-legged on your small couch, biting absentmindedly into a biscuit as you stared at the project plans displayed on your laptop screen. Despite your best efforts, the words and numbers blurred together, your mind circling back to Jungkook’s parting comment.

“You’re not as bad as you think.”

You sighed, chewing a little more aggressively than necessary. What did he even mean by that? And why did it bother me so much?

A muffled noise from the other side of the wall pulled you from your thoughts. You froze mid-bite, tilting your head toward the sound. It was faint but persistent, a combination of shuffling and the occasional thud.

“Is someone finally moving in?” you murmured, brushing the crumbs off your hands. “I hope it’s someone nice.”

Clapping your hands to remove the last traces of dust, you stood and stretched. “I should sleep now,” you muttered, shutting your laptop and heading to your bedroom.

//

The next morning was a blessed weekend, and you decided to hit the gym for a workout. The familiar buzz of people and the clang of weights greeted you as you stepped inside, ready to lose yourself in the rhythm of exercise. 

 After a quick warm-up, you moved onto the treadmill, your earbuds blasting your favorite playlist.

Just as you settled into a comfortable rhythm, you heard a familiar voice cut through the music.

“Good morning.”

Your eyes widened as you turned to see Jungkook, his smug grin in full effect, standing a few feet away in athletic gear.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, pulling out one earbud. “You don’t go here.”

“I do now,” he replied casually, holding up a water bottle as if it were proof of his membership.

You scowled. “Great. I used to only see your face on weekdays, and now you’ve ruined my weekends too.”

He smirked. “Happy to be of service.”

Muttering under your breath, you turned your attention back to the treadmill, determined to ignore him. Unfortunately, his presence lingered in the back of your mind throughout your workout.

After finishing at the gym, you returned to your apartment building, sweat-soaked but feeling lighter. That relief disappeared the moment you spotted Jungkook standing outside his door—the apartment next to yours. He was fiddling with his keys when you approached.

“Are you stalking me?” you huffed, crossing your arms.

He looked up, eyebrows raised. “What are you talking about? This is my house.” He motioned toward the door beside yours.

You froze. “You’re the new neighbor?!”

His lips twitched with amusement. “Surprise.”

Throwing your hands in the air, you muttered, “Did a black cat cross my path or something?”

He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “Why blame the cat? Sounds like your luck.”

“Ugh! Whatever. Just don’t talk to me,” you snapped, storming into your apartment and slamming the door shut.

//

The next morning, your alarm blared, jolting you awake. “Crap, I’m late!” you exclaimed, scrambling out of bed. You threw on clothes, grabbed your bag, and dashed out the door.

In the parking lot, you stopped short. Your car tire was completely flat.

“What the hell? I’m already late!” you groaned, kicking the deflated tire. As if on cue, a car honked behind you. Turning, you saw Jungkook’s car idling nearby. He rolled down the window, smirking as usual.

“What happened? Flat tire?” he asked.

“No, I just thought I’d admire the pavement,” you snapped.

He chuckled. “Get in. I’ll drop you off.”

“Forget it. I’ll just take the bus or something.”

“You’re already late,” he pointed out. “Waiting for a bus will make you even later. Just get in. We’re going to the same place, anyway.”

Reluctantly, you sighed. “Just my luck,” you muttered, climbing into the passenger seat.

As you settled in, he leaned over, his hand brushing past yours to grab the seatbelt. You stiffened, your breath hitching at the unexpected closeness.

“What are you doing?!” you exclaimed, leaning away.

“You forgot to wear your seatbelt,” he said nonchalantly, buckling it for you. His proximity made your cheeks warm.

Clearing your throat, you said, “Just drive.”

The ride was suffocatingly quiet, save for the occasional hum of the engine and the faint melody of a radio station playing in the background. You stared out the window, counting streetlights, while Jungkook drove with a maddening calm, as though he wasn’t the reason your morning was already spiraling out of control.

When you finally reached the office, you spotted Jisoo and Yuna near the entrance. They waved, each holding a coffee cup.

“There you are!” Jisoo said, handing you your usual order. “But why are you two coming together? Did you guys make up?” She nodded toward Jungkook, who was parking his car.

You scoffed. “You think? It feels like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.”

Yuna grinned. “You sure it’s just today?”

Rolling your eyes, you took a sip of coffee, ignoring their teasing. From across the lot, Jungkook caught your eye and winked, making you groan inwardly.

It’s going to be a long day.

The following week, the project’s momentum picked up, and with it came the next challenge: site inspections. The project’s location, an expansive plot of land nestled just outside the bustling city, was to host a blend of eco-friendly architecture and luxury living. It was a brilliant concept, one you were proud to contribute to.

But, of course, Jungkook had to be there.

You arrived at the site early, your boots crunching against the damp gravel as you stepped out of your car. The sky was a murky gray that promised rain at any moment.  The workers were setting up survey equipment, and Mrs. Kang was speaking to the lead engineer near the makeshift office trailer.

You greeted her briefly before diving into your inspection. Walking the perimeter, you visualized how the landscape would transform: sleek, energy-efficient homes nestled seamlessly into the natural terrain. You smiled to yourself, already drafting ideas in your head.

That brief moment of peace was shattered when a familiar voice cut through the air.

“Careful not to trip over your own ambition.”

You turned, already annoyed, to find Jungkook strolling toward you, hands in his pockets, an insufferable grin on his face. He looked out of place in the rugged setting, his polished shoes and tailored jacket a stark contrast to your practical attire.

“Do you have anything useful to say, or are you just here to be a nuisance?” you shot back.

“I’m here to inspect the site,” he replied smoothly, stopping a few feet away from you. “Same as you. Unless you’d prefer I stay out of your way?”

“That would be ideal,” you muttered, turning back to your notes.

“Noted,” he said, though he made no move to leave. Instead, he stood beside you, his gaze scanning the horizon. “You’re imagining it, aren’t you? How it’ll all look once it’s built.”

You hesitated, caught off guard by his observation. “Of course. Aren’t you?”

He shrugged. “I prefer to deal in realities, not fantasies.”

You scoffed, scribbling a note on your pad. “That’s the problem with you. You don’t dream big enough.”

“And that’s the problem with you,” he countered, his tone light but pointed. “You dream so big, you forget about the details that make it all possible.”

His words stung more than you cared to admit, but you refused to let him see it quickly masking your reaction with a smirk. “And yet, somehow, I always manage to make my dreams a reality. Maybe you should take notes.”

Jungkook chuckled softly, his gaze flicking to you. “I don’t need to take notes, ___.” He leaned slightly closer, the warmth of his presence unsettling in the cool morning air. “I just need to make sure you don’t overlook the cracks in your perfect vision.”

Before the conversation could escalate further, Mrs. Kang approached, clipboard in hand. “Enough flirting, you two,” she said dryly, startling you both.

You gaped at her, heat rushing to your face. “Flirting? We’re not—”

“Whatever it is, keep it professional,” she interrupted, cutting you off. “We’ve got a lot to cover today, and I need both of you on the same page.” You marched ahead, eager to put distance between yourself and the aggravating man.

The briefing began, with Mrs. Kang detailing the challenges of incorporating the sustainable design into the natural landscape without compromising the luxury aspect. It was an intricate balance, one you knew was crucial to the project’s success.

As she spoke, you noticed Jungkook occasionally glancing in your direction, as if gauging your reaction. You ignored him, focusing instead on contributing ideas to address potential construction delays. Yet, every time you spoke, Jungkook would counter with his own points—some valid, others seemingly designed to provoke you.

It was a delicate dance, the two of you weaving between collaboration and combativeness, and everyone present could feel the tension simmering beneath the surface.

Once the meeting concluded, the group split off to survey different areas of the site. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kang assigned you and Jungkook to the same section.

“Great,” you muttered under your breath as you grabbed your gear.

Jungkook caught up to you, a teasing smile playing on his lips. “Looks like we’re stuck together. Try not to lose your temper, yeah?”

“Try not to test my patience,” you snapped back, quickening your pace.

The two of you navigated the uneven terrain in tense silence, the only sounds being the crunch of gravel underfoot and the distant hum of machinery. Despite the irritation simmering within you, you couldn’t help but notice the way Jungkook’s sharp eyes scanned the surroundings, taking in every detail.

“This area’s going to be a challenge,” he said finally, breaking the silence. “The slope’s too steep for a traditional foundation.”

You nodded reluctantly, scribbling in your notebook. “We’ll have to design a tiered structure. It’ll cost more, but it’ll integrate better with the environment.”

“Agreed,” he said, surprising you with his lack of sarcasm.

For a brief moment, the hostility between you eased, replaced by a shared understanding of the task at hand. It was... unsettling, this glimpse of a Jungkook who wasn’t insufferable.

But the truce didn’t last long.

As you crouched to examine a patch of soil near the slope, Jungkook crouched beside you, his proximity making you acutely aware of his presence.

“Don’t fall,” he said, his tone laced with mock concern.

You shot him a glare. “I think I can manage.”

He smirked. “Just checking. I’d hate to see you take a tumble—though I’m sure you’d land gracefully.”

Your lips twitched despite yourself, but you refused to let him see you smile. “If you’re done with the commentary, maybe you could focus on the work?”

“Always focused,” he replied with a casual shrug, leaning back on his heels .

The two of you worked in relative silence after that, occasionally exchanging remarks but mostly staying out of each other’s way. Still, you couldn’t deny the odd sense of balance you felt. As much as Jungkook annoyed you, there was no denying that he challenged you—and, in some ways, made you better.

By the time the day ended, the sun was dipping low on the horizon, casting the site in golden light.

“Well,” Jungkook said as you packed up your things. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

You raised an eyebrow. “If by ‘not so bad,’ you mean tolerable, then sure.”

He chuckled, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Careful, ___. You might start liking me.”

You scoffed, brushing past him. “Won’t you like that?”

The site inspection lasted longer than expected, with Mrs. Kang pointing out areas of concern and requesting alternative solutions. You focused on the discussion, ignoring the occasional pointed remarks Jungkook threw your way. By the time the meeting wrapped up, the sun was dipping low on the horizon, casting a golden glow over the site.

“Good work today,” Mrs. Kang said, giving both of you a nod before heading to her car.

You exhaled, relieved to be done for the day. Gathering your things, you made your way back to your car, eager to leave Jungkook and his infuriating smirk behind.

But, of course, he was right behind you.

“Heading out already?” he asked casually.

You shot him a sideways glance. “Unlike some people, I don’t loiter for no reason.”

He chuckled, pulling his keys from his pocket. “Maybe I just enjoy the view.”

You paused, caught off guard by his words. When you turned to look at him, he was already walking toward his car, his expression unreadable.

What was that supposed to mean?

Shaking your head, you climbed into your car and drove away, determined not to dwell on the strange moment.

But as you lay in bed that night, replaying the day’s events in your mind, you couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to Jungkook than the infuriating façade he so carefully maintained.

//

The following days were a whirlwind of preparations for the next phase of the project. Meetings turned into late nights at the office, and the constant pressure made it difficult to think about anything—or anyone—else. Yet, somehow, Jungkook always found a way to intrude on your thoughts. Whether it was his annoying quips during meetings or the rare moments when he actually offered useful insights, he was impossible to ignore.

And then there were those chance encounters in the hallway of your apartment complex. At times, you'd walk back to your unit after a long day, only to find him leaning casually against the wall outside his door, scrolling through his phone or adjusting his jacket. The sight of him, always so effortlessly put together, would grind your nerves in the most infuriating way.

You hated that.

And yet…

There was something oddly grounding about his presence. Something that kept you on your toes, pushing you to be better, sharper, more determined.

Not that you’d ever admit it to him.

//

The unexpected moments of civility between you and Jungkook were becoming annoyingly frequent, leaving you with a strange, unsettled feeling. No matter how much you tried to resist, there was something undeniably magnetic about the way he pushed you—both in your work and under your skin. The snarky remarks, the constant tension, and those rare moments when you actually managed to work together were beginning to blur the line between pure irritation and... something you refused to acknowledge.

The project was demanding enough without having to navigate your complicated feelings toward the man who seemed to have an uncanny ability to get under your skin.

The following week, you found yourself once again working late in the office, trying to meet the growing deadlines for the project. The building was quiet, the hum of the fluorescent lights filling the space. As the clock ticked closer to midnight, you couldn’t help but notice the familiar presence of Jungkook leaning against the doorframe.

“Still here?” he asked, his voice breaking the silence.

You glanced up, your tired eyes narrowing at him. “What do you want now?”

He grinned, his expression mischievous. “I was just about to ask you the same thing. Aren’t you tired of working yourself to the bone?”

You rolled your eyes, closing the contract in front of you. “I have deadlines, unlike some people.”

Jungkook pushed off from the doorframe, walking further into the room. “Yeah, well, some of us know how to balance work and... other things.”

You raised an eyebrow, sensing that this conversation was going somewhere you didn’t want it to go. “Other things? Like what?”

He paused, then leaned against the desk, his eyes locking with yours. “Like... not taking everything so seriously.”

You swallowed, a flicker of something strange stirring in your chest. “I take my work seriously, Jungkook. Unlike some people, I don’t waste my time.”

There it was again—the challenge in his eyes, the unspoken understanding between you. For a moment, neither of you spoke. The air in the room felt charged, thick with an unspoken tension. Finally, he broke the silence.

“You know, you’re not as bad as you pretend to be,” he said, his tone almost contemplative.

You blinked, caught off guard by the statement. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged. “Just an observation. You’ve got a lot of potential. But sometimes you’re too busy fighting to see it.”

Your heart skipped a beat, the unexpected compliment catching you off guard. You opened your mouth to respond, but the words escaped you. Instead, you focused on the papers in front of you, trying to divert the conversation back to something you could control.

“Stop,” you muttered, not wanting to hear anymore. “We’re not friends. Don’t pretend we are.”

Jungkook’s smile faltered, but only for a second. “I wasn’t pretending,” he replied, his voice quieter now.

You looked up to find him staring at you, the usual smirk replaced by something far more serious. But before you could say anything, he turned and walked toward the door.

“Goodnight, ___,” he said softly, pausing at the threshold. “Try to get some rest.”

You didn’t reply, instead watching as he left the room, the door clicking shut behind him. You sat there for a moment, the weight of his words lingering in the air. It was the first time in a long while that you found yourself wondering if Jungkook was more than just the annoyingly handsome man you had to deal with.

The following day, you arrived at the office early, determined to get ahead. You had a meeting with Mr. Kim in an hour, and you wanted to make sure every detail of your presentation was perfect.

The quiet hum of the office greeted you as you set up in the conference room, spreading out your notes and adjusting the slides on the projector.

You were so absorbed in your work that you didn’t notice Jungkook standing in the doorway until he cleared his throat.

“Early bird,” he remarked, stepping inside.

You glanced up, surprised to see him. He was holding a folder, his expression unusually neutral.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping in? Or is this your way of keeping up with me?” you asked, arching an eyebrow.

Jungkook smirked. “If I wanted to keep up with you, I’d have to slow down first.”

Your jaw clenched, but before you could retort, he held up the folder.

“Relax,” he said, his tone almost teasing. “I’m here for Mr. Kim’s meeting too.”

“You?” you asked, incredulous. “I thought you weren’t involved in this project anymore.”

“Things change,” he replied cryptically, taking a seat at the table.

You stared at him for a moment, suspicion creeping in. But there was no time to dwell on it—Mr. Kim walked in moments later, his presence commanding immediate attention.

//

The meeting was tense. Mr. Kim scrutinized every detail of your proposal, his sharp gaze cutting through your explanations. Jungkook, to your irritation, chimed in more than once, pointing out areas that could be “streamlined” or “revised.”

At one point, Mr. Kim leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful.

“You both clearly have strong opinions,” he said, looking between you and Jungkook. “But I need a cohesive vision. If we combine both your ideas I believe the results would be better, don’t you think?” he asked Mrs. Kang, his tone calm but pointed.

Mrs. Kang nodded in agreement, her expression firm as she turned to you and Jungkook. “You’ll work together on this and present a joint proposal by the end of the week. I expect nothing less than a refined, cohesive vision.”

Your heart sank. A joint proposal?

You chanced a glance at Jungkook, who maintained a neutral expression, his features unreadable as if he had expected this outcome all along. He gave a small nod, his voice steady and calm as he replied, “Understood.”

You forced a smile, masking your frustration. “Of course.”

As the meeting adjourned, you gathered your notes, avoiding Jungkook’s gaze. But as you turned to leave, he fell into step beside you.

“This should be fun,” he said dryly.

“Fun?” you shot back, your voice low. “If by fun you mean unbearable, then sure.”

Jungkook chuckled, his tone lighter than expected. “Come on, we’ve worked together before. This won’t be so bad.”

You stopped walking, turning to face him. “That’s because you weren’t actively trying to sabotage me before.”

His expression softened, the humor fading. “I’m not trying to sabotage you.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” you muttered, brushing past him.

But his next words stopped you in your tracks.

“For what it’s worth,” he said quietly, “I think your idea has merit. It just needs refining.”

You turned to look at him, surprised by the unexpected compliment. He met your gaze evenly, no trace of sarcasm in his tone.

“Thanks,” you said, the word awkward but genuine.

He nodded, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Don’t mention it. Literally.”

You couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped you, though you quickly stifled it.

“See you at 3,” you said, turning on your heel before he could see the faint smile tugging at your lips.

As you walked away, you couldn’t shake the feeling that Jungkook was more than the rival you’d always seen him as.

The day passed in a haze of back-to-back meetings and endless emails. By the time three o’clock rolled around, you were already dreading the joint session with Jungkook.

The conference room felt a little too big when you walked in. Jungkook was already there, leaning back in his chair with his laptop open. He glanced up as you entered, and for once, his expression was unreadable.

“Ready to collaborate?” he asked, his tone suspiciously light.

You set your notebook down, ignoring his attempt at humor. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Jungkook chuckled softly, closing his laptop. “You always make it sound like working with me is a death sentence.”

You didn’t respond, choosing instead to spread out your notes and connect your laptop to the projector. Jungkook watched you in silence, which only made the tension in the room thicker.

Once everything was set up, you cleared your throat. “We need to streamline the sections on resource allocation and timeline management. Mr. Kim was clear about that.”

Jungkook nodded, leaning forward. “Agreed. But we also need to address scalability. Your plan is solid, but it doesn’t leave much room for growth.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “It’s a proposal, Jungkook, not a five-year strategy. The goal is to secure approval for the immediate next steps.”

“And if the immediate next steps aren’t sustainable?” he countered.

The back-and-forth continued, each of you stubbornly defending your perspectives. It wasn’t until nearly an hour later that the conversation took a slightly different turn.

“You’re not listening,” you said, exasperated. “I’m not saying scalability doesn’t matter, but—”

“I’m listening,” Jungkook interrupted, his tone calm. “I just don’t agree with you.”

You let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Fine. Then what’s your brilliant solution?”

He leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. “We split the sections. I’ll handle scalability and resource optimization. You take the timeline and project scope. We’ll merge it once we’re done.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, but admitting that felt like handing him a victory. “Fine,” you said grudgingly.

Jungkook smirked. “You’re welcome.”

“Don’t push it,” you muttered, turning back to your laptop.

The next few days passed in a blur of work. True to his word, Jungkook focused on his assigned sections, and you had to admit—begrudgingly—that his suggestions were solid. But working with him still wasn’t without its challenges.

"Your timeline’s too aggressive," he said one evening as the two of you reviewed the merged proposal.

You shot him a glare. "It’s realistic."

"It’s unrealistic if you expect people to work 12-hour days," he replied, leaning back in his chair. "Not everyone’s a workaholic like you."

"Maybe if everyone were, we’d get things done faster," you shot back.

Jungkook laughed, the sound catching you off guard. "You’re impossible, you know that?"

You crossed your arms, but there was no malice behind your glare. "And you’re insufferable. So, I guess we’re even."

For a moment, the tension eased. You caught a faint trace of a smile on Jungkook’s face, and it was… disarming. But before you could dwell on it, he cleared his throat, his expression turning serious.

"We’ll need to present this together. Have you thought about how we’ll divide the slides?"

You nodded, grateful for the shift in focus. "I’ll take the opening and scope overview. You can cover scalability and resource planning."

"Deal," he said, extending his hand.

You hesitated for a moment before shaking it. His grip was firm, his hand warm.

"Let’s try not to kill each other during the presentation," you said dryly.

"No promises," he replied, a teasing glint in his eyes.

The morning of the presentation, you found yourself nervously adjusting your blazer in the mirror. It wasn’t because of Jungkook—that would be ridiculous. But as the two of you stood side by side in the conference room, presenting to Mr. Kim and the board, you couldn’t help but notice how seamlessly you worked together.

Jungkook’s delivery was polished, his points sharp and persuasive. When it was your turn, he didn’t interrupt or overshadow you.

When the presentation ended, Mr. Kim smiled, nodding with approval. "Excellent work. I’m ready to move forward with the proposal. Thank you all for your hard work. Let's aim to have the implementation ready by next week."

As the board members filed out, you felt a small surge of relief.

"You did good," Jungkook said quietly, his voice low enough for only you to hear.

You glanced at him, surprised. His expression was uncharacteristically genuine.

"You too," you replied softly.

For once, there was no snarky retort, no sharp edge to his words. Just a quiet acknowledgment that maybe—just maybe—you made a good team.

_________________________________________________________________________

It was a quiet morning when Mrs.Kang summoned you and Jungkook to his office. Her expression was unreadable, which immediately put you on edge. Jungkook, as always, looked irritatingly calm, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his perfectly tailored suit.

“I have good news,” Mrs. Kang began, gesturing for the two of you to take a seat. “A significant proposal has come in from a high-profile client based in Las Vegas.”

You exchanged a glance with Jungkook, your curiosity piqued.

“The client is considering investing in a long-term partnership with our firm, but they’ve requested a dedicated team to oversee the preliminary project.”

Jungkook leaned forward. “What kind of project?”

“A comprehensive legal framework for their expanding business operations,” she explained. “It’s a multi-faceted endeavor, involving contracts, compliance, and regulatory assessments. They need everything done efficiently, and they’re willing to pay generously for it.”

You nodded slowly, already anticipating the workload. “And who’s handling it?”

Mrs. Kang’s gaze flicked between the two of you. “You are.”

Your stomach dropped. “Together?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “The client specifically requested for our best workers, and after your stellar performance in the last project, it’s clear that’s you two. This is a major opportunity for the firm, and I trust you’ll make it a success.”

Jungkook’s lips quirked into a small, smug smile. “Sounds like a challenge.”

You shot him a glare before turning back to Mrs. Kang. “How long will we be in Las Vegas?”

“Until the project is completed. The initial timeline is four weeks, but it could be extended  depending on the client’s requirements.”

Four weeks. Four weeks of working with Jungkook. You weren’t sure if you should laugh or cry.

“When do we leave?” Jungkook asked, his tone calm and professional.

“Tomorrow morning,” Mrs. Kang said, sliding two plane tickets across the desk. “I expect regular updates. And remember, this project could define the trajectory of your careers.”

As you left her office, you couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in your chest.

“Guess we’re going to Vegas,” Jungkook said as the two of you walked back to your desks.

You didn’t dignify him with a response.

//

The next morning, you found yourself at the airport, juggling your carry-on bag, laptop case, and an iced coffee you barely had time to grab.By the time you reached the airport the next morning, you were already exhausted. It wasn’t even 7 AM, but Jungkook was waiting at the gate, scrolling through his phone like he didn’t have a care in the world. His effortlessly polished outfit—a simple black hoodie and dark jeans—looked like something out of a casual photoshoot.

You, on the other hand, were fighting a losing battle with your overstuffed carry-on bag and a coffee cup that kept threatening to spill.

“Morning,” he greeted, barely looking up.

“Morning,” you mumbled back, though your tone suggested it was anything but good.

As you plopped into the seat next to him, you struggled to balance your coffee on the armrest while rummaging through your bag for your boarding pass. Jungkook glanced over, clearly amused by your chaotic energy.

“Are you planning on staying there or what?” he quipped, nodding at your bag.

“It’s called being prepared,” you shot back. “Not that you’d know anything about that.”

He smirked. “I packed in twenty minutes, and I guarantee I have everything I need.”

“Congratulations,” you said dryly. “Do you want a medal?” 

He smirked, clearly unbothered.

When boarding was announced, you couldn’t hide your irritation when you saw that your seats were together. The last thing you wanted was to sit next to Jungkook for the duration of the flight. But of course, you didn’t have much choice. There was no way you were going to fight him over something so trivial, even if the idea of being stuck next to him for hours made your skin crawl.

As the plane took off, you tried to focus on the city shrinking beneath you, but you couldn’t ignore how Jungkook had leaned over, practically pressing against your side as he peered out the window.

"Can't you stay put?" you muttered, your irritation rising.

He smirked without looking at you. "Not everyone can sit still for hours like you."

You shot him a glare, but he was already lost in the view outside, and there was nothing more to say. Silence settled between you, the quiet only interrupted by the hum of the plane.

“Vegas,” he mused, breaking the silence. “I hope you packed something that isn’t boring lawyer attire.”

You turned to glare at him. “And what exactly do you think I should’ve packed? A sequined dress and feather boa?”

He grinned. “Not a bad idea. It’d definitely make things more interesting.”

You crossed your arms. “For your information, I have plenty of stylish clothes. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Sure you do,” he said with a teasing lilt. “But Vegas is a little more… exciting.”

“You can’t even see half the things in my suitcase, so stop assuming,” you snapped, your tone sharper than you intended.

“Relax, I’m kidding.” He leaned back in his seat, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “You’re so easy to wind up.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to ignore him, but then Jungkook started fiddling with the instruction sheet that was in front of him, crinkling it loudly. The constant rustling made it hard to concentrate, and you were starting to lose patience.

“Seriously?” you asked, finally glancing over at him.

He didn’t look up from the pamphlet. “What?”

“Can you stop with that?” you said, irritation creeping into your voice. “It’s like you're trying to annoy me on purpose.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking at you briefly. “I’m just reading it.”

“You’re not reading it, you’re crumpling it,” you retorted. “Could you, for once, just sit still?”

He shrugged, still flicking through the paper. "What if something happens? I need to make sure you're okay. You’ve got no one here but me."

You snapped, "That’s why we have flight attendants to help us."

He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk. "True. But I can’t say I trust them as much as I trust myself to look out for you."

You groaned, leaning back in your seat, hoping he'd get the hint and stop, but the crinkling continued, and you were about to lose it.

“Seriously,” you muttered. “You’re exhausting.”

“Guess you’re stuck with me for the next few weeks,” he said, completely unbothered by your frustration.

The playful banter continued for the rest of the flight, with Jungkook finding every opportunity to tease you about your organizational skills—or lack thereof. By the time the plane landed in Las Vegas, you were equal parts annoyed and amused, though you’d never admit the latter.

As you walked off the plane, Jungkook glanced over at you, a smug look on his face.

"Ready for Vegas?" he asked, his grin wide and teasing.

You shot him a look, trying to suppress the rolling annoyance that surged through you. Of course he’d ask that now. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Just try not to get in my way.”

He raised an eyebrow, the playful smirk still in place. “No promises,” he replied, leaning in a little closer, clearly enjoying your irritation. A small sigh escaped your lips as you looked away. Why does he always have to be so... impossible to ignore?

[amnestria-the-elf]

So we're all just supposed to be fucking grateful that Larian gave us "new Wyll content" (evil ending for a man who is canonically incorruptible, what the fuck) and simultaneously broke him again (giving low approval greetings to a romanced PC, what the fuck).

I... I just... the simultaneous feelings of rage and utter hopelessness are overwhelming.

Listen, if you've read any of my posts you know I have a pretty clear "Don't yuck anyone's yum" policy. If you think an evil Wyll ending is interesting, fine. But here's why it falls flat for me.

First, like I said above, Wyll is canonically incorruptible. It's literally the entire basis of his character. He is a man who was coerced into making an infernal contract to save a city and had to pay a horrible price for doing so, then spent seven fucking years alone in the wilderness doing his damned best to protect the people of the Sword Coast, while all along telling his horrible, abusive patron to just fuck off already.

Now, could you argue that during the events of the game, Wyll develops a taste for evil? Sure. There are plenty of opportunities for his villain origin story to unfold. But they never do. His moral compass never wavers. Turned into a devil? He feels shame, because it's an outward sign that he was doing things for Mizora that were morally wrong, and he didn't see it before. His approval rating for the PC shoots through the roof if you save Karlach, a sure indicator of his true moral compass. His father kidnapped? Fuck that noise, we're gonna save him. Rescue Zariel's "asset"? Ugh, fine, but don't get distracted from the real reason we're here. His father gets tadpoled? Oh hells no, we're gonna take down these assholes and save the godsdamned world. His father accuses him of being an agent of a devil and is super pissy about it? "Everything I did, I did for the people of the Sword Coast."

For fuck's sake, he will leave the party if the PC gets too evil, even knowing it means he'll probably turn into a mindflayer immediately. Even if he's romancing the PC. Unwavering moral compass. So giving him an evil ending without also going back and changing everything about his character just feels like lazy writing to me.

Which brings me to the second reason all of this rubs the wrong way. Wyll deserves so much more content. More romanced greetings, more reactions to other characters' choices, a final boss battle that is actually about him, a default ending that actually makes fucking sense (I have another post cooking about the Avernus ending, so I will leave it for now.)

And please, spare me your "But Wyll was rewritten after early access" bullshit. That's Larian's problem. They chose to listen to feedback and do a late-stage rewrite. They then chose to implement it poorly and never fucking fix it. Other characters, who already have far more content than Wyll, have had even more added over the course of the seven released patches. Wyll, on the other hand, has been sitting around completely ignored until now when we get this evil ending.

Many have rightfully pointed out the inherent racism steeped in all of this. I want Larian to be better. But as Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them." I already didn't have much hope about Patch 7 for Wyll, but this... honestly, this is worse than him just being ignored again.

The thing that kills me the most is that this is just going to be more fodder for the fandom to completely mischaracterize Wyll, for those who already haven't bothered to think critically about his character at all to just be like, oh, cool, Wyll is evil now. Nope. You've completely missed the point.

I'm just... so tired. I've worked very hard to put this little bubble of Wyll enthusiasts around me (hi friends I love you all!) so that I can hold on to some shred of sanity in this fandom. The world needs heroes of color. Just let Wyll be the hero in peace.

[the-badger-mole]

You know what really irked me, even as a kid watching ATLA? Any time Aang vented about his crush on Katara to anyone, they would pat his head and assure him she would come around eventually. Some even implied since he's the Avatar, she basically has to. No one ever told Aang to maybe respect Katara's boundaries and choices, and not see friendship as a stepping stone to being her boyfriend. That bothered me then, and it bothers me even more now.

It should bother EVERYONE! One of the things I hate about Kataang- the MAIN thing I hate about Kataang- is how little Katara matters in the relationship. She is Aang's prize. Whatever she might actually want for herself is irrelevant. I hate how little care was given into Katara's side of this relationship. It was so poorly developed that when pressed, the only examples of Katara's feelings being more than friendship are that last scene in "The Fortuneteller", which has Katara literally only considering Aang for half a second because someone outside of herself pointing out that he was a powerful bender, and then never mentioning it again, or that scene in "The Headband", which has Katara giving Aang bedroom eyes FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE, but again, not talking about it or giving him any actual signal that she wants to pursue something with him. I'm convinced the only reason those scenes exist is because Bryke were just aware enough of how romance should be structured that they knew that Katara should have some sort of participation in the romance. Too bad they didn't care enough about her feelings to actually center her feelings.

Meanwhile, Aang's feelings get explored, discussed (with everyone EXCEPT Katara) and validated. We can't NOT know how he feels. The reason all those people reassuring Aang that he'll get Katara is so insidious is because Aang never considers her feelings. He can't even fathom her turning him down. It never crosses his mind that her answer might be no. That she has the right to say no. So when she says no in EIP (and it was a no. If👏🏿 it's👏🏿 not👏🏿 a👏🏿 yes, 👏🏿it's👏🏿 a 👏🏿no👏🏿), Aang can't respect that boundary. He stomps over that boundary because he's the Avatar, and he wants her, so of COURSE she's not going to turn him down. She can't say no to him. And Bryke agree with him! They don't ever address how messed up it was for Aang to kiss Katara without her consent TWICE, and they don't ever address Katara's feelings. Instead they make it so the only charitable explanation for why Katara's feelings changed between EIP and the finale is that she feels like she owes Aang.

She is not romantically interested in Aang until the moment she sees him on stage being hailed as tH3 r3@L h3R0!!!11!!! He was the Avatar she'd been hoping for. He ended the war. He wanted her. Bryke, instead of giving Katara moments of having Aang support her, give emotional validation, or even just helping her with chores without being a baby about it, ignored developing Katara's feelings altogether-ignored the fact that Zuko was right there giving her in like 5 episodes what Ang never gave her in the entire series- in favor of presenting her as a literal prize for their boy.

[a-driftamongopenstars]

i just want to say a few words about this "only 3 choices kept from DAI" thing.

we shouldn't be okay with it. yes, at some point the game does need to grow out of where it is, not every single choice can be addressed, but that's the thing. no one is asking for it. to throw away an entire game's worth of choices in a sequel that follows directly after a massive cliffhanger is just disrespectful to player's time and emotional investment. whatever the team is saying to try and defend this choice is not working. we don't need 100 cameos and no, "bringing back a character always leads to something bad happening to them" is just not true.

it's been 10 years in development. how in this whole time does it not come up who the divine is. who drank from the well. inquisition turned the tides of nations, it's a fact, how is it that the only thing that matters is who you romanced, and whether or not you want to save solas. this is asinine.

I know Bioware did it before (see: leliana). but it's like, one or two things. not the entirety of a very long game.

people's disappointment is absolutely justified. it's normal to feel upset that your choices of a massive scale don't matter in a game directly affected by said choices.

[the-teufort-nine]

My TF2 Fic Rec List [ Fanfics I've Read That You Should Too]

*cracks knuckles* right, let's get started! X Reader fics are not included bc I already did a list of them for an ask. Mind the tags and ratings, as always. I'll add to this as I collect more, but its decently long as is

Symbol Key:

** = Incomplete

~~ = Personal favourite

++ = Under 10k

SpeedingBullet:

~~Running Blind by TheTriggeredHappy

(( Scout's eyes are badly damaged in battle and for some reason, Medic's gun can't fix him. Until they figure out how to heal Scout, he needs someone to look after him and keep him safe.

Sniper is given the job.

[3rd person limited, Scout's POV, some character development done on a whim] ))

The SpeedingBullet fanfic. If you like Scout X Sniper, and you haven't read this one yet, I don't know what to tell you. You are severely missing out on not only a great romance story, but also fantastic team dynamics. Also has an available Podfic!

++From a Hospital Bed by SlightlyLessThanAnon

(( Jeremy wakes up in the hospital, his brain struggling the find coherent thoughts as the world churns around him, in and out of consciousness.

He finds the team may care about him a little more than he thought they did. ))

Short but sweet. More whole team fluff than strictly SpeedingBullet. Very cute.

~~Golden Brown, as well as its sister fic, Take Me Out by Ali_Ker (Alina_Kerrin)

(( After seeing his co-worker in a new light, Scout is faced with unknown feelings and a new, distracting perspective on things. ))

This lovely author can be found here under the handle @alikerao3

Grouped these two together because they are they same story, but told from the perspectives of Scout and Sniper respectively. Definitely a bit of a heavier read, especially for anyone who has dealt with Catholic guilt or internalized homophobia, but my God is it worth it. Don't just read one thinking it isn't worth it to read the other fic. Read both. Also, check out the song that inspired the title.

~~Going Through The Motions by AussieBookworm

(( Working under RED can be repetitive at times - but nothing like this. After a curse is fired his way, Scout is forced to live through the same day over and over and over again. It should be easy for someone as perfect as Scout to break the curse, right? As long as he doesn't have to confront the things he's been feeling towards Sniper it should be a piece of cake! ))

Possibly my absolute favourite TF2 fic right now. Scout gets character development out the ass, Demo has a prominent, important role, and there's a plot twist so good it had me tweaking out. TW for Suicide as a method used to get out of a time loop. Absolutely incredible, and it needs more love.

Gills and Gunpowder by popkeeki

(( Monsters are becoming increasingly rare. Between getting pushed to the periphery of society or being targeted by traffickers, life is hard when you are not (entirely) human. Like many others, Scout tries to keep his true form a secret. It has never really been a problem. That is, until a nosy teammate catches him mid-swim. ))

SpeedingBullet Mermaid AU!! Good luck finding a fic with this premise that also reaches this level of quality.

**~~Pet by Anonymous

(( Sniper's terrified of losing the one person he has in his life. It turns out there's a convenient solution to that: just make sure he has no way out, and the rest will follow.

Scout wakes up in a van he knows all too well, loopy and hungover, and Sniper's waiting for him.

*

Or: Learning to live with claustrophobia in small spaces Or: Making the best of assisted living Or: You can’t outrun a fucking bullet ))

Are you like me? Do you enjoy Scout whump and Yandere!/Possessive Sniper? SpyDad? Do you want more of it in your life? If the answer is yes, than Pet is for you! No NSFW, just pure, delicious kidnapping and one-sided love.

General Fanfic Recommendations:

++Something's Up With Respawn by Camelot_taurus, Old Works (HarveyDangerfield)

(( Respawn starts to glitch, and the Administrator sets Engineer to work fixing it.

It doesn't take long for him to find out exactly what's going ))

Super funny, weird little oneshot. Basically, Respawn starts glitching and producing fucked up, Paperjam Dipper-esque clones of the Mercs.

++Mask Off by MatryoshkaDoll413

(( Scout is sick. Really sick. 'If we can't get this fever under control it's the hospital or the morgue' sick, and Respawn can't help him this time. They'd already tried that. He's gotten so delirious he's fighting Medic every second he's awake, not really lucid enough to remember so much as his own name, much less that of any of the team. Medic is ready to put him under full sedation and try and work things out from there, but Spy has an idea. ))

Wholesome SpyDad fic. Spy actually acts like a dad for once, for his sick little bunny.

~~++Scout, Respond by MatryoshkaDoll413

(( Scout wakes up in a dark, unknown place, with rocks bearing down on him and a spotty recollection as to how he ended up there in the first place. The only thing that keeps him sane is the voice of his team in his ear, telling him to talk, to breath, and, more than anything, to stay awake. ))

Scout gets trapped beneath a collapsed building, and receives comfort from his team over his headset while they race to dig him out. Super cute, definitely a must read, and I've done so more than once.

pick it all up (and start again) by bugbee

(( The clues had always been there, he had just never wanted to see them. Maybe neither of them had, instead content to deny the truth before their eyes for the rest of their days because it was better than confronting the alternative. Except Scout had died, and Spy wasn’t able to keep on pretending for his last moments. A part of Jeremy was glad for it, despite the simmering rage and betrayal and hurt. So when he tried to look God in the eye and tell Him that Tom Jones was his father… He couldn’t. Not really.

(Scout discusses his parentage with God, and stays dead for a little while longer. Well. A lot longer. On the plus side, he gets to attend his own funeral reception.) ))

An alternate take on Scout's death from the comics. Very Scout centric, obviously, and ends happily.

~~A Little Bird Told Me… by the_soup_specter

(( Medic learns a secret— something personal, powerful, big enough to cause a rift in the team of mercenaries that could tear two of them apart. And for once in his life… he’s not sure how to proceed.

With no better ideas, Medic decides to ask his fellow mercenaries for advice. But as dueling viewpoints begin to pile up, will he be able to make a decision before the team is changed forever? ))

Medic learns Spy is Scout's dad, and spills the beans. Everything turns out ok, but man the aftermath initially ain't pretty.

~~seven times he has to explain (and one time he doesn’t have to) by conner_is_alive

(( the trans scout obsession has me in a vice

also if i don’t vent my trans sadness i will literally rip a government building down brick by brick lmao ))

The fic that made me a trans Scout believer. If you're on the fence about that headcanon, maybe give this fic a read.

**~~Kith And Kin by BOREDGrace23

(( Mick never thought much of the BLU team. They were just clones, after all. Designed to be their opponents in a meaningless war.

That's why when he woke up, his vision blurry, his brain blistering from a headache like he'd just woken up from a hangover, and several burning questions about what had happened, he thought it was strange that they hadn't killed him already.

//

Or, BLU are clones and RED are decidedly not. They’re then forced to work together when their teams disappear. ))

If you like Emesis Blue, or horror in general, go read Kith And Kin. And when you finish, go give @boredgrace23 some love for such an incredible fic.

**++Der Junge by UpInFlamesWriting

(( Everyone on the team knows that Scout & Medic do not get along. They're like Sniper & Spy, except less bloodthirsty about it. Medic scares Scout, & Scout doesn't give Medic a reason to like him. When the two of them start being more than friendly all of a sudden, the team starts to worry, especially when it becomes obvious that Medic & Scout are keeping secrets from them. Scout & Medic are not about to tell the rest of the team that they are a pair of transsexual men, especially when Medic agrees to help Scout in his transition. For all the weirdness that goes on in the base, the world is not kind to queer people, & they aim to keep the reason behind their friendship a secret, even if it kills them. ))

Trans Scout and Trans Medic solidarity fic. I need more of this.

Eight Mercenaries and A Toddler by ChaosandMayhem

(( When Respawn malfunctions and their annoying Scout is turned into something far more precocious, it'll take all of the RED team's wits and patience to look after him. At the same time, Engineer must find a way to turn Scout back into an adult before the BLUs-or anyone else-realizes what's happened. No pairings, just a bunch of exhausted trained killers and one hyperactive child. ))

An Ancient Text from 2012 and the only FF.Net fic on this list, EMaAT is a classic for me. Lot's of Spy backstory, if memory serves. Quotes from this live rent free in my mind.

PracticalEspionage:

++Under the Lake by Her_AngelEyes

(( Engineer goes fishing. Hilarity ensues. ))

Don't let the description fool you. This is a non-con/mind break fic. If you like darkfic stuff, than this is for you~

[strangelysilver]

He does NOT like Will? It's clear as glass never looked at Will with love, only happiness, meanwhile you have the MILEVEN pizzeria scene and the van scene, he CLEARLY looks at Will that way because of EL

Look, Mike's gazes with Will or El can be as romantic or platonic as you want to interpret them. I personally don't really use facial expressions as proof towards a ship. They're more of a fun, cute thing to make GIF sets of.

What DOES convince me of a ship is when the narrative arcs of a story are set up in a way that only makes sense if that ship is endgame. And that's what I think Byler has.

Will's painting lie is a Chekhov's gun.

Will pushing Mike and El together makes him a Cyrano.

Mike's odd behavior towards Will has to be addressed, and there are not many plot reasons why a guy might be suddenly hesitant to express affection to his childhood best friend.

Mike saying "we're friends, we're friends" when Will wasn't implying anything more is potentially one of the most common romance tropes of all time.

Season 4 ends with Mike and Will promising each other to work as a team, and then the final shot shows them paired up alongside the show's canon couples.

El wants to feel normal, and Mike views her as a superhero. Mike wants to feel needed, and El's journey throughout the series has been to become independent and to develop herself from a lab kid with no sense of self into someone SHE wants to be, not what someone else wants her to be.

Will is in love with MIKE. It's not just that he's gay and afraid that his best friend will shun him for it, it's specifically written that he's in love with Mike. The writers didn't need to do that if just wanted the conflict to be Mike potentially being homophobic.

Going back to the painting, letting a gay kid successfully sacrifice his feelings to push a straight relationship together is a terrible message in a show about social outcasts and rejects.

Usually, a heartfelt confession of love is used to dramatically save the day. But Mike's big monologue... didn't. The ending of Season 4 is simply not what you would expect after one of those kinds of world-saving love speeches.

Mike and El are not talking after the monologue. Why would this be true, if the monologue was the major turning point in their relationship? Narratively, it should have brought them closer together, but it didn't.

El says that Mike makes her feel like a monster, that he thinks she's a monster. Will says that Mike makes him feel like less of a mistake, like maybe he isn't one.

Sorry, I have to mention the monologue again. As you mentioned, Mike looks happy with El when they're at the pizza place-- they're talking and laughing. So why is it that after the monologue, after Mike finally tells her what she has been begging for him to say for half a season, El is no longer talking to him?

The audience KNOWS that Mike isn't homophobic. There is an entire scene in Season 1 where he shoves one of his bullies in front of the entire school, despite knowing that he's going to suffer for it, because the bully was making fun of Will by calling him queer. So why else has there been so much build up around Will's inevitable coming out? Like I said earlier, this is compounded by the fact that Will is specifically and intentionally in love with Mike. Why make it such a huge plot thread?

This is already way too long, so I'll cut it there. But I hope I made it clear that it's not the glances or the plentiful parallels to canon couples or the scene direction (though there is some compelling and interesting evidence in that area) that convinced me of Byler happening. There is no debating that Byler's relationship has been built up for three seasons, but I wasn't even a romantic Byler believer until I watched Season 4. It was Season 4 that made me realize that there is no other satisfying narrative ending.

[edelgarfield]

i love shadowgast, i think their journey together learning how to be better people & healing is beautiful.

but nothing annoys me more than when Caleb gets all the credit for Essek's redemption arc, or when Essek's relationship with Caleb is automatically placed on a pedestal above his friendship with the rest of the Mighty Nein.

because it is straight up untrue. it wasn't even Caleb that did most of the legwork reaching out to Essek, it was Jester. Yes, their magic lessons, and Caleb's understanding went a long way towards showing Essek that he could change, but Jester was the one who consistently and repeatedly reached out to him. I am of the firm belief that without Jester, the Mighty Nein would never have gotten past Essek's initial standoffishness.

And furthermore, Caleb was Essek's friend first. I don't think it's ever been confirmed, but IMO most of Essek's initial attraction to Caleb was 1) academic 2) performative, and any genuine physical or romantic attraction didn't start developing until post-reveal. I'm not even convinced Essek was romantically interested in Caleb, or at least able to identify it as such, by the END of the campaign. Essek values Caleb primarily as a friend and any romance on top of that is a bonus.

Essek's relationship with Caleb is not inherently more important than his friendship with the rest of the Mighty Nein just because they're dating. He loves all of them, and expresses that multiple times at the end of CR2. It was their friendship that changed him, not his interest in Caleb. Caleb values the Mighty Nein's friendship more than whatever budding romance he had with Essek. Essek's entire life doesn't, nor should it revolve around Caleb! Caleb is an important part, yes, but he values and needs the love he receives from the rest of the Mighty Nein just as much.

As someone who's aro/ace-spectrum and has little to no interest in romance, every time I see Essek's relationship to the Mighty Nein reduced to his relationship with Caleb, it feels like a slap in the face. It validates my deepest fear that I'm just an accessory in my friends' lives, and that no matter how much I love them or what I do for them, I'm inevitably going to be discarded when someone they want to date comes along.

People will watch 500+ hours of a show that emphasizes over and over the importance of friendship and platonic love then turn around and reduce it to romance alone.

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Romantasy: Where Magic Meets Swooning (And Why Readers Can't Get ENOUGH) ✨

Okay, let's talk about the genre that's absolutely DOMINATING the shelves right now: ROMANTASY.

If you've been anywhere near BookTok, Bookstagram, or even just wandered into a bookstore lately, you've seen these books taking over. You know the ones. gorgeous illustrated covers with gold foil, promises of spice levels that would make a dragon sweat, and worlds where magic and kissing are given equal importance. (Why is this actually hilariously accurate?)

But what exactly IS romantasy, and why has it exploded into the mainstream? I wanted to make a post breaking this genre down, and why it's been constantly filling the shelves in recent years lately.

What the heck is romantasy anyway?

Simply put, romantasy is the beautiful marriage of fantasy and romance where BOTH genres get equal billing. This isn't just fantasy with a romantic subplot or romance with a sprinkle of magic. It's a true genre hybrid where:

• The fantasy worldbuilding is rich and immersive

• The romance is central to the plot (not just tacked on)

• The stakes of both the romantic and fantasy elements matter EQUALLY

• The relationship development is given as much page time as the magic system

• Neither element would work without the other

Think of books like "A Court of Thorns and Roses," "Fourth Wing," "The Bridge Kingdom," or "These Hollow Vows." In these stories, the romance isn't just there to give the main character something to do between fighting monsters. It's an essential part of the narrative.

Why is romantasy EVERYWHERE right now?

I've been thinking about this A LOT, and here's my take on why romantasy has taken over:

1. It's filling a gap readers didn't know they had

For YEARS, fantasy and romance were kept separate like warring kingdoms. Fantasy was supposed to be "serious business" with maybe a chaste kiss at the end of book three. Romance was often confined to contemporary or historical settings.

Romantasy said "nope" to those artificial boundaries. It recognized that readers want BOTH the escape of fantasy AND the emotional satisfaction of romance. We want dragons AND kissing. We want political intrigue AND pining. We want magic systems AND mutual pining.

2. It's unapologetically centered on female desire

Let's be honest... a lot of romantasy is written by women, for women, about women's experiences. And it doesn't apologize for that!

In a publishing world that has historically prioritized male perspectives in fantasy, romantasy carves out space where female desire, both for power AND for partnership takes center stage.

3. It offers double the escapism

In times of stress (hello, past few years!), readers crave escape. Romantasy offers TWO forms of escapism in one package:

• The fantasy element lets us escape to another world entirely

• The romance element lets us escape into the emotional high of falling in love

It's like getting two dopamine hits for the price of one book!

4. Community and conversation

Romantasy has thrived in online spaces because it gives readers SO MUCH to talk about:

• Debating spice levels and content warnings

• Creating elaborate fan theories

• Discussing favorite tropes (enemies-to-lovers in a magical setting? YES PLEASE)

• Sharing fanart and aesthetics

The community aspect has turned romantasy from a genre into a lifestyle.

What does this mean for writers?

If you're thinking of dipping your toes into romantasy waters, here's what you need to know:

• Don't half-commit to either element. Your fantasy worldbuilding needs to be solid AND your romance needs to be compelling.

• Understand tropes and how to subvert them. Readers come for familiar comfort but stay for your unique twist.

• Balance your pacing. Romantasy readers expect both action sequences AND emotional development scenes.

• Consider your heat level intentionally. The market has room for everything from closed-door to explicit, but know where your story fits.

• Don't just copy what's selling. Find the romantasy story only YOU can tell.

The beautiful thing about romantasy is that it's still evolving. We're seeing more diverse pairings, more unique magic systems, more subversions of traditional fantasy structures. There's room for YOUR voice in this space!

So, are you working on a romantasy? What's your favorite blend of magical and romantic elements? I'm currently writing a Romantasy trilogy and it's been getting me more hyped about writing lately! If you want me to make a Romantasy Series, where I give you all my tips/tricks and advice and research on the genre! Let. Me. Know.

-Rin T.

[p-seduonym]

I think I know what I like best about the Sacrificial Lamb Au

It's because you can work it from any angle you want.

Consider this...

If we're basing this off the Cult of the Lamb comics (which are really good and I highly recommend), then Lamb!Darling would be the last of their kind still, having been turned over by the "kind" Samaritan that had hidden them until the bounty for your head became too high to ignore. Maybe it was because you went into hiding when your metagene activated. In this scenario, Bruce is less than welcoming to those with metagenes in Gotham, save for maybe Duke. And you don't know about their nightly escapades, so you panic when your form suddenly changes one day and you run away.

Well, because you were so distant to their vigilante life, you never heard the whispers of a substantial bounty for "The Lamb" in the underworld of Gotham. But the kind person who sheltered you for a short while did; maybe they intended to hand you over from the beginning or they grew desperate enough for the money and betrayed you.

Either way you are sacrificed to the Four Bishops.

Now, for the cult life that follows I have many ideas.

Maybe it could be the expected drama, with an idyllic life that is undercut by the persistent fear of betrayal and dissenters. Your cult could be an actual cult, with devoted followers akin to an army. They could be your source of devotion, and you will treat them as such. You shelter them and tend to them, but at the end of the day they are a commodity that live to serve you and your mission for the One Who Waits.

Or it could be like the actual game, and you'd be a glorified preschool teacher. Cleaning up after their messes, feeding them, stopping their quarrels, etc. They are helpless without you and it shows when you leave on crusades and return to find the cult base in disarray.

You can romance one love interest and be devoted to them or have an entire harem of love interests, inside and outside of the cult. Even multiple spouses if you want.

Ultimately, I like how flexible this idea is and will try to develop it further into the future.

I'll keep you guys posted!

[nikalaeva]

It's easier for me to criticize than to praise, but I'll try. And to make it more interesting, I'll compare my favorite fantasy romances with most empty waste of my time.

Your Feyre became High Lady by marriage, devaluing the title of Cursebreaker. She had magic of seven High Lords, but it didn't help at all in most important war, and she has no friends or allies of her own.

My Jude became Queen of Elfheim because the land chose her, saving from death. She outsmarted her father, the most cunning and cruel general, ruled in secret as seneschal, and made advantageous alliances.

Your Rhysand is supposedly the most powerful, surrounded by strongest fighters, his army is the best of all, but he couldn't protect his wife's sisters, fucked up with Book of Breaths and almost lost the war.

My Cardan is a pathetic loser twink, very young and almost always drunk. But he is cunning as hell, saved the woman he loved from underwater captivity, avoiding the war, pal up with her allies while being their prisoner, and created an entire island.

Oh, Jude is still human. And Cardan is a true fairy, not just a guy with pointy ears.

Your Feyre left the man she died for in a fucking message and married her rapist. My Rose went to a strange, faraway country to save her man, but to kill him if she couldn't. Not to turn into a bloodsucking killer to be with him forever - kill him.

Your Rhysand thought for a second that age gap between him and his wife more than between her and their son. My Dimitri was going crazy and pushing away his love because he was her teacher just several years older. He is more responsible than 500+ years old ruler.

Oh, and despite being coolest, Dimitri became a monster. And Rose had an "alternative" - Adrian, who wasn't turned into an abuser and asshole, to show how beautiful love with Dimitri is.

Your Feyre hasn't done a damn thing for women (or anyone), her "feminism" is to be proud of role as a thief, saboteur and half-naked toy of a powerful man. My Vasya Petrovna (I'll die and rip anyone's throat out for her) dresses up as a boy and defends her right to be a witch, challenges ancient monsters, and saves everyone she can with her brains, courage and unbending will.

Your Rhysand chose to die with his mate, leaving his son an orphan, and at 500+ years old he's an infantile sexoholic. My Morozko, the ancient god of death and winter, make a deal with his enemy, a monster of chaos, choosing to be an eternal prisoner without memories about his love, saving woman that he loved as he could.

Whoa, Morozko didn't rape her in order to "protect" her. And it wouldn't be Vasya who would have to change - he would have become a mortal for her. One PG-13 sex scene was hotter than all the sex in ACOTAR series.

Why am I only comparing to Feyre? Well, she's the FMC, three books were enough to show her. I just don't believe Nesta would go to HoW with Cassian, and not decide to die in slums or run away. Elain is so side character that most of discussions about her will be fiction, not canon. Rhysand and Cassian were not even close to any of the men mentioned above. They are not otherwordly, old creatures, not morally gray, but only insulting to women whom they supposedly love more than life.

Romance in ACOTAR is vulgarity, violence and gaslighting, feminism is a mask and illusion, and the characters are too "cool" and therefore boring and flat.

Respect yourself. Read books where authors give a care about the plot, worldbuilding and development of unusual, fairytale love.