#i've written about this at length elsewhere so I'm not gonna do it again here but this just always gets under my skin

[fereldanwench]

Always fascinated when I see people assume Goro fans dislike River's romance because he's a cop, while simultaneously loving that Goro is a corporate shill or whatever, when literally no Goro fan I have ever interacted with dislikes River or his romance because he's a cop.

[debbiechanclub]

AO3 is down so I finally finished reading over here. I take my time, sorry. So Finlay is endgame huh? Nellie and David make sense. She seems more secure with him than the others. David just knows what he wants so I'm glad she finally found herself a real man that's gonna lock it down. Jay missed out and I hope it's killing him that she's with David. Now Riley...he really can't do anything right. Kissing her when she was sad and drunk was a big no-no. Nellie stepping over his stuff was SAVAGE. I'm already rooting for evil Nellie 😈

No worries!!! Thank you SO much for reading and taking your time to send this. I know AO3 is down, but I've been thinking in the back of my head that people haven't said much to me about this fic because they lowkey hate what I've done 😅 So this means a lot to me. But yes, David is endgame. And while I'm not gonna sit here and lie that my own personal bias toward him had absolutely nothing to do with that decision, a lot of thought actually went into it. And since you sent this ask, I'm gonna go through and explain individually why all of Nellie's other love interests just weren't it for anyone who may be wondering! (And reveal just how different things could have turned out 😅)

Okay so first up: Jay. There was a point in time where Jay was endgame. You remember that teaser scene I posted where someone is reluctantly congratulating Nellie for being engaged? Jay put the ring there (and Zack was the person speaking). And to be perfectly honest, if I had finished this fic before Jay lost the IWGP title and left NJPW for real, he probably would have remained endgame. But then he left, and I started thinking about how Nellie's whole life is in Japan, and how her career would really just be starting to take off right around when Jay left. And then I started thinking about how he really didn't treat her that well at all, and I realized her taking him back would have looked so spineless. And so I started looking elsewhere for Nellie's endgame.

Now, I still have to write Jay's arc, and there's still some stuff going on between him and Nellie in that. But she's definitely going to keep him at arm's length, and he's going to lowkey try to sabotage her getting together with David (which I alluded to a bit in the first flashback scene). So Jay and Nellie's story definitely isn't done as written yet.

Next up: Kyle. Like Jay, there was a (brief) moment in time where Kyle was endgame! HOWEVER. I base my fics as much in reality as possible re: schedules and real storylines/fueds, etc. And after Kyle and Nellie hookup in fall 2021, based on Kyle's actual schedule (as detailed on Cagematch; I fucking live on that site) and what I had in mind for Nellie, they don't see each other again for a whole ass year. And by the time they do see each other again, Nellie is already in the process of reconnecting with David. (Yes, reconnecting! They go on a date wayyy back in 2017 during Nellie's first trip to Japan, which I also have plans to write about.) And actually, Kyle plays a part in Nellie realizing she has feelings for David—which is yet another thing I plan to write about. (It might be a flashback scene in part 2, actually.)

But to sum up Kyle and Nellie: right person, wrong time. It really is kind of bittersweet. And I wrote a REALLY long scene establishing Kyle as endgame that I might just post as a bonus because I worked hard on it and like it and don't just want to scrap it.

Zack. There's honestly not much to say here. Zack and Nellie have hella chemistry, but they don't work as a couple (outside the bedroom 🤭). And that's basically the entire reason they don't get back together despite Zack being the only one of Nellie's love interests/exes who lives in Japan. He was never (seriously) considered to be an option for endgame (despite that Cruel Summer fic I wrote that I regret every time I remember it 🙃). I do plan on writing a bit about when they were together before they realized they weren't right for each other, though.

And last and maybe least. Riley. Riley was never endgame. (After the rewrite) He was never anything more than a casual ongoing hookup for Nellie before she got together with Zack. But like I've written, she has a soft spot for him because she pities him a bit, I think 😂 That being said, her stepping over his things on the way to the Bullet Club locker room was absolutely a deliberate choice on my part.

So yeah, there's my long-ass explainer, and I hope it helps anyone who may be thinking I just willy nilly threw Nellie together with David. And thank you again for reading and seeing my vision. It means more than you know 💖