hi, first I want to give you a big thank you for your blogs because they're super helpful. if you don't mind then I had a favor to ask for. now, I'm really bad at writing my most favorite trope: enemies to lovers/enemies with benefits. and the thing I struggle with the most is to find the reason as why they hate each other. I'd like to have a master list or something where I'll get the most reasons behind their animosity, and that must be for adults, because writing academic or university based e2l are easy. finding reasons why two adults hate each other's is hard. and I also like to get a help with the transition between enemies becoming lovers, the moment of realizing that they might be falling for their enemies. if it's possible for you to help me with this, it's be a huge help for me.
(hey !! fellow army spotted. and it's actually interesting that you requested this, i was literally planning on making a similar post lol. i'll add a little more than what you asked for, but staying in the same theme (for others as well))
REASONS FOR ENEMIES TO HATE EACH OTHER (TEENS)
childhood misunderstanding
one of them was really mean to the other when they were little kids
two different sides of society (e.g. a jock and a quiet kid, or a musical kid and a kid who prefers calm/quiet atmospheres)
one of them is a friend's ex
personality clashes (e.g. one loves sport, the other hates it)
fighting over the same romantic interest
REASONS FOR ENEMIES TO HATE EACH OTHER (ADULTS)
a misunderstanding that never got cleared up
fighting over the same romantic interest
personality clashes (e.g. one loves to work more than anything else while the other is lazy)
one of them is a friend's ex
they used to be friends, but then one of them did something mean that led to the other person hating them
past experience (e.g. one of them blames them for a loss or mistake)
betrayel (e.g. one of them broke the others trust previously)
one of them stood the other one up on what was meant to be their first date
work rivalry/rivalry from childhood that never ended
person1 was best friends with person2's sibling, and when the friends had a horrible falling out, person2 started hating person1
a horrible first impression (one of them just kept making themself look like a bad person when they first met)
credit theft (one of them stole the credit for something the other did)
taking opposing sides in a conflict (e.g. opposite sides of a friend's divorce)
envy and jealousy (one of them hates that the other is succeeding in something they want to succeed in)
they're both bossy and boss each other around, which turns into arguments
THE TRANSITION FROM ENEMIES TO LOVERS
slowly easing around each other - less teasing or arguments as time passes
forced proximity (they're forced to share an apartment complex or work on a work project together, so they have to see each other and talk more)
SLOWLY beginning to find the other attractive
slowly beginning to think about them at random points of the day
starting to remember things about them (e.g. if they bring tea or coffee to work at first, then they begin noticing habits and patterns)
mutual friends/co-workers start teasing them about how much they hate each other
someone (a boss/manager/mutual friend on the death bed/mutual they both look up to/etc.) forces them to start being nicer to each other
they start finding similarities
earning respect (e.g. the other did something that impressed the other, like standing up for someone, or being able to do something not many people can do)
they begin having internal conflict - they don't want to like this person, they're meant to hate them
dont speed this process up, in other words, don't skip the 'frenemies' phase, it will look messy if there's just this huge gap between them despising each other and all of a sudden being all over one another.
they need reasons to start liking each other. like i mentioned, admiration for something they do is a good one. finding similarities. forced proximity works excellently as well - often used in books for the transition part.
and don't forget internal conflict. don't jump straight into "i like them" mode; they have to question themselves, like "why won't they just get out of my head" or "stop thinking about them, for God's sake", then they can go into the conclusion that they may or may not have fallen for their enemy.
REALISING THEY'RE IN LOVE
while they're together somewhere and they look at the others side profile/from across the room
they're talking and one of them says something that just slightly overstepped a boundary and the realisation floods in
someone else tells person1 that person2 got asked out and they realise they don't want person2 to go out with anyone else other than them
one of them gets into some form of accident (could be minor or major) and they realise all the things they haven't told them yet
they have a moment of tension and kiss, later they realise they can't stop thinking about their shared little moment
they can't stop thinking about them in their free time and they suddenly realise why
someone else has to point it out for them; "they can never stop looking at you", "everyone's been asking me if you two were together"
"why can't i hate you like i once did?"
"i think i love you more than i meant to"
"you wanna know what i hate most about you? it's the fact that i can never get you out of my head"
"i want to hate you, but i don't. not anymore"
"look me in the eye and tell me you're not in love with me too"
"you think i like seeing you with other people? it kills me, because all i want is to be that person. more than anything"
"you're the last person i should want"
"you know, this really cute guy/girl asked me out the other day. i had to tell them there was someone else... someone else who i'm meant to hate but can't find myself doing so anymore"
"i know that we're more than just two people who hate each other"
"i'm tired of acting like you're my enemy when i just wanna be yours"
"i used to say i'd hate you my whole life. just gotta replace the word 'hate' with 'love"
"you're so goddamn oblivious, i'm in love with you, (name)!"
DIALOGUE IDEAS (BEFORE THEY GET TOGETHER BUT AFTER THEY STOP BEING MEANT TO EACH OTHER - THE TEASING PART)
"rumour has it, i make you nervous"
"jealous, are we?" - "yeah, right"
"try not to fall for me, will you?"
"careful, you're starting to sound jealous" - "oh, you wish i was jealous"
"stop looking at me like that" - "stop acting like you don't like it"
"where are you going dressed like that?"
"stop flirting with me" - "then stop looking at me like you want me to"
hope this helped !! if i missed anything, please let me know
