okay bridgerton-hq au has been haunting me so (keep in mind that i have only watched s4 and have passing knowledge of the others):
season 2 with atsumu as anthony (high standards, annoying, rivals/enemies to lovers, can't stay away from each other and when you put him in his place he does feel smth, yes he is the mf to sniff the air after you pass by to get a whiff of your cologne/perfume/scent lmfao)
season 3 with osamu as colin (best friends, pining, osamu is markedly less insecure than colin but does take your rls for granted, you think he doesn't love you back and you're trying to move on and he's offering to help you find someone to marry but...)
season 4 with oikawa as benedict (yearning, oikawa goes on an entire odyssey to find you while you're convinced it'll never work out, something about a guy that everyone thinks is a rake but genuinely cares about others and feels like he lives in someone else's shadow lol...)
okay so. here's my redemption arc tm for the hq boys and ways i think you can make a rls work with them + their good traits compares to their bad ones <333
atsumu: i think atsumu functions well in a relationship where he feels challenged, or at the very least, has to work to impress someone. he's at his best when he thinks he has to work hard to earn something, because he gets complacent fast if he thinks it's just going to be handed to him. so if he feels like he has to earn your respect, and then has to KEEP it, then he's going to throw himself into it 100%. besides, he hates losing, and he always puts in the work for things that he thinks are worth it.
also, despite his numerous flaws (childish, arrogant, competitive, etc), atsumu is also sincere and honest in a way that makes it hard to fully dislike him. he likes what he likes, and he has no qualms about making it known, no matter what other people may think. his love is very very earnest so you will never doubt that he cares about you, because he treats it like second nature, an act as easy as breathing. if atsumu's in your corner, then he's in it 100%. as much as he wants you to push him, he'll also push you 120% because he has high expectations for you, and he believes in you more than anyone else. he won't accept anything less!!
osamu: the secret to a good relationship with osamu is communication AND taking initiative. unfortunately, osamu expects the other person to just read his mind (side effect of growing up with atsumu) and has a habit of being complacent as long as things are (seemingly) going well. you really do have to sit him down and tell him what you want, to lay clear your expectations and give him that little kick, as osamu has a habit of wanting to rise to any challenge presented to him.
also!! osamu might be more subtle about it, but just like atsumu, if he likes you, then he's in your corner 100%. he will put in persistent, steady effort for the things he thinks matters, and never back down at all. he's also very observant, so it is a little unnerving about how well he picks up on all your habits and traits, even ones you might not be aware of, and how readily he incorporates them into his own life and your own interactions together. sometimes it feels like he knows you need something before you do. did i mention he's also patient? once he's set his mind to something, he WILL see it through.
oikawa: honestly, the thing with oikawa is that you need to see past his facade, and you need to have the wherewithal to be veryyy upfront and honest with him. it's very rare that he ever lets that initial guard and facade drop, so you have to be the one to break through his unintentional walls, to reach out to the person he loathes letting other people see. he needs someone who can push him to grow in the same way he pushes others, who will be there for him when he can't go to anyone else, so there also needs to be a sense of mutual respect and camaraderie. his partner should be his friend first and foremost.
when oikawa is relaxed in a relationship, he has the habit of acting a bit more bratty and childish than he would with anyone else. it's a sign of closeness, if he feels like he can relax and trust you to accept him even at his worst or when he's less put together. if he's willing to tease you or mess with you in any capacity, then you know you've gotten somewhere with him. he will always bring out the best in you, though, because he is encouraging and thoughtful like no one else, and he will always believe in you 100%. just make sure you're willing to believe in and support him, too.
kenma: the secret to managing kenma is both ridiculously easy and difficult all at once: you need to catch his interest. i think the trick to both earn and then subsequently keep his interest is to be the sort of person that always strives to improve yourself and take on new risks, new challenges. kenma likes novelty. he likes people who are always doing new and unexpected things, who go against his passive, assumed expectations and who make him want to want to grow in response and meet you tit for tat.
when kenma is at his best in a relationship, he latches onto you like a very loyal and clingy cat. you think this is your personal space? wrong. it's also HIS personal space. he's a little bratty, a little demanding, but kenma thrives on mutual respect and a mixture of stability and novelty. he's not a fan of hierarchy in any way and doesn't like being forced to do something, but give him enough trust and space and leave the door open and you'll find that he'll always come back to you in one way or another. he wants his independence without being pressured into acting a certain way, but he'll always pull through for you when you need it.
kita: i think to be in a good relationship with kita, regardless of whether it's romantic or not, you need to earn his respect. this doesn't necessarily mean that you need to act in a way that he always agrees with or in a manner similar to him, but that you are earnest, steadfast, and devoted to your own goals. kita values consistency and diligence, so his respect isn't going to be immediately earned, or even obvious once you do earn it, but like all good things, it's worth waiting for.
also. i think if you understand kita, then you know that, even if he isn't going to act super outwardly affectionate, he is consistent and earnest with his own feelings. he's not someone who's capable of loving shallowly or casually, and he devotes himself to you the same he devotes himself to volleyball practice or his daily routine. he will always carve out time in his schedule for you, he will always show up for you, and he will make the active choice to love you each and every day, in ways both big and small, no matter the inconvenience or difficulty.
upsetting art for me personally bc i have not known peace since i saw it. i can't stop looking at it and feeling a wave of intense unnameable emotion wash over me. ten year haikyuu anniversary art special and i want to eat him alive..... furudate do not let oikawa tooru near me if u want him to stay safe do u hear me. do u hear me!!!
okay so. i was thinking on this and discussing with a friend, and these are my honest thoughts on the flaws/issues that would pop up in a rls with these hq characters, especially when they're in high school lol. under the cut bc it gets a little long!
atsumu: his fanclub warns each other to stay away from dating him not out of a sense of jealousy or possessiveness, but because dating atsumu is easily the worst experience you will have in your entire life. getting into a relationship with him isn't the hard part, surprisingly, because he's amiable to anything that strokes his ego. the real challenge is in actually dating him, and there's a reason most people who approach him lose their crush when they talk to him for an extended period of time. he's demanding and selfish, and he's the sort of person who expects you to drop everything for him when he wants attention, but will never make any effort to reciprocate.
in fact, atsumu gets irritated at "clingy" behavior and will dump you with no hesitation if he finds you annoying, if you ask him for too much that he doesn't want to give, or if you "get in the way of volleyball." he's hypocritical to the extreme, picky, testy, and really just expects you to stroke his ego and flatter him and little else. he might be willing to play along and act the part of a good boyfriend if he's in the right mood for it, but it won't be consistent by any means. he does get offended if you choose to break up with HIM, though. like wtf. were't you getting along so well?????? (he told you not to text him during interhigh tryouts because he would NOT respond and has more important things to focus on and then promptly forgot he said that).
osamu: osamu is more popular to date than atsumu, a fact osamu holds over his head endlesslyyyy. and on the surface, osamu is leagues better than his brother. he doesn't expect you to be a decorative lamppost, for one, and for another, he actually does appropriate boyfriend activities, like take you on dates, bring you little gifts on anniversaries and holidays, and walk home with you after school. however, osamu also can't really keep a partner because he has the opposite problem of atsumu: instead of being demanding, he's inoffensive and lukewarm, and never deviates from that.
it's not as osamu ever sets out to make you feel neglected, but he's just shy of passive. he can go through the basic motions to get by, but he won't really put in the attention or effort to do more than that if he doesn't find it interesting enough. this is something that becomes more apparent the longer you date him. he goes out with you less because he really really wants to and more because he doesn't have a good enough reason to say no. having mutual feelings for him is enough; he just assumes things will fall into place and work out because you both like each other. osamu is not the sort of guy who would ever trouble himself to do anything he doesn't want to, so he also gets irritated if you push him too hard. also, he won't ever linger over a breakup, whether he initiates it or not. out of sight, out of mind.
oikawa: oikawa?? with a flaw?? when he's the best, most charming boyfriend of all time?? it's hard to find an issue with him, and that's precisely the issue itself. it's just so easy with oikawa, because he's sweet. he's dedicated. he's attentive. he's a great boyfriend both on paper and in practice, despite how carefree he may act, but he won't let YOU be a good partner. friction is inescapable in any healthy relationship, but there is no friction with him because oikawa is so focused on making sure you have a good time and that he's living up to the expectations laid out for him that he never really opens up.
it's to the point you never really feel like you get to know him, because he wants to the Best Boyfriend Ever, and wants to succeed in both fulfilling his role and maintaining the positive way people view him. he's really good at dedicating himself to others, even if it means neglecting himself unintentionally. it's reminiscent of the way he plays setter, actually, and how he dedicates himself to his spikes on court. maybe romance, to some extent, is just another calculation for him. also, as much as he cares about you, he will always put volleyball first and has trouble balancing priorities as a result. oikawa will inevitably stretch himself too thin in an effort to make something work, which just serves to make you feel a little exhausted, dating someone who's always putting on this performance but who you don't really ever know.
kenma: listen. it's really, really difficult to be a position where kenma 1. likes you and 2. likes you enough to DATE you. so even getting that far is already a success in and of itself. congratulations on unlocking a hidden achievement! but kenma, despite appearances to the contrary or initial expectations, is a difficult person to date. he's a specific combination of both obstinate AND lazy in the sense that he will put his blood, sweat, and tears into seeing something through if he chooses to do it, but he also digs his feet in and refuses to compromise if he doesn't want to.
also, kenma has a habit of tossing things aside when he gets bored, and he demands to be constantly entertained. if the relationship ever gets inconvenient, or annoying, or if he simply loses all interest for whatever reason, he will break up with you without a second thought. it's also REALLY easy for him to act spoiled in a relationship because you might feel like you need to capitulate to his whims, but that also runs the risk of him getting bored if you're not giving him anything interesting to work with or you're too passive. but he also hates it if you push him all the time and impose your demands on him, which is another way to make him turn tail and run. it's a tricky balancing act with kenma! he's very very very picky. unfortunately, he treats dating like a video game run.
kita: so kita shinsuke is actually the world's most perfect man and would have no flaws as a boyfriend ever as a result. JK!!! there are some flaws to kita's behaviors. in general, i do think kita is genuinely one of the best boyfriends of the bunch in the sense that he's steadfast, attentive, caring, and devoted in a way that makes it feel like you've been dating for years instead of weeks. HOWEVER, you're at a loss if you expect traditional romanticism from kita. he will not whisper sweet nothings into your ear. he will not go out of his way to act physically affectionate. in fact, people might be startled you're dating at all if they don't know kita very well.
additionally, he's pretty intense. he doesn't treat dating casually, because it's another aspect of life that he applies himself fully to. if he's going to do it, he's going to do it well, you know? so if you want a fling, you're out of luck. kita also has a very strict routine that he adheres to, and it's very easy for him to integrate you into that. he doesn't expect you to go out of your way to act like he does or to suddenly structure your life around his routines, but he does expect you to respect his daily rituals, or at the very least, not get in the way of them. perfectionism is daunting in a boyfriend, and he won't budge on the things that he thinks are vital. you might end up feeling like another task successfully completed that he checks off on his list.......
