Things Your Character Pretends to Be (But Isn’t, At Least Not Yet)
(Identity masks, coping roles, survival personas.)
The caretaker (but no one’s ever taken care of them).
The brave one (but they’re terrified all the time).
The flirt (because real intimacy is terrifying).
The funny one (because laughter hides the panic).
The overachiever (but they feel like a fraud).
The chill one (but they’re screaming inside).
The leader (but they never wanted the spotlight).
The rebel (but they just want to belong).
The calm one (but their thoughts race nonstop).
The loyal one (even when people don’t deserve it).
The loner (but they’re starving for connection).
The tough one (but they’ve never been allowed to cry).
The problem-solver (but can’t fix their own mess).
The grounded one (but they feel completely lost).
The logical one (because feeling has always gotten them hurt).
The “together” one (but they’re falling apart in secret).
The “nice” one (but they’re boiling with resentment).
The free spirit (but they crave structure).
The peacemaker (but they never say what they need).
The heartbreaker (but they’re terrified of being left first).
Rivals to Lovers Prompts
✧ They've hated each other for years, snarky comments, cold glares, constant one-upping. Then they get hit with the worst possible magical news: soulmates. Bound by fate. Linked by magic. Now they have to figure out what that even means without strangling each other in the process… or accidentally falling in love.
✧ They’re finalists in a prestigious contest...baking, sword fighting, reality TV, doesn’t matter. They’ve been rivals from day one. But late nights, shared exhaustion, and moments of unexpected honesty blur the lines. Suddenly the prize doesn't matter as much as the person they used to be fighting against.
✧ One position. Two candidates. Both brilliant, both stubborn, both dangerously attractive. They’re forced to work together for a final round of evaluation. Cue shared elevator rides, tension-filled meetings, and one night where the line between “I hate you” and “I want you” fully disappears.
✧ They're both hired to kill the same target, except they get in each other's way. Every. Damn. Time. Now they’re stuck either teaming up or getting each other killed. And somewhere between knives at throats and stolen hotel rooms, they start to realize they might have more in common than they thought.
✧ One's a brooding bounty hunter. The other's a cocky rogue. They've crossed paths before, never nicely. Now a shared goal (or curse?) forces them to travel together. The sniping is endless. The tension is unbearable. The night they finally kiss, they immediately go back to pretending they hate each other. (They don’t.)
✧They used to date. It ended badly. Now they’ve both built lives on opposite sides of the same industry/kingdom/city. And now? They’re in competition. Publicly. Pettily. But every insult still lands a little too sharp, and every win feels hollow without the other there to share it.
✧ By day, they’re coworkers or allies. By night, their masked enemies constantly clashing. Neither knows who the other really is, until the truth comes out mid-fight, and everything shifts. Now they have to reconcile who they thought they hated… with who they’re starting to love.
✧ They’re on opposite sides of a war. Or a political game. Or a rebellion. They don’t agree on anything, but they see each other. Late-night negotiations turn personal. Jabs turn intimate. And the realization that they might want the same future... just from different roads? That’s what wrecks them both.
✧ They agree to one temporary alliance for the sake of something bigger. Just one mission. One goal. But they argue about everything. They also accidentally save each other’s lives more than once. The final straw? One of them calls the other by their real name and means it.
✧ They’ve been pitted against each other since childhood. Both trained to be the best. Both told they’re the rightful heir. But as the final trial looms, they begin to question everything, including their hatred. When one of them says, “If I win, I’ll choose you,” the world tilts a little.
as a reader, I LOVE a slow burn
as a writer, I hate them <3
love reading an older fic (10-20 years+) because you get these hilarious author’s notes but ALSO because you get the occasional “shout out to Jessica….without you telling me to write this fic it wouldn’t exist” and then the author proceeds to write the best 100k fic you’ve ever read and the whole time you’re thinking to yourself, where is Jessica these days? does she know she sparked this amazing fic? shout out to Jessica hope you’re doing well girl
The neurodivergent urge to do this
i just beefed with someone online and I got tired of it so I said "I ate some really good blueberries today" and they replied "I had a fire ass peach today". world peace
Not sure about anyone else but I re-read all my favourite AO3 comments when I’ve had a rough day so if you’ve ever taken the time to write a deep, funny, or just kind comment, thank-you.
#youwillalsoregretaskingforthechildhoodfriendsbackstory #thatisgoingtoHURT
My characters are so happy right now :) Should I... ruin... everything?