Creative corner

It’s not that I don’t like Enemies to Lovers. I actually love the idea of it. My problem is that, in most stories labeled as Enemies to Lovers, the characters aren’t really enemies at all.

You’re probably thinking: “Well, duh. What’s new?”

At this point, “enemy” has basically become an umbrella term, and we all know that most Enemies to Lovers stories are actually Rivals to Lovers.

My issue starts when we’re talking about a real enemy. The moment that character is supposed to become the love interest, the story often has to cheat. He has to be attractive, morally gray, misunderstood, or secretly redeemable. At that point, he’s just an antihero.

But if someone is genuinely the enemy, chemistry and sexual tension aren’t enough. I want to see the actual antagonist. Someone who isn’t hot and who genuinely stands on the opposite side of the story.

Narratively, I find that much more interesting. With real enemies, there is no spark that naturally turns into romance. The transition to lovers has to begin with mutual respect, which eventually leads to compromise. Love comes much later.

I understand why stories like this are rarely told. They wouldn’t really be romances anymore. They would probably end on a much more bittersweet note. And I think that’s exactly why we don’t see them very often. Most stories want to maximize the romance aspect, and they’re afraid to stop treating Enemies to Lovers as a traditional romance, even when taking the “enemy” part seriously would naturally push the story in a very different direction.

And honestly, Stancy might’ve taken the biggest hit. Never shipped them myself, but yeah… I really underestimated how hard that must have been for you guys.

s5: challenge accepted