Yoruka Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 I enjoy it when other people are feeling it. Two reasons: One. I really like fluff, especially in books. Two. So I can laugh when their relationship is violently ripped apart. Link to post Share on other sites
chopin124 Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 I find it difficult to 'see' the romance 'build' in films and books. I sorta just accept things lol so long as it seems like the actors/characters vaguely like each other lol Though lately I've read a lot of romance novels and really like the emotional connection/scenes... Lately I've scoffed a lot at the 'destined for one another' trope. But otherwise, I enjoy reading romance. Not so much watching romance. If I'm watching something, I prefer plot driven stories, dashes of romance are welcome but for it to be the focus... eh... depends on who's in it/do I know the author/writer etc. I kinda wish that Cap America was confirmed biromantic Ace xD Link to post Share on other sites
LonesomeCrow Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 I love romance in books, I can't help but feel happy when two characters finally admit their feelings for each other. I hate when love triangles complicate things though. When I used to read a lot of romance books, I loved the historical fiction ones and mystery. Link to post Share on other sites
CelesteAdAstra Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 I absolutely love romantic stories, plus I write them myself. I'd say it's even worse when I write them, haha. While I enjoy watching and reading all types of genres, when I'm writing I just want the story to hurry up and get to the sappy romance part as fast as possible 😂 I must add that I'm a hopeless fangirl and shipping characters is something I do excessively in my free time, so my answer was to be expected 😅 Link to post Share on other sites
knittinghistorian Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 I can enjoy a romance IF, and ONLY if, the people are also close friends and have real, solid chemistry. In other words, people you could imagine really falling in love, and having a strong, healthy, long-lasting relationship in real life. It seems like most fictional romances are more like "A Midsummer Night's Dream", where poof! people fall madly in love with each other for no reason at all except fairy mischief. That just confuses and irritates me. Example: I can enjoy Han and Leia's romance in Star Wars. They're experiencing a thing that is foreign to me, but I get it. I can see it. It makes sense. On the other hand, Anakin and Padme have no chemistry that I can tell, and apparently fell in love purely because Luke and Leia needed parents. That I found forced and stupid. Mainly, I think my standards for a good love story are much higher. I can't accept the usual shorthand of "these are the two main characters, so they are in love, just accept it". Also, it drives me nuts when people who are good friends inevitably fall in love, because they were better as friends than as lovers, and FRIENDSHIP IS REAL LOVE, PEOPLE! The romance has to have a SOLID REASON for being there, and it has to be really plausible and well thought out. Link to post Share on other sites
knittinghistorian Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 On 5/7/2019 at 4:34 AM, Dreamsexual said: I often get annoyed with romantic relationships in fiction. They usually just strike me as fake. Maybe I'm just jealous or something, but romantic relationships in fiction just seem ... 'off', imho. I know exactly what you mean. They're there because they're the default (lead+lead=love, just like 1+1=2), not because they're realistic or make any real sense necessarily. Link to post Share on other sites
asexual bean Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 its funny to think abt it bc im Very aroace and sometimes i only enjoy romantic storties when the feelings make sense and have, for me, an apparent logic i usually hate romantic, comedies and rom coms in general cuz the entire story line is about that person who suddenly developed feelings for another person for No reason at all and all the jokes are sexually/romantically based or are about making fun of other people. and it's so cliche!! like,,, if you see the first five minutes of the movie you can already gues the entire plot. when im in fandoms and in stuff like that, im usually a multishipper, and for me, if the couple makes sense along with the lines of the show, i kinda really liked it. and im nor sure if seeing relationships in general with that logic mindset is an aro thing or just a personality trait lol (also im a super fan of slowburns and angst, bc for me it builds the relatinship between two characters and makes them more emotionally close, which makes me ship them more askldj) i tend to like things less romance based, like adventures, battles, those shows where the focus of the series isnt just the relationships between the characters but also the plot Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 I can accept romance in a story if it is only a "side quest" for one of the characters. But I don't like romance to be the core of the story because these stories are too predictable in most cases. For me romantic stories are boring at best or it just feels like fake. The only thing that is even worse are rom coms because they aren't funny at all while still being boring. Link to post Share on other sites
Mezzaluna Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 I can easily enjoy a romantic novel. It is my favorite genre. The only problem is that I'm left feeling really sad afterwards. I feel that because I'm ace, I'll never find that special someone. I know It's not true, but reading about romance instills a sense of both hope and hopelessness if that makes any sense. It doesn't stop me from reading more though. I'm hopelessly addicted. (I avoid purely sexual novels though. Fifty Shades of Gray is an example. I never will or want to read it.) Link to post Share on other sites
Emmys Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Even though I'm aromantic and asexual (as far as I can tell) I really do enjoy a good romance , at least the part for the people care about each other deeply, and have a good connection and relationship. Pretty much anything that can be seen as platonic. But as soon as please start feeling physical attraction, or kissing, or do anything more then that... Gross. I immediately skip ahead, or in extreme circumstances, I turn the TV off or close the book, never to be finished by me. I have books that were my favorites when I was starting to read them years ago that I never finished because I got squeamish from a romantic relationship. Despite this, some of my favorite books are somewhat of romances, because of how much the people care about each other. I think if there was a genre of friendship books (but in a less preschool-sounding way), without the kissing and grossness, but all the emotional attachment, it would be my favorite genre. Link to post Share on other sites
QueenOfTheRats Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 I only like them if they are about gay boys like Brokeback Mountain. I don't really like heterosexual love stories at all. Link to post Share on other sites
AllTimeBubble Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 I'm ace and aro but I really enjoy romance stories, I mean, some of those movies have really good plots and music attached, plus I enjoy shipping characters. Link to post Share on other sites
Calligraphette_Coe Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 IDK, I like a good chick flick. But I don't care for the ones that end in steamy love scenes. To me, it's like people liking horror movies without having to get murdered or having to like snuff films. Link to post Share on other sites
Karst Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 I've read some romantic stories that I enjoyed, running the gamut from Jane Eyre to Star Trek fanfic. I didn't like Jane Austen very much when I tried to read her, though. I prefer stories where the romance isn't the entirety of the plot. Link to post Share on other sites
chairdesklamp Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 I'm not aro and romance can be nice if well-done and not predictable, just wish there were less sex scenes or making out in the rain scenes. I would love it if the former was just indicated by characters having witty banter after and the latter replaced with "giving each other a safe and secure hug in the rain." THAT, I'd be all in for. Hug scenes. That being said, I am writing a giant fan project that does exactly both of those. So I'm trying to do something about it. Not that you read your own work for anything but proofreading. (So Far, there are four a-spec [some ace, some grey-a] characters. Two of them are also trans. One of the trans aces and one of the cis ones are the main characters, as the one I made trans was the main character of the original work) It was slated to be filmed, but getting anyone together for a long-runnerfan thing is hard, this area seems to have a lot of flaky people (seriously, everyone else like me not FROM here complains about this--ask my old landlord and the neighbour from MN), and no one has interest in fan things that aren't ALL ABOUT THE SEX. Do anything in fandom without it--writing, roleplaying, anything--you will be fandom's Most Ignored Person. Even if the sex is being had because the characters are having a baby together, don't show it in great detail (or at all) --you will be the M.I.P. And good luck finding anything to consume that isn't filled with porn. It exists, but it's like one per several thousand works/RPers/etc. It's like looking for books in Japanese in Wisconsin might be. Let it be stated that I have no problem with porn existing, as long as it romanticises healthy ideals and not unhealthy ones. My problem is that there's essentially nothing but. Imagine wanting a new pair of trousers, you go to the store, you wear a 38, and there are only 32s. You go to every store you can think of--only 32s. The nearest store that has 38s is one pair, and you end up having to take a three-hour trip to get there. Although the one or two people I may get a nice review from (I'm currently writing prequels), the attention tends to be high quality even if it's only one person. I got one person who left reviews on something I posted in March, and they were mostly very well-thought out and detailed about what they liked. By the way, in Musings and Rantings, I have a metaphor for explaining why I don't like sex scenes. I posted it so others can adapt it to suit them and use it themselves. Feel free to take a look. Link to post Share on other sites
Lunala Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Depends. I usually find platonic relationships the best and most enjoyable to read about, however romantic relationships can be amazing too - I'm generally not an avid shipper, but occasionally I do support a ship and when I do, I can get crazy about it. I never enjoy sexual relationships - yuck. It also depends on how prominent said romantic relationship is in the story - if the whole book is about a romantic relationship, I will very likely think it's boring and stupid UNLESS it involves a ship I really love - even then I can easily get bored of it. However if the general romantic relationships are more off to the side and don't interfere with the main plot too much, I will generally be more tolerant of the romance as I can just mostly ignore it. I'm also working on a story about these kids going to this camp right now and a few characters do fall in love with each other but there's also an ace/aro character who's like "Oh my god why is everyone falling in love with each other? Oh boy, I hope this outdoorsy camp doesn't turn into romance-y camp because that would destroy the purpose of it..." AKA the romance in any books I write will be subtle and mostly off-to-the-side, so it doesn't wreck the plot too much. Also if I ever publish it I want to aim it at the older kids/teens demographic - there will never be sex scenes in any books I write - I want to write for older kids/teens and that sort of demographic. I also only read books aimed at older kids/teens because I know that those will never have sex scenes in them. Sex scenes are too gross for me, I'm very sex-repulsed Link to post Share on other sites
AllTimeBubble Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 2 hours ago, Lunala said: Sex scenes are too gross for me, I'm very sex-repulsed sameee, I usually skip past them, like, I've been watching Game Of Thrones recently (I've just finished season 2) and the amount I had to skip through omg Link to post Share on other sites
Comrade F&F Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 I remember there was only one romantic story I ever read that I actually liked, but it was for young teens, so no icky parts were in it. It was just so sweet and innocent, like how a love story should be. Spoilers: Spoiler It was about a sailor who got shipwrecked on an island, only to find a mermaid living there. They start off being terrified of each other for different reasons, but they learn to be friends, and then fall in love. They can't actually be together since they are both physically different species, and can only spend time together on the beach. Later, the mermaid accidentally places a love spell on the sailor to make him absolutely adore her (she sings to defend herself from a predator when she snuck too far inland, and the sailor heard her singing). This was something she was actively trying to avoid doing. They spend years together, until the sailor gets the chance to leave the island by joining a passing warship. He finally tells her he's always loved her, with or without her siren music, and he first loved her a few weeks after they met when he taught her how to make fire - meaning their love was always genuine. It was so sweet and pure and gaaaah! More stories need to be like that. Link to post Share on other sites
Fluffy Femme Guy Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 Yes, but I'm quite picky about it. Not nearly enough 'wholesome' romance stories out there. Link to post Share on other sites
Firefly8 Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 I very much enjoy them in one way and not in another. I like them, but I think they are harmful to my asexy-esteem because they are fiction and romanticize romance (paint an unrealistic real-world ideas of romance). They make me question myself and how I can be sane and normal for not having these romantic experiences in life. In that way I don't like how they make me feel after I think about it long enough, but I can't help enjoy these movies and tv shows for what they are in themselves. Link to post Share on other sites
Nique01 Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 I love them! Romance fanfiction, anime, books, and movies. It's all very sweet to me unless it's poorly written and I can tell. I'm heteroromantic and I can identify with the romantic parts of a relationship in media. Sex scenes are unnecessary and awkward to me, though. There's a way to portray a sexual romantic relationship tastefully without exposing something that should be private and intimate, like in The Shape of Water as you mentioned. I'm also sex-positive, but I'm holding out for an ace relationship where sex is not automatically a given. Link to post Share on other sites
AceAnimeFan Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 I don't mind them as long as there is no/minimal sex and there is (usually) something else going on in the story (I rarely like pure romance) and the story itself is good, I just feel kind of embarrassed that I sometimes like them because I feel like I'm fulfilling some sort of stereotype of females being romance obsessed. For the record I am aromantic. Link to post Share on other sites
Evobessive Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 I don't like stories that are purely romantic novels, but if a romantic subplot is in the story, if it's well written and the charecters are likable enough to make me want them to be together and be happy it can be good. But the romance can't overtake the plot and unnecessary sex scenes (which for me are all of them) are always annoying. Link to post Share on other sites
rainbowocollie Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 I find romance as they portray it in Western media kinda dumb a lot of the time, but I'm a sucker for shipping in anime, haha. I don't ship super often, but I definitely do latch onto ships. And I'm greyro. Link to post Share on other sites
GlamRocker Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 I enjoy romance, but most of the time they aren't any good. They're lazy. They fail to engage strong emotion because they are predictable, tropey, and rely on the physical attractiveness of the performers alone. A good deal of the time I find the romance plot line of a book or movie actually TAKES AWAY from the story. It's thrown in because you "have to have one," and makes you sit through boring, chemistry-less dreck just so it can cover its bases. There have been romances that did it for me, though. The TV show Hannibal succeeded. This is why I can't watch Outlander. All it is, is a tired and shallow love story, relying mostly on hot bodies and accents. This show has been recommended to me over and over. I don't know WHY other than the fact that I'm a woman. I LOVE the original villain, though, Black Jack Randall. What an engaging and sick bastard! What a performance, too! I watched all the scenes he was in and fast forwarded through the rest after I couldn't take anymore. Link to post Share on other sites
Skycaptain Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 Nope. The sort of stuff which possessing was a criminal offence fifteen years ago, OK, but soppy romantic stuff no. Link to post Share on other sites
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