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  • ashinadash [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    I've never liked romance in movies at all.

    No film afaik has ever had a good romance, especially in mainstream film it's all trash

    "get the girl" in video games

    Viddyjaems are even worse for this

    don't have any interest in cis het romance

    AS WE CAN SEE FROM THE HEALTHY MIND, theory-gary

    no judgment, but

    brow

    Anyway are we talking like Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts type stuff? Or more like Tessa Bailey, Sarah J Maas, Penelope Douglas stuff? Many shades of "cishet woman targeted" romance.

      • ashinadash [she/her]
        ·
        4 months ago

        Nah, it's just "sickening" lol

        Oh okay, it's the "weh dark romance is PROBLEMATIC!" bit, I see. Otome games I haven't engaged with (becaus they are all straight) but it doesn't sound like it's much different from the novels I'm aware of honestly.

        This bit should have died on reddit.

          • ashinadash [she/her]
            ·
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            Yes, because in the context of romance, fiction broadly, people often use it as a sort of safe environment to engage with kink, be it stuff they would wanna do irl or stuff they would never consider doing, because it isn't safe for them or the social dynamics involved would be scuffed, whatever. I hope rtstragedy doesn't mind me pointing to our chat here about this very subject. There's nothing wrong with engaging "problematic" topics in a healthy way in fiction. Some people have consent-nonconsent kinks, is that "problematic"?

            It's a reddit meme because the "hurr romance novel [or equivalent] is bad" is a misogynist meme, one that goes back way further than Twilight hate even. It's part of a common societal trend of just hating everything young women (or just women honestly) like without even thinking about it, and as a previous member of romance communities and something of an enthusiast, I know this sort of "well-meaning concern" about women choosing to engage with dark romances that feature "problematic" elements.

            This meme should have died on reddit. Obviously care should be taken when putting this kinda stuff in a story, but I would notjust blanketly calling it all out as "problematic".

            E: sorry kind of rude of me

              • ashinadash [she/her]
                ·
                4 months ago

                Okay...

                Uh, Idk if there is one. From what I observed in those circles, it seems like this stuff makes it into novels, VNs, stuff because the readerbase wants it there. Most often the books are written by women for women, and in these the perspective I would figure is usually following the female protagonist, the focus is on her, whereas if shit's genuinely misogynistically like "heheheh kidnapping women is cool" the woman will also often be reduced to an object by like, narration, perspective. There is quite probably a line where "safe fantasy" ends and it becomes troublesome, fwiw. Yoi'd have to dig in to examine that more thoroughly, and uh cishets lmao.

                there doesn't seem to be a diversity of stories being told, and so the depictions become very narrow. I would prefer that the construction of femininity be wider in this genre

                Sounds like typical anime problems to me bocchi-cry which sucks but "anime" as a category is so hopelessly caught up on its tropes, make a drinking game out of every time a "slice of life" anime has a 16 year old highschool girl as a protagonist, it's lame. It would probably pay to look at VNs outside of the Otome Game category for that, although it also could be female players flock to these things simply because all other VNs are malecentric dating sims lol.

                Also I do think all male power fantasies are bad sicko-fem show me a transmasc t4t power fantasy and maybe I'll reconsider!!

                • Thallo [she/her]
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  Sounds like typical anime problems to me which sucks but "anime" as a category is so hopelessly caught up on its tropes

                  It's why I stopped watching, tbh

                  If you'll excuse me now, I'm gonna go play Nier and see if this anime boy can save his sweet sick little sister...

                  Also I do think all male power fantasies are bad

                  I think that a lot of male power fantasies have to do with the urge to protect rather than the urge to conquer. Most people who game choose the "good" option overwhelmingly when provided with a choice. I think it shows that most people want to help.

                  The gross part is, under our current society, the urge to protect manifests through protecting (our pure virgin women) against (barbaric hordes) who want to destroy (our pure and right way of life). Which is, uh, bad.

                  I'd like to see more diversity there. Masculinity as caring for others. Not dad with child fiction that's oh so popular. But I also think the protect power fantasy has the potential to be set right in a better world.

                  • ashinadash [she/her]
                    ·
                    4 months ago

                    Nier no, why did they not release Gestalt and Replicant as a pair again asagiri

                    Hmmmmmmmmmmm lea-think Yeah that's analysis I can agree with. Male peower fantasy doesn't need to be bad but it's deeply prone to and maybe even born of reactionary sentiment. Therefore I am dismissing it all as Utterly Disgusting sicko-fem We need socialism for it to be good!

            • Thallo [she/her]
              ·
              4 months ago

              I guess I prefer main characters to have active roles. The role of these MCs are generally passive and they have people act around them or in their name.

              Sure she likes them, that's why she plays them! I mean, the love interests constantly fight over the MC, and I can imagine that makes you feel good. Of course, any kidnapping or threat of SA is followed by being rescued by a love interest. Again, not my thing, but I can easily see why someone would be into that.

              Like you can see in my response to Ash, I'm really more hung up on the lack of diversity in the storytelling because it seems like in these games with like 12 love interests, they each treat the MC the same way.