Since reading seperis’ entry - romantic shenanigans are like music, you just need to know what you're hearing, I have been bouncing between the urge to read romance fanfiction and the compulsion to orchestrate my own over the top Epic Romance of WORLD ENDINGNESS, because by the gods there is something truly freeing about writing one’s own guilty pleasures. Yet, I’m CONFLICTED because I CANNOT stand romance novels (my watching of Asian soap opera not withstanding), the writing style and the characterisation makes me want to bleach my own brain, YET, I am a fan of True Epic Love. CONFLICTED!

I’m a woman, and like most women the All Consuming Love that is such a troupe of romance novels and the romance genera makes my heart flutter and my eyes glitter. The All Consuming Love makes me its slave, it really does show in my fandom(s) and pairing(s) (a note; when I say romantic love/all consuming love it does not automatically default to sexual love, in fact I’d be perfectly happy watching my pairing of choice never engage in sex. HOWEVER, guilty pleasure wise (fanfic), I WANT my SEX! It need not dominate the story but guilty pleasure by its nature is an OVERABUNDANCE of DELICIOUS things that may NOT be good for you). My biggest, deepest and strongest OTP would be John Crichton and Aeryn Sun; the world begins and ends with the two of them. They would die for each (done), they would destroy worlds for each other (done), they would kill/maim/torture/sacrifice for each other (done, done, done, and done), and it is that ALL CONSUMING LOVE that makes me LOVE them to bits with ALL of my fangirl heart because they would do ANYTHING for each other, and my LIZARD brain WANTS that, DESPITE the fact that it is HIGHLY UNHEALTHY! But I DON’T CARE because they are my COMFORT. This also works in relation to Sam & Dean (platonic or other wise!).

BUT, I still CANNOT stand ROMANCE NOVELS! The purple prose make my soul die a bit each time, the main protagonists makes me want to take a serrated blade to their metaphorical backs, and the writing style HURTS me! But as a close acquaintance pointed out to me my guilty pleasure is EVERYTHING a romance novel contain, but I can’t get through 10 pages of a romance novel; my favourite fanfics and canon are of characters willing to do ANYTHING for each other, it is ALL CONSUMING, and often one partner is the, um, aggressor, so, I suppose, all I truly want is for romance novels to have good characterisation, and a superb writing style.

In conclusion, NOTHING has been resolved by this post but I NEEDED to vent, because so MUCH squee in the post, and I CAN’T ENJOY it as MUCH I CAN! UNFAIRNESS!