#aroace space

and I think that when people try to argue that something is written lazily or lacks substance by saying "it's a romantic story, the plot is just romance" are looking down on well written romance stories in general

yes, the plot may be romance, but that means that said plot is driven by character relationships, developments and interactions: instead of being carried by a specific series of events, the events will need to serve as points of inflection for character dynamics and development

one of my favorite books of all time is probably also one of the best romance books of all time: pride and prejudice (which I think is getting 2 new adaptations this year, austen help us)

the brilliant aspect of a novel like pride and prejudice (and jane austen's skill) is that the narrative of the story is moved by the crossing paths of elizabeth and darcy and the events that unfold in the story all are catalysts for the characters to develop and grow in relation to each other

events and other relationships, like jane and bingley (their separation and then reunion) or lydia and whickham (their elopement and retrieval) serve as points of added development to the main relationship, which is the focus of the story

the marvelous thing is that, even when they are apart from each other, even when they dislike each other, their individual development is connected to the other in a way that fits narratively with the way in which they will eventually fit into one another

they have to meet to learn something about themselves and then grow apart in order to, eventually, be together

it's ultimately a story about character dynamics, about the human essence; in this case, with a romantic narrative

maybe being aro gives me a sort of different perspective on the substance vs the superficial: even if I don't fully relate to all that's happening there with the romance in the superficial events, when the substance of the story is a well cultivated character development and exploration of human dynamics, I can relate to that and appreciate the storytelling regardless

I may not like tomato by itself but I can appreciate a good sauce

so, in my opinion, it isn't that a romantic story which doesn't have another thing going for it other than the romance as a main course (like a fantasy adventure, a horror mystery or a contemporary drama based on true events) is "basic", it's only basic if the writing doesn't account for the fact that, if romance is the core of the story, it needs to be as nurtured, developed and cared for as any other main plot would be

if the writing doesn't account for that and doesn't develop the relationship in ways in which the reader can grasp at it's dynamics (like any other plot, worldbuilding or scenario) but just bullet-points things and calls it a day, saying that it's justified "because it's romance" it's imo looking down on a genre

and that's the case with a lot of the modern romance that is re-purposed fic: if you're going to re-purpose a fic into a romance novel, make sure you remember that, in the fic, a lot of the character building, dynamics and relationships happen off-page because a fic re-uses those things from a canon story

you have to, in fic, cut some corners as not to bore your reader with exposition of things they already know as much as you do, being fans of the same thing; if it's an au, you may have to re-contextualize it, but there is already a pre-existent understanding of the basics that fics require you to present in a less exhaustive way

but when you're writing a story from scratch, bullet-pointing development, dynamics, context, relationships and personality indicators is especially glaring as an issue in romance, where those things should be the cornerstone of the story you're building

I know what this person means, I mean no disrespect and god knows I'm a k/s supporter until my last day on earth and I think those men were married in anything but name

but

the reason I made this post about this episode in particular and I said "I don't care what kind of love it is, it's love" is because, as an aroace person, hearing bones tell spock he'll never know the "glorious failures and glorious victories" because "the word 'love' isn't written into your book" and see spock turn around and use his abilities to lift up the burden and grief jim was carrying within him, without intending him to ever know what he did for him or why, spoke to me personally in a deep level

and I know we all see something of ourselves in spock that he may or may not have depicted, and I also know we aroaces learn to exist in the fandom landscape in which everyone is always romantically and sexually shipped, even those characters who are canonically aspec, and you know I stand with spirk 100% and love to see it,

but the reason I said "I don't care what kind of love it is, it's love" is because, no matter why it was written like that and what its intention was, it spoke to me personally as an aroace person to see a depiction of love that can run so deep without being explicitly romantic or sexual, at least momentarily, especially juxtaposed to a speech that sounds so familiar, of being "unloving", "uncaring" and "doomed to not understand what it means to be human"

I'm pointing it out not to defend anything or start anything or contradict the tag but just to say that sometimes you can let us aroaces have a moment, that post was me having a moment, and it feels kind of jarring to get it thrown back in my face with a "but we all know this is romantic and sexual, though"

sometimes just let us have a moment, is all I'm saying, and see ourselves in a fraction of something that wasn't really meant for us but speaks to us nonetheless

In the first scene, Adachi is reading Fujisaki's mind, she's the one speaking. He is aware of his co-worker Kurosawa being in love with him and had thought Fujisaki was also attracted. She had asked him to help her with her parents, to fake-date her in order to make them think she was in a relationship. Adachi finds out in this scene that Fujisaki's request isn't because she's attracted to him but because she doesn't experience attraction at all, while also being supporting of his and Kurosawa's budding relationship.

I had my many doubts coming into this drama. It was recommended alongside others I liked, I was interested in the fact that all the characters were adults and it was said to be a romantic comedy without a heterosexual main couple. Still, there were things about the premise I was very concerned about, some that were handled much better than I expected, others still problematic.

HOWEVER. I did not expect to find an aroace side character in this, let alone a girl, even less a girl who is shown to be so caring and loving and protective of her friends and not the detached/robot-like representation they usually go for aroaces. I expected even less to read an interview with the scriptwriter and see the confirmation of Fujisaki being aroace and what that meant for the audience.