Not attracted
Sometimes romance doesn’t work because one person justdoesn’t feel attraction back. In fiction, though, the feeling seems to always be mutual. This is understandable in romances because the whole point is for people to fall in love with each other. The way it happens every time in non-romances where romance is just a side plot is less understandable.
Consider these ways of thinking:
1. If I am attracted to somebody, they have to be attracted back
2. If somebody is attracted to me, I have to be attracted back
Having every single attraction be mutual in every single work of fiction feeds into those. Plus, it’s more realistic to have your characters fall for uninterested people sometimes. One-way love can be just as much a plot point as shared love.
Related: when Character A says firmly that they aren’t interested in Character B and Character B takes it as incentive to try harder and it works and they have a happy romance, that’s just creepy. “No” doesn’t actually mean “try harder.” Pursuing somebody who has made clear they don’t want you will not lead to happiness.
Coughs… Captain Swan coughs
