honestly i think the selling point of romance for me (and where it usually fails to land) is 'can i imagine these people sharing an in-joke'
like, are they in cahoots. can they laugh together. do they have a similar enough or at least complementary enough outlook that they can connect over something being funny (even if it's funny in a fucked up way! sometimes those are the best in-jokes!)
that's not necessarily true love in and of itself, but it does feel like an essential component to me






















