The least favorite feedback I've ever gotten is "you should pair your novel leads together." To this non-advice, I kept saying "she's underaged."
This unfortunately was not convincing. Responses ranged from "so what?" to "then their bond is not worth mentioning."
So much media, be it books, movies, or video games have a romanctic subplot, no mater how shoehorned it feels. TV Tropes has two pages for the phenomenon. One is "token romance," describing romantic subplots, often underdeveloped, with little to no impact on the main story.
More intense iterations of forced romance are called "strangled by the red string." Two characters are suddenly in romantic love despite little to nothing in the story indicating they have feelings for one another. It gets even more bizarre if the two have barely interacted prior.
I am very, very demiromantic. I don't develop romantic feelings towards someone unless we've already bonded. I'm also way more likely to enjoy a years long platonic relationship with someone rather than get an urge to date them. Fiction's emphasis on romance devalues other types of love and bonds. All too often, I'm left frustrated or disgusted. Sometimes both, depending on how badly the token romance is handled.
When I write about love, I'm way more likely to write about familial bonds. Birth families, chosen ones, or those in between, I like exploring them all. I also play with platonic relationships, like with friends. I don't want my characters to be "just" friends, or "only" like brother and sister. Their love is every bit as valuable and important as romance, and I refuse to act otherwise.
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