Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Things I Don't Like About Love Triangles (6)

See HERE for previous posts

I Don't Like

When two love interests are willing to wait around for several books to see which of them the heroine chooses: "I love you, girl, so I'm going to suffer silently if you choose him instead. But just in case you want to pick me, I'll be here waiting for you." 

Would anyone really say this, besides Ryan Gosling in a Hey Girl post? These guys are willing to stick around while the heroine struggles to make up her mind, really? I just don't buy it at all. But it seems like a lot of people fantasize about someone(s) saying this to them, because of the number of love triangles out there. 

Does this bug you too? 
What's something you dislike about love triangles?

13 comments:

  1. YES! And most of the time the heroine is this really bland and boring girl and any OTHER girl character in the book is a much more reasonable choice for two hot guys to wait an eternaty over!

    Nowadays people have issues to wait in lines over a couple of seconds or get cranky when deliveries don't arrive the moment you press order, so I really doubt teenage boys, especially popular ones, in such fast moving times are sooooo in love that they can wait months or even years till the girl makes a choice, and be so understanding about that as well. But I guess, as they say, time flies when you're having fun. NOT!

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  2. Ugh, this is such an annoying trope. Especially given that these boys are typically between 16-18 and completely lack the emotional maturity required of such a sentiment. I mean, I'm 22 and female, and I still get insanely jealous for no reason! Even suspending my disbelief enough to believe that the characters are actually "in love" is a struggle, because of the fact that THEY'RE TEENAGERS. Who are usually emotionally manipulated/manipulative of their LIs. Yuck. I'm getting kind of off topic here, but I think you get my point. It's total wish fulfilment.

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  3. Haha I totally agree with All of these Things you don't like about love triangles so far.

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  4. A Ryan Gosling Hey Girl meme! *snort* In reality, teen boys just don't have that kind of patience. Adult boys don't either, for that matter.

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  5. This one is a silly one because who in their right mind would want to be the second choice of some girl? Like Mary said, men aren't that patient.

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  6. Yesss. I very much agree. I would never ever wait around. And be the second choice. Ugh. Love triangles stinks, lol. Thank you for sharing Lauren. <3 I love love love reading your posts about this :D You are awesome.

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  7. There does seem to be a lot of waiting around with triangles. While I'm not usually a fan of the third party trying to actively break up a couple either (it seems really disrespectful--making yourself known is one thing, but willfully ignoring any "commitments" is another), it does seem like there's a lot of guys mooning around. Go live your lives at least! But maybe part of it is that some of those thirds aren't presented as fully fleshed out characters and we don't see them doing other things/seeing other people/living their lives, despite any waffling from the girl? Most of them, as we've discussed many times, are just there to be obstacles to the romance without any real stakes at all.


    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  8. Yeah, that's the worst part about it, I think. How do they have respect for someone who's willing to just hang out, waiting to see if he gets picked? But of course that's what some of the reality shows are about, like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. What is wrong with these people?? Why would you give someone that power? Don't you have any self-respect? Don't get me started, it's just pretty ridiculous. ~Pam

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  9. YES. I absolutely agree. Just the very concept of a love triangle is utter wish fulfillment and drastically unrealistic as well. I can't imagine teenage guys having such a depth of emotion that they'd really WAIT and be content to stand by the side while a girl went back and forth between two guys. Where is THEIR sense of self respect? I feel like, at their core, love triangles just wind up belittling everyone; the girl for her indecisiveness and the guys for their complacency. It's an all-round failure. =.=

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  10. That's actually a very important question. I have to say, don't these guys have any sense of pride? I mean if I were them or if I were ever in a similar situation, I wouldn't have stuck around. I have a better sense of self-worth then to wait around while a girl decides if I am 'worthy'. Pretty sure there are better fish in the sea and probably people out there that would treat me better.

    But of course, this isn't real life so... why the hell not. It's not like they've got more important things to do :P

    Rashika @ The Social Potato

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  11. Depends. Does the guy have any pride and/or self-esteem at all?

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  12. If someone has been hung up on another person for years I can see that they'd watch from the sidelines to see if things didn't work out. I've known a couple of cases in real life, and it's sad because they're usually disappointed in the end. One was a guy friend who had a crush on my sister for years, and she never quite liked him in that way. A couple of times it seemed like she might actually go for him, but the feelings just weren't there on her side. The idea of him was great. He got along with our family and just fit, but the heart doesn't always cooperate. *sigh* She would've been better off with him in the long run, too. :(

    Great post, Lauren! :)

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  13. Lauren, I absolutely LOVE this new feature of yours. I don't know if I said it before, but if I did, I'm saying it again! THIS ROCKS! Plus, your mention of Ryan Gosling in a Hey Girl meme? HAHA! *two thumbs up*

    I think in high school, waiting around for someone you "love" isn't too far-fetched. I think it comes with the territory sometimes; young love can be cruel. But it's definitely a lot messier than what's portrayed in YA lit. Rachel's comment took me back to that time. I've seen it too, but I also don't think it was real love either -- more like infatuation (for all parties involved). Still, rejection stings no matter what, and making someone wait for you has to be one of the worst feelings.

    Marlene @ The Flyleaf Review

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