History Main / ThinksLikeARomanceNovel

** ''Definitely'' surprisingly, [[DeadpanSnarker Garrus]] shows signs of this on his romance path. In his case, it's less that he has an idealized version of love and more that [[InterspeciesRomance he has no idea how human relationships work]] and is implied to have been watching romance vids for pointers. This is especially obvious in the Citadel DLC, where he and Shepard decide to have a ''pretend'' first date, and he reveals that he's been taking [[DanceOfRomance very real dance lessons]] [[GrandRomanticGesture in order to impress her.]] Like Tali, this is mostly intended to make him {{Adorkable}}.

* ''Literature/MadameBovary'''s title character is another classic example. She was raised in a convent where romance novels were passed around by the girls, and she believes love can only exist in the grandiose, sentimental way. She ruins her first marriage (and life) for this.

* In ''Webcomic/WeakHero'', Lily's got it in her head that her beautiful, aloof classmate Gray is a pitiable soul in dire need of protecting from all of the cram school's bullies, and that it's up to her to be his protector. The truth is quite the opposite; he's a BullyHunter who [[TheDreaded instils fear]] in anyone who crosses him.

* Very few RomanceNovel heroines ''actually'' think this way, as it would sort of defeat the [[DarkestHour black moment]] of the three-act structure. Their authors, however, are literally paid to invoke this trope but only as part of the writing process. Many, if you sit down and talk to them, have similar ideas about love as most people who ''don't'' read {{romance novel}}s. It's all about selling the fantasy. They're very aware of what they're doing. Just because someone can enjoy a romance novel doesn't mean they can't tell the different between it and reality. Reality has way more [[MartyStu single billionaires]] running around waiting to fall in love with [[UnkemptBeauty the plain girl who doesn't bother with her appearance, but still has great hair and skin]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

%%%* ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'': Cale demonstrates it [[http://lfgcomic.com/page/569 here]].

** Tsukiko has this mixed with two other tropes -- WrongGenreSavvy and InsaneTrollLogic. First, she thinks that because [[HumansAreBastards Living Are Bastards]], then the Undead, as the antithesis of life, must be [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood really good and just misunderstood]]. This makes her act like she lives in a romance novel with strong ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' overtones, not in a fantasy setting based on ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. Because of that she considers Xykon to be this perfect man who will finally fall in love with her, and sees Redcloak as nothing more but his cowardly loser sidekick who gets between them and who she can humiliate without consequences. [[spoiler:Finally, Redcloak decides to prove to her that a) she is wrong about the undead and b) underestimating him is a very bad idea.]]

->''"You don't want to be in love... you want to be in love '''in a movie.'''''"

** Tali, [[TheCutie perhaps not surprisingly,]] has moments of this if you [[RomanceSidequest romance her.]] She deliberately plays up the RescueRomance trope since Shepard's saved her life so many times, saying that she can't imagine ''why'' a sweet young woman would fall for the dashing space captain who rescued her. In the [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 third game's]] Citadel DLC, it's further revealed that her favorite movie is an InterspeciesRomance love story... and she's been stealing romantic dialogue from it in order to woo you. It's played mostly for [[{{Adorkable}} adorkability,]] and if you tease her about it, she notes that "''You're'' not complaining."

* ComicBook/HarleyQuinn exhibits this constantly, idealizing and thinking of her abusive, co-dependent relationship with SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker as a storybook romance.

In Live Action works or Literature it is more common for the mental image to be implied while the character [[strike: rambles]] soliloquizes about how the love scene will turn out, or for the other characters' actions to reveal their RomanceNovel idealism.

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Starfire feels this way about her TrueCompanions. Enough to recite novel-length poetry with a brightly-colored floral background.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
** Tsukiko has this mixed with two other tropes -- WrongGenreSavvy and InsaneTrollLogic. First, she thinks that because [[HumansAreBastards Living Are Bastards]], then the Undead, as the antithesis of life, must be [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood really good and just misunderstood]]. This makes her act like she lives in a romance novel with strong ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' overtones, not in a fantasy setting based on ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. Because of that she considers Xykon to be this perfect man who will finally fall in love with her, and sees Redcloak as nothing more but his cowardly loser sidekick who gets between them and who she can humiliate without consequences. [[spoiler:Finally, Redcloak decides to prove to her that a) she is wrong about the undead and b) underestimating him is a very bad idea.]]
** Therkla, Kubota's assassin, falls in love with Elan at first sight, writes about it in her journal, and is willing to betray her master if Elan will become her boyfriend. Her prequel story shows that she is an avid reader of trashy romance novels, even though her job rarely gives her time to read them before someone else spoils her.

* [[{{Beastess}} Ms. Intimidating Cow Monster]] in ''Webcomic/{{Rhapsodies}}'' seems to think a [[http://rhapsodies.wpmorse.com/comic/girl-talk/ relationship can fix a man's problems.]]
* ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo'': Ping, for understandable reasons. As a RobotGirl designed for non-porn {{Visual Novel}}s, she basically ''is'' a romance novel.
* ''Webcomic/KimchiCuddles'': Amalthea's idea of telling her ex she still has feelings for him involves bookmarking a poem with a piece of ribbon torn from her dress, and leaving it out in a bookshop in the hope that he'll notice. Kimchi explains to her that that doesn't count as "talking to him".

* ''Webcomic/EnsignSueMustDie'': This trope fuels nearly everything Ensign Sue does. She freely imagines everyone she chooses is in love with her, and that she will have a relationship with them that will conform to her expectations. She ''also'' happens to be a YaoiFangirl, and wants to get Kirk and Spock into a torrid gay romance with each other (once she's "taught them", of course).

* Very few RomanceNovel heroines ''actually'' think this way, as it would sort of defeat the [[DarkestHour black moment]] of the three-act structure. Their authors, however, are literally paid to invoke this trope but only as part of the writing process. Many, if you sit down and talk to them, have similar ideas about love as most people who ''don't'' read {{romance novel}}s. It's all about selling the fantasy. They're very aware of what they're doing. Just because someone can enjoy a romance novel doesn't mean they can't tell the different between it and reality. Reality has way more single billionaires running around waiting to fall in love with [[MarySue the plain girl who doesn't bother with her appearance, but still has great hair and skin]].

* In the book version of ''ThePrincessDiaries'', Mia has tendencies toward this ||and later writes romance novels herself|| but a lot of it comes from being friends with Tina Hakim Baba, who is explicitly stated to think this way, throughout the series.

* Princess Anna from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' thinks in conventions very similar to most early Franchise/{{Disney Princess}}es: hitting it off with one person after a single night is enough to convince her that they're soulmates. [[spoiler:Prince Hans, the guy in question, is anything BUT a good prince, and manipulates this way of thinking for all it's worth in a bid to get his hands on the throne of Arendelle for himself]].
* Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog: Charlotte has wanted to fall in love with a prince and become a princess since she was a little girl.

** While a lot of Pratchett's younger female characters have this problem, it's subverted in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'': Glenda secretly reads pulp romance novels as her only known form of recreation, but she's not convinced and ultimately doesn't let them mislead her in her own life or her advice to others.

* In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory4,'' Porcoline is like this towards the PlayerCharacter. [[SingleTargetSexuality He has a massive crush on them regardless of their gender,]] and is convinced that they're madly in love with him as well and that they're going to sweep him off his feet. If you make a PlatonicConfessionOfLove towards him, he even interprets it as a ''marriage proposal'' and tries to carry them off to get married right that second. Since he's not an ''actual'' LoveInterest for the PC, however, he's never successful.

** In the novel ''Discworld/{{Mort}}'' by Creator/TerryPratchett, there is Ysabel, who goes into the room with the books of life writing themselves to read all the real-life stories of [[LoveHurts tragic love]] that there are, and these stories form the basis of her understanding of romance.
** While a lot of Pratchett's younger female characters have this problem, it's subverted in ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'': Glenda secretly reads pulp romance novels as her only known form of recreation, but she's not convinced and ultimately doesn't let them mislead her in her own life or her advice to others.
** Also subverted in ''Discworld/{{Wintersmith}}'': The Nac Mac Feegle provide Tiffany with a romance novel to help her with the wintersmith... and she thinks all the characters should just be more sensible.

* Miko from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' dreams of a man - a prince - who is always looking after her, understands how she feels and comes to her rescue when she is in distress. Both Fujiwara and Shirogane point out that the man Miko is looking for only exists in her dreams. [[spoiler:The DramaticIrony is that there already is such a person in her life that fits her ideals, and has the same idea of justice and altruistic love that she has. She just doesn't see the kindness Ishigami has shown to her. When she starts to see, she [[WhatIsThisFeelingCalledLove doesn't realize that she's starting to love him]].]]