The language of love can be complicated. It’s something that thousands of years of human evolution are still yet to fully figure out. However, it can be hard to make the same conclusion when looking at the memes made on the topic. When the internet turns its focus to the world of romance, it tends to be in a way that is more than a little repetitive, and it comes to some very definite conclusions. Many of the most popular romantically inclined memes center on snowclones and copypasta.

Some of the most recent examples on the theme have proved this. Never one to shy away from repeating itself, Twitter has led the way. "Imagine Being Here With The Love Of Your Life" sees users take an aesthetic viral tweet using a photo of a comforter sprawled confusingly in a field and applies its caption to all manner of outlandish or disgusting places, from video game sets to trash heaps.

There is little patience for all the Tumblresque romanticization on the internet because its beauty and wishful authenticity are not compatible with many memetic identities. Give or take the wholesome movement, much of meme culture can have a pessimistic slant. If it takes on the main character attitude, there’s a high chance it makes that something to complain about. As a result, it finds itself at odds with content that does not cater to this specific perspective.

This meme follows after a similar one, "I’ve Always Loved The Way They Loved." In this format, the couple themselves is the focus of attention. It was originally sourced from an Instagram post by Lana Del Rey, that, to the horror of many of her followers, admired the marriage between cousins Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II. Here, the origins make even clearer the misguided nature it is meant to depict. Its stance makes clear that romantics do not appreciate the absurdity of reality.

Although these memes show development towards the parody of real attitudes, their skeptical stance grows from those which used imagined ones. A format like What If We Kissed takes inspiration from its manga origins in its use of dialogue although it is directed towards the viewer, springing on them a surprise and not necessarily welcome interaction. Again, the focus is on place, but the conversational context makes the punchline even more strange.

Anyone Wanna Admit They Have A Crush On Me also uses the snowclone with a personal approach, but its all-or-nothing viewpoint takes it to the next level. The involvement of seismic events – involving everything from the end of a year to the end of the world – blows its inquiry way out of proportion and magnifies its sense of desperation. It reveals the wider, ironic critique coming from this genre of meme, which shows the self-absorption that can come with matters of the heart. Both this and What If We Kissed seem to imply a denial of their wishes, underscoring that when these phrasal memes are not committed to a distorted fantasy, they offer a feeling of disappointment.

This insecurity has been further reflected in another format. Just Kidding…Unless? has been used to portray everything from pushing two Minecraft beds together to sending unsolicited nudes. Its humorous commentary on coercion and a fear of rejection completes the triad in their exploration of how you shoot your shot. Its slightly manipulative tone places it apart from more recent copypastas, which are more imaginative than direct. That said, the hope it imparts is representative of all the memes of this genre, whose views are often presented as misguided but nonetheless sincere.

The awkward thing about love is that it’s meant to be genuine: It is the original form of cringe. Whether it’s being filtered through the embarrassing social media behavior or being spoken of by an awkward collective voice, the message communicated by these highly structured formats is that the dream is frequently ridiculous, even if it is obtainable. Just like many of the highest and lowest points of romantic relationships can seem to follow a script, so do the memes that satirize them.

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