if i were to edit it, i would add that you see this type of escapist media popping up across various formats and cultures - American romantasy exists for the same reason as transmigration webnovels and isekai anime and dungeon crawling RPG manhwa. End stage capitalism.

it exists for the same reason that video games are a place to hang out now rather than just a thing to consume and get through - they're places to escape to because the real world has gotten worse and worse, especially for young people.

I stumbled across this shrine of apples with a big ginger cat sat in it whilst walking Hektor, I didn’t manage to photograph it, so I drew it 🌳