Romantic vs Platonic??

@thoughtfulCamp1423 I don't think it's dumb, it's understandable to be a bit confused about what the difference would be, especially when society usually just focuses on the sexual part, what's the difference without it?

Basically, it might vary from person to person, but romantic relationships could be thought of as loving and passion based, and platonic are more friendly based. Basically, platonic is your friends, people who you love as friends and care about, but wouldn't really want to genuinely marry them or kiss them romantically/passionately. Whereas a romantic relationship is more rooted in wanting a passionate connection with someone, you'd want to kiss them and hold them and be only with them in that sense. (Obviously doesn't apply to poly people, but they will still have their boundaries for who they want to do romantic things with, and who they just want to do friendly things with, just that it might not be exclusive to one person). Whereas pretty much across the board, platonic relationships are not exclusive and always flexible and people generally hold several at a time. A platonic relationship is someone you call a friend, a romantic relationship is someone you call your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/etc. If you think of cheesy romance movies/books, those are generally things you wouldn't do with your friends. Romantic feelings can be fluttery lovey overwhelming, while platonic feelings are usually a more fun excited friendly. For example, you might think in your head "I love my friends so much!" for your platonic relationships, but think "I'm so in love with my partner!" for romantic ones. So, sort of the difference of loving someone (which can be at all different levels, just like someone might love animals or the rain) and being in love with someone (pretty much only romantic). There are usually more expectations and consequences in romantic relationships, whereas there is a bit more flexibility in platonic ones (eg. cancelling a meetup with your friend might not be nice but also not a big deal, but cancelling a date with your partner can feel like a bigger deal). There is also usually a level of attraction in romantic relationships, even without sex, but that's generally not needed in platonic relationships, where you might often be friends with people that you wouldn't think of dating. Anyways that's a few differences I could think of, hopefully it helps a bit!