Question for people with romantic attraction

Based on this snippet of dialogue, I don't think I'd ever be interested in this person in the first place :')

They seem honest and well-intentioned, but dispassionate. I don't develop crushes on people who view me with apathy or a simple lack of dislike. There's always been a spark of mutual interest that comes almost immediately (often the very first interaction) from finding ourselves compatible on some level, and I see little point in pursuing or thinking about someone who openly doesn't "have any particular feelings for me".

But supposing this happened, I'd thank them for their honesty and turn them down just as politely. I'd be a bit disappointed in having gotten such a wrong impression of them, but I wouldn't mourn the loss of that potential relationship very long.

I would probably be a bit discouraged in all honesty (and too scared to actually try )

So I look at this situation from 2 points of views - one is the one that @AlydaB already wrote and I agree with this presented reasoning.
Second is, let's assume we never ever talked and I just look at them from the shadows and then I finally confess to hear this answer. In this situation I'll give it a go, because pretty obviously if someone had no previous interactions with me, they wouldn't particularly like or dislike me.
Although, this returns me to the first point, most people I had romantic relationship (or had crushes for) were passionate people with strong views, so I would expect them to have an opinion of me pretty quickly to decide if they want to go out with me.

I agree- I think that's the only scenario where saying 'yes' to this person would make sense.

Personally, though, that's not something I relate much to either. I'm not one to ask out people based on crushing on them from afar and never interacting. That'd feel like shooting in the dark, and what are the chances a stranger (albeit an attractive one, probably) is going to be compatible with me?

I'm an introvert with a limited amount of time and energy for social endeavors in the first place, so I'd view all of this as a risk of wasting time I could spend developing other more promising relationships.

I would be vv worried about them, tbh. I mean, disappointed the person I liked didn't feel the same way, but, when I've asked people out, my major worry is usually that I'll upset them/make them feel grossed out.

The idea of dating somebody who wasn't into me sounds hellish. I'd probably say something along the lines of "Look, if you're interested in relationship, but not sure if you'll develop feelings, I'm down to try a few dates and go back to normal if we don't click, but please don't date me for my sake. I want to be with somebody who wants to be with me. If that's not you, I think it would really hurt to be with somebody who saw our relationship as a duty"

I would probably decline because I would find it weird that the other person needs to justify themselves so much I mean, if I ask out someone I don't know, I don't expect them to be instantly interested or in love with me. That's why we go on a date, to get to know each other more and maybe develop feelings. If it turns out we don't match at all, then there's no second date. So I expect 'I don’t have any particular feelings for you at the moment. But I know how hard it is to confess those kinds of feelings. I don’t dislike you', but as an inner monologue, and then a simple 'no, but I respect the bravery' or 'okay, let's try' answer for me.
That being said, I never had an experience like this (it was mostly the other way round; and the one time I asked someone out we were already good friends) so maybe I would react in a completely different way then I expect

I would think that person was a patronising jerk! They want to throw me a pity date for being brave to say I'm into them!? They think they're that desirable and that I couldn't just find somebody else!?

I have way too much self-respect to take that. I'd probably recoil slightly, shocked by the sheer egotism, and say:

"Ah, actually, if you're not bothered, it's fine, I'd rather not be dated out of a sense of obligation."
And then I would walk away. Just nope the heck out of there. This person is not worth my time.

Nothing would kill my attraction to a person faster than the discovery that they think I'm so pathetic, emotionally fragile and incapable of finding someone that they'd need to throw me a bone without being into it.
I never dated anyone who didn't think I was awesome, and now I have a fiance who thinks I'm awesome and we've been happy together nearly 10 years, so I don't regret going in knowing my own value and taking my time rather than desperately rushing into relationships with people who looked down on me just out of a need to be with somebody.

I can't say I feel particularly good about that. Me being... me, my first reaction would be to go along with it to see what happens. Since they said "at the moment" and "give it a try" that would make me think "Ah, so I have a chance " despite the very lukewarm reaction. I can't imagine it would go super well or last very long. Maybe it depends on this person I'm confessing to, how long I've known them, how well we get along outside of a strictly romantic context, and whether or not they really can develop feelings for me, but even then I see that turning out to be a "let's just be friends" situation.

I imagine the date wouldn't go well because I overthink things a lot. If they don't really react or seem interested enough, I might start to think there's something wrong with me and I might not even consider that they might just be like that with everyone. Personally I'm pretty open about when I feel like I'm overthinking, so I try to be upfront about what's on my mind. In this case that might clear things up and help me decide whether or not the date was worth it since this person seems pretty honest and able to communicate. If it ends with an honest communication like that, I could see that being a good outcome regardless of if the conclusion was "let's be friends" or "let's do this again sometime"

I'm kinda curious as to why I have feelings for this person to begin with, but that's not part of the question. If I really like them and they gave me an opportunity to see what happens, I (personally) would take that since I'm a hopeless romantic. The gamble excites me and the clarity I get from knowing the outcome is cathartic. So for me, I'd say it's like a "if it works, it works" type of date, and if it doesn't work, I'm pretty capable of being friends with failed crushes, so that won't be too bad.

Hopefully this is a useful perspective :3

For me it comes across like the 2nd option and that´s the way it is for some people,
when someone asks me for a date I would say something like that

It comes off a bit condescending. Bit of a red flag. Honestly the whole thing comes off a bit robotic, like a melodramatic Visual Novel.

So I would probably respond, “Uhhhh, are you a robot?”

I think that if character B isn't interested, you could just have them say "No" or "no thanks" and move on. This is big for me since women (at least where I"m from) can't just say no if they aren't interested. They have to EXPLAIN themselves. If the couple is supposed to have romantic interaction later on, you could find opporunities for the couple to interact and spend time together BEFORE officially dating. It helps make the romance more believable.

I do have a question though. What's Character A's motivation for asking charactere B out? I realized as I got older, I only feel ANY type of attraction after I've formed an emotional bond with the other person. In my late teens to early twenties especially, I only dated because it was "normal". I was never really attracted to anyone, I just dated because that's what everyone else was doing.

This is the part that would be a huge "nope" for me. The rest I'd be ok with because maybe they're just trying to say "hey I don't know you that well at the moment" so that could be the reason they have no opinion about me. But a pity date? Yikes. I'd probably give a polite "no, it's fine" answer with a smile, but wouldn't really want to hang out with that person after that.

I'm on the aromantic spectrum so this is unlikely to happen to me but in that situation I'd feel condescended to and frustrated, even if my romantic attraction is limited and romantic rejection isn't a huge deal for me.

When I have feelings for someone (and that includes platonic feelings, a squish - aka wanting to be their friend - and all sorts of attraction I can't quite place), I want them to hang out with me because they want to and like me in some way - or not if they don't or we're not compatible. If they talk about how brave I am and how hard it must have been to confess to these feelings and that's why they want to hang otu with me I'd just lose interest and not want to hang out with them anymore because it'd feel a lot like they're doing it out of pity or a sense of obligation. Actually that might just make me lose interest in them altogether so that'd be an effective way to get rid of me.

If they were to just say that they don't have any particular feelings for me and don't know what kind of feelings they could develop but I seem nice or interesting enough to get to know me, I'd be fine with it. I'd be happy to hang out and get to know them with no strings attached and no particular kind of relationship as the goal. But again, I am a relationship anarchist and on the aromantic spectrum, so I can imagine that being hard for allos when they're in love.

So basically:
"I don't have any particular feelings for you now but you seem like someone I could like in some way so let's hang out and get to know each other, I just can't promise any particular kind of attraction or relationship" - yes! Let's hang out
"I don't have any particular feelings for you but you were so brave that I'm willing to give it a try" - no thanks, fuck off, did you do that on purpose so I lose interest???
The exception would be if they find me being direct interesting or likeable. But I'd only want to hang out with them if there's something about me they actually like and they actually want to spend time with me.

Honestly I'd be very annoyed at a response like that, i'd rather my crush just reject me.
It could be that the response is so... condescending and kinda robotic? maybe if it was phrased a bit more naturally?
"I don't have feelings for you right now but... I'd like to go on a date to get to know you better"
I don't know is that better? it just depends on the feeling you're trying to convey and the type of person the crush is, because the original line comes off as very "i dont have feeling for you but i feel bad so I'll go on a pity date with you i guess"

Yeah a lot of people have said something similar but the response definitely depends on age level and severity of the crush. It's a bit of a cold response though ngl, verrrrryyyy bluntly honest. I'm guessing that 'confess those type of feelings' though, it's way more than a 'you're hot, I'm interested,' type of interaction though, which is why I may come off as blunt in the following paragraph. Also personally I'll just say, my self esteem would be shot and I'd be very annoyed & sad lol.

Genuinely terrible idea for both parties to go out under the conditions listed in real life (one party is very romantically attached and the other is only platonically interested/charity dating.) This isn't a dig at aro/ace people, but dating without some level of attraction is not often going to be a fun time for both parties unless it's a type of atypical less romantic dynamic like QPRs. Or more casual dates, granted the person with romantic attraction is less attached at the beggining (though ngl, I still would be wary.)

But it's not bad at all in the context of a story or character arc, since tbh, not unrealistic for someone to say, especially if they have little to no dating experience- I just think you have to keep in mind, this kind of sets alarm bells in people's heads of "oh, one of these people is going to get their feelings hurt bad." I think that being condescending or awkward is still a great moment of character drama, so this is less 'I think you're idea isn't good,' more 'here is some perspective that may shed light on your idea.'

"Okay?" Couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Fair enough, your barely know me, I though to myself, smiled and let her speak her mind.

"Yes! Of course! How would I not be! I asked!Yes!"

But of course, this wasn't my first rodeo and I know I'm the sort of person who gives the cute girl pass. I walked home, just to let my mind go wild and process what just happened.

Hard? Bravery? She...she's so inexperienced!! Am I her first boyfriend? And what was with the formal tone of hers? Was she trying to open a bank account? "Hello I would like to fill out this form"

An uneasiness came over me as I quickly realized that my crush might not be the person I imagined her to be.