Why is it always some convoluted story? Why can they never just say, "We got engaged for political reasons but grew closer and fell in love." It's still romantic, it's believable and it's simple enough to remember. It might be even more romantic than the usual convoluted stories. Relying on each other in tough moments, quiet little dates outside of public view, soft talks exchanged while staying together, little trips away from the capital, etc. It's very sweet and heart warming and wholesome. The nobility would eat that up. It would give others hope that their political marriages could become love marriages.
Idk, I'm just tired of adding dumb plots to contract marriages. It's an overdone trope and while I love it in theory, I wish they would put a little more effort into it. Make it softer to the general public. Make it believable. Stop trying to "sell love" in some complicated way and give people a love to strive for.
Alternatively, let it stay a political marriage in the public eye. Don't explain it's a love marriage at all. Instead of pretending it's for anything but politics, lean into that. Let them fall in love behind the scenes, give us yearning and pining while they desperately want to be intimate in public but are afraid of ruining their current image. Give the sweet moments of softly brushing a hand against another, of light kisses on finger tips, of drawing away subtly when others stumble upon them. Shared glances across the ballroom and sweet, secret looks at each other that end with them both shy and flustered when they make eye contact at last. Have the people around them in public slowly catch on. Let rumors and whispers build, as people first question their relationship, then quietly swoon over it. Have them be oblivious to everyone else catching on and they keep trying to keep the yearning in check but it's so obvious now that others are looking for it. Let the embarrassment sink in, leading to one or both of them wanting to sink into the floor when they realize they've been cause. Let it become an open secret that the nobility laugh about in an affectionate way. The awkward couple that married for political reasons, fell in love and didn't know how to show it.
There's so many ways to make it cute and sweet and gentle and wholesome, to give that fluttery feeling in the pit of your stomach and leave the reader smiling for days. Get rid of these stupid convoluted plots as a cover, you cowards. Make us, the readers, giggle and swoon.
Why is it always some convoluted story? Why can they never just say, "We got engaged for political reasons but grew closer and fell in love." It's still romantic, it's believable and it's simple enough to remember. It might be even more romantic than the usual convoluted stories. Relying on each other in tough moments, quiet little dates outside of public view, soft talks exchanged while staying together, little trips away from the capital, etc. It's very sweet and heart warming and wholesome. The nobility would eat that up. It would give others hope that their political marriages could become love marriages.
Idk, I'm just tired of adding dumb plots to contract marriages. It's an overdone trope and while I love it in theory, I wish they would put a little more effort into it. Make it softer to the general public. Make it believable. Stop trying to "sell love" in some complicated way and give people a love to strive for.
Alternatively, let it stay a political marriage in the public eye. Don't explain it's a love marriage at all. Instead of pretending it's for anything but politics, lean into that. Let them fall in love behind the scenes, give us yearning and pining while they desperately want to be intimate in public but are afraid of ruining their current image. Give the sweet moments of softly brushing a hand against another, of light kisses on finger tips, of drawing away subtly when others stumble upon them. Shared glances across the ballroom and sweet, secret looks at each other that end with them both shy and flustered when they make eye contact at last. Have the people around them in public slowly catch on. Let rumors and whispers build, as people first question their relationship, then quietly swoon over it. Have them be oblivious to everyone else catching on and they keep trying to keep the yearning in check but it's so obvious now that others are looking for it. Let the embarrassment sink in, leading to one or both of them wanting to sink into the floor when they realize they've been cause. Let it become an open secret that the nobility laugh about in an affectionate way. The awkward couple that married for political reasons, fell in love and didn't know how to show it.
There's so many ways to make it cute and sweet and gentle and wholesome, to give that fluttery feeling in the pit of your stomach and leave the reader smiling for days. Get rid of these stupid convoluted plots as a cover, you cowards. Make us, the readers, giggle and swoon.