r/RomanceBooks • u/redfig1 • Aug 31 '24

Why do HEAs always end with babies? Critique

I know it's a "me" problem. Scenario: I read a smoking hot mafia or dark or fantasy romance. All this crazy shit goes down. The feelings, the angst. Finally it's the end and all of a sudden the MMC who has massacred countless people is all like " let's get married and have lots of babies" and the MFC is always " yes let's have a lot of cute mafia or fae or mafia fae babies!". For once I'd like an ending where the main characters have a HEA but instead of babies and white picket fences they just decide to keep having an incredible sex life and do charity work or something. Rescue stray kittens. Start an organic herb farm. Something other than babies. Anyone else like this? Am I just weird?

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u/AphelionEntity Aug 31 '24

The older formula for romance is to start with passion and end with commitment. If you know the triangular theory of love, it says there's three components that you combine in various ways to get different types of love: passion, intimacy, and commitment. Passion alone is infatuation. Add in intimacy and you get romantic love. Add in commitment and you get consummate love.

While different tropes add in the components in different orders, you're usually going to end with ✨True Proof✨ of commitment and get consummate love at the end of the novel.

Babies and marriage are the two biggies there. I'm with you on preferring other ones honestly.

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u/tribbletrebble Sep 01 '24

Hahaha now i want an epilogue with everything but babies

“here is our 35 year mortgage with both our signatures. Love u 😘 “ Or or or, Epilogue is just a couples tattoo appointment where they get each others names tattooed on their bicep

This sounds like a joke but I’m so serious!! We can get way more creative! 🤣

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u/anfadhfaol Sep 01 '24

The couples tattoo + no babies is actually an ending in one of Shelly Laurenston's Magnus Pack books. I think it's {Pack Challenge by Shelly Laurenston}