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The Kid Talk In Romance?

I ran into a bit of an interesting problem...

A common criticism I hear about the romance genre (I know, there's no end to them, but hear me out) is that the terrible leading couple never have the kid talk, and lately it's been something of a trend for the couple to have a baby by the third book of the series. I ran a poll on Instagram asking if you guys wanted a scene where Ari and Matthias actually had a discussion about having kids. I was really hoping most people would vote no, but NOPE! A significant majority of you voted yes. 

I really didn't want to write this scene. Being a world where the American nursing home doesn't exist, this is a world where ideally, you would have as many children as you could, hopefully, one of them would survive, and take care of you when you're old, take over the family business, etc. If you're interested in someone long term, kids are kind of a given, so I didn't think a scene like this would be necessary at best, and out of place and silly at worst.

But! This is what you guys wanted, so I was happy to take this on as a challenge! It was difficult to write organically, it went through several thumbnails and drawing processes, but by the time I was done, this turned into a scene I thoroughly enjoyed. I think it has a healthy amount of humor both wholesome and dark, brings Ari and Matthias closer as a couple, and given Ari's past (which will be revealed more... remember, she is responsible for her stepmother's disfiguration

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Bit a visual retcon, but I don't care! (But I never EVER will make a story retcon).

When dragons blush, light/fire goes up to their faces instead of blood. That's right! They literally glow.

Now I know what you're thinking, "

Wait a minute... did you steal that from Stardust?" To which I say "No! For one, Navine the Star shines! She doesn't "glow". HUGE difference! ... and also, this was one of those things where I was inspired because I went a little crazy with the Glow filter on Clip Studio Paint and thought that Ari's new "blush" was absolutely gorgeous. So, I decided to establish that in the canon, and then remembered that was a Stardust thing. It's a great film! 

Wait a minute... a story about a couple who goes on adventures together? A supernatural female lead that radiates light when she's in love? Witches are some of the main villains and sources of evil in the world? Good lord, I was never ripping off Tolkein at all! I was ripping off Stardust all this time!