Guest Post Re-Post: Originally posted 6/29/2014 on Bitches Be Writin’ as a guest post – part of my Black Orchid blog tour organized by Masquerade Crew.
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One of my personal favorite paranormal romance devices is that of the destined or fated lovers. In the Svatura series, I call them te’sorthene. By this I mean that fate or the universe or the powers-that-be have given some kind of sign that these two people are meant to be together forever. The question is, why does this concept appeal so much?
Nice to Be Sure
It’s my opinion that the greatest appeal of destined love is that, in this crazy, grass-is-greener world, it’s so nice to be sure. In this time when divorce is so common and accepted and there are so many “choices”, people are always wondering if they picked the right person. Fated love allows the couple to be absolutely certain (once they get around to admitting they love each other). Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to second guess ourselves?
Bigger Than Life
Fated love is bigger than real life, which is one of the reasons we like to read paranormal romance in the first place. We like the idea of something so special that it was deemed true and important by fate. Real life relationships are hard, so we like the idea of feeling a larger than life connection that somehow makes the “hard” seem easier. Or at least helps you know that at then end of “hard” you’ll still be stronger together.
Fun to Watch
These relationships are oh-so-fun to watch develop. Frequently, the couple finds out they are fated lovers well before they’re ready to admit it. Often when they’ve only just met. People still want the choice, until their choice is made, and then it’s back to “nice to be sure.” So watching the ensuing fireworks is fun.
Unlimited
The way in which fated love happens is limited only by imagination. Is a Seer involved? Is there some kind of physical sign (glowing light? tatoo? mark?)? Does everyone know or just them? Is it central to the plot? Can they be separated? What happens if someone else tries to break them up? You get the picture – lots of fun ways to take this concept.
So… are you with me on this whole fated love thing? Is it something that really appeals to you? Or does it annoy you that it’s necessary to help the couple “know for sure” ? Where do you stand on this concept?
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