bakerstreet | Not so happily engaged

Not so happily engaged

THE ARRANGED MARRIAGE MEME

How to Play
I. Leave a comment with your character's name, canon, and any preferences you might have. You can also write a prompt to set the scene if you wish.
II. When replying, roll for a scenario, come up with your own, or respond to what the other person has already come up with.
III. Tag around and have fun!

Prompts
I. Matchmaker, Matchmaker - You're a commoner, and the matchmaker - whether it be your parents or an actual village matchmaker - has had their say. It's time to meet your spouse-to-be.
II. Do Your Duty - This isn't a normal arranged marriage because your station calls for it. There's some purpose behind it: A political alliance, perhaps, or something else. You don't have much choice but to go through with it, so you might as well meet the other person.
III. Getting to Know You - So the engagement is official, and you've met the other person, but you still don't know them very well. Maybe you've decided to take them out, or maybe it's a chaperoned meeting. But it's good to spend time with someone you'll be spending the rest of your life with, right?
IV. Breaking it Off - Before your engagement, you were with someone else. You're still with someone else, but it's time to change that. Like it or not, you're going to have to break up with your significant other. In this prompt, you're interacting not with your potential bride or groom, but with someone else.
V. Runaway - That's it. You can't take this. There's no way you're going to go through with this - it's just not for you. You're all set to flee.
VI. One Last Chance - You're all set up for an arranged marriage, but you've got lingering regrets. Maybe there's an old flame you're just not willing to let go of yet. In this prompt, you're interacting not with your potential bride or groom, but with someone else.
VII. The Big Day - Do you hear the wedding bells ringing? Everyone else does. It's time to walk down the aisle and make this official.
VIII. Happily Ever After - Surprisingly, the arranged marriage worked out rather well. Live out your days in wedded bliss and laugh about the fact that you would have chosen each other even if someone else hadn't chosen for you.
IX. Not-So-Happy Ending - Yeah, no. This marriage just isn't working, but you can't break it off. There's no wedded bliss here - just conflict. But you can put up with it. Can't you?
X. Wild Card - The "other" option! Use your imagination and come up with something!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[As the chosen servant of a harvest god, she's quite a catch. Except she's also strong-willed, wandersome and outspoken.]

[Definitely likely to get sorted with an arranged marriage. Although whether this is beneficial for his partner or a punishment for them might be hard to tell.]

[ he's technically still the head of a samurai clan, a rebel leader, a (former) war general, an aspiring educator, and has had a brief stint as a prime minister of Japan, so lots of options there. alternatively (or additionally, if it's your cup of tea), he's really good at assuming a woman's identity for strategic advantage, fun or political intrigue... ]

[ 20+, good with AUs, crosscanon, crossmedium, etc. happy to discuss/work out broad setting strokes first if you prefer. cw: somehow, it will be stupid in some way ]

( medieval/high fantasy settings preferred. targaryen incest happily welcomed. feel free to pm! )

( info. if you're marrying her as a woman, she'll be smug that she got it her way. if you're marrying her as a man, she'll try to scheme her way through you to independence. either way, she' not the most devoted or pleasant person you can imagine. i prefer an ancient greek setting or something fantasy-esque. no smut. )

(ooc; very open to au's.)

[Especially likely if AU'd to a premodern setting, since she's a young lady from a powerful family (but also secretly a 500 year old fox spirit, which might complicate things). I'm open to all sorts of possibilities, so please don't hesitate to suggest something!]

//The Omori name is not particularly renown, but Nariyuki had displayed a great power even he has understanding where it came from. Perhaps it can be used as a recent point of contention when it comes to why marriage is not up for negotiation.

[Sorry for the slow reply! I'm definitely down for something medieval/sengoku style where her clan has pushed for a marriage, either as a reward to his family for their service, or to ensure his loyalty. Anything else you've got in mind for the setup, like what point you'd like to start at, or any other assumed CR ideas?]

[ m/f, 18+ ]

[Any interest in an AU where he's sought by a different old, powerful family, and winds up betrothed to a girl who's secretly a 500 year old fox trapped in a human body? I'm thinking of something in the getting-acquainted phase, either where they're studying one another warily or starting to share some secrets once there's enough trust (and maybe even fondness) between them. She can easily be aged up as late as her mid-20s for this, assuming a modern setting.]

[ could be a catch since he's technically gentry and a strong cultivator (which further increases his social standing quite a bit)... he just left it all behind and did stuff and things that completely tanked his reputation. i can either go with that or AU him so that he keeps his old status, or maybe marrying could restore it. the sky's the limit. just not interested in #4 or #6, i want him to interact with his potential spouse.

18+ only. canonmates and crosscanon welcome. info and more prefs are on his journal. ]

Edited 2026-01-03 13:37 (UTC)

[ lord of the banshee sarkaz, analogous to demonic nobility where he's from. anything goes, just not interested in #4 or #6, i want him to interact with his potential spouse.

18+ only. canonmates and crosscanon welcome, just no malleable/silent protags. info and prefs are on his journal. ]

[20+ OTA. Castmates (especially JINUS and her girls), crosscanon, crossmedium, assumed CR, AUs, OCs etc all always welcome.]

[ No one under 25 or so, and castmates are welcome! and cross-canon, canon-smash and AUs are actively encouraged.]

Edited 2026-01-03 19:09 (UTC)

[ him being part of this would likely hinge on something like him being a (possibly newly discovered/legitimized) part of a special family/clan, a very strong fighter, or a kingpin in organized crime. ]

[ various AUs, jamjar, crosscanon, crossmedium are all great! 20+ for this, though the closer your character is to his age (30s) the better their chances to make this arrangement work not only on paper (unless dry political marriage is your thing in which case that's absolutely a scenario we can do). gender optional -- slight preference for m or nb but hey this is arranged, so anyone that'd make for an interesting dynamic is welcome! ~~my kingdom for brienne of tarth or tsukuyo, u know who u are~~ cool with hashing the setting out first, here or via pm, if you prefer. lmk if you'd like me to start. o7 permissions here ]

[ OTA and happy to write a starter! Cross-canon and previous CR welcome. Info and prefs here. ]

[Thinking Prince of a fallen kingdom forced to marry some unknown, but open to ideas! Castmates loved.]

[ None of his 'kids', no one under roughly 30]

[Bare bones about her: sarcastic seer with a knack for finding trouble, or having trouble find her. More in-depth information about her is here. Can easily AU her into just about anywhere.]

Edited 2026-01-04 02:44 (UTC)

[Maybe you're left on the edge of the woods to placate the local monster. Or we can go with a Bridgerton/regency era sort of deal. Open to brainstorming other things too!]

(ooc; okay with au's!)

[19th century Europe plus she's a noblewoman. Military commander or not, this is something that she'll be destined for in the future. Or something that she would chose herself.]

(ooc: Nan is from a turn-of-the-century show called the Buccaneers, au'd in that she's come across the sea from a Kerch merchant family to Ravka to marry Nikolai? I'm excited to play II, III, VI, or VII?)

[ AU as a political tool. Scenario II or III or wildcard wedding night. M/M or M/F. OTA. No underage. ]

[I am really all about betrothals for political necessity. Midna is a ruler in canon, so could easily AU and be into her being betrothed to other rulers or political leaders. Happy to do canon (would love a Zant or Ganondorf). I love cross-canon, too! Happy to do some assumed CR, but I'd also enjoy prompts like the Getting to Know You.]

(ooc; a-ok with au's.)

[ There’s a Canadian passport out of all of this. That’s the mantra that has kept him from losing his absolute shit since he found out all of this was happening. He can leave Russia and all its shit behind him, all he has to do is marry a complete stranger. Even if they’re completely repulsive, he can stomach it for a few years. He can be…pleasant. Charming. Stoic. Whatever he needs to be. Whatever his family needs him to be.

Ilya’s hidden enough of himself away in neat little boxes it’s practically an art form.

The one that hurts the most to pack away is hockey. How the fuck can anyone- let alone his family- ask him to put away the talent that was supposed to get him out of here? He was meant to be a force to be reckoned with. Instead he’s— what? Some mail-order fucking bride? No. No, he knows that’s not what this is no matter how much it feels like it. The fact of the matter is that his father needs care; something that requires money. Enough that the Rozanov name does not follow suit of the Romanovs- disgraced and exiled.

He’s had a nearly nine hour flight and an hour car ride to try and occupy his thoughts and distract himself from what little he knows of whom he’s supposed to marry. All he knows is ‘Jane Hollander’. A successful family, an only child.

The cab drops him off unceremoniously in front of a modern-looking home. Nice. Not many neighbors. Most of his belongings are being shipped later, so all he’s got with him is a duffle bag and a wheeled luggage bag. It’s cold outside, but nothing compared to the bite of Russian winter winds. Still, he rings the bell and hunches his shoulders toward his ears while he waits, trying not to vibrate in place.

God, he could use a cigarette. His fingers twitch at the thought. The compulsion for one to calm his nerves.

Nerves? What nerves. He is of steel.

The door opens and it’s the surprised face of a man. Brother, maybe? ]

Jane Hollander is home, yes?

[ it's a kindness, his mother had told him over and over. sponsoring a russian girl to come to canada and play hockey here. opportunities for women in sports in russia weren't abundant, after all, and like his mom said, he has to remove himself from the equation. do something nice. change someone's life.

initially, he'd been reluctant. why wouldn't he? he's worried it'll pull away from his own career, but he'd already been reassured that wouldn't be an issue. then he came out, and... well, that complicated a lot of things. his mother had tried to see about amending the agreement, but the ball was already rolling. to say shane was less than impressed with all of this was an understatement. he had finally come to terms with who he is, who he's attracted to, and now he's going to be trapped in a marriage with a woman he'd never love. it's not fair to either of them.

today is the day lily rozanov is supposed to arrive, so shane's parents promised to give them the day, and come back in the morning. he's already prepared one of the guest rooms for her, just in case, and stocked the fridge with things he hopes she'll like. the knock sounds through his cottage and he takes a slow breath, having to halt the ruminating thoughts of how he might gently tell this girl who gave up her life for him that he's gay.

but the thought evaporates when he spots a man standing on his doorstep with bags, looking handsome and lost. he asks for jane hollander, and shane's heart leaps into his throat. ]

uh, no. shane. shane hollander. lily... rozanov?

[ Ilya stares. He knows he's staring, mouth agape as he tries to get his jaw working again. He closes his mouth, straightening his shoulders as he pulls out a beat-up envelope from the side pocket of his duffel bag to make sure he's not fucked this up somehow. No, this is the correct address. Correct last name.

He clears his throat and offers the documents so Shane can see them, too. Most of it is in Cyrillic, but he assumes he can understand enough. He got himself a mail-order bride from Russia... he planned on communicating, right? ]

Not Lily. Ilya. [ It's.. the closest female approximation to his name. Maybe there was a mistake in translation. A big mistake, but there's likely no fixing it, right? He's here, abandoned by his cab in the middle of a Canadian winter. At the doorstep of his new bride? Husband?

His heart stutters in his chest at the implication, though he knows he's affixed his Russian stoicism once again. This must be some fucked up cosmic joke. ]

Is no problem for me. I am here. [ He gestures to the lack of car in the driveway. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not so happily engaged

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