bakerstreet | Arranged Marriage Meme

Arranged Marriage Meme

Marriage for love is a such a modern concept. In the past, marriage was
recognised as a social contract. Unions were entered into for many
reasons: to obtain property, to unite families, to carry on a bloodline,
et cetera. Whatever the reason, congratulations, you're getting married!

HOW IT WORKS:
❧ Post a comment with your character's name, canon, and any preferences.
❧ If there's a specific set of circumstances you like best, set the scene.
❧ Or leave your comment blank and let others use RNG to choose the scenario. Feel free to mix and match.
❧ Please note the prompts below are merely suggestions and you're more than welcome to come up with your own situation.
❧ Have fun!

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR MARRIAGE:
① Station → You come from a royal, noble, or otherwise distinguished family who has chosen a suitable spouse for you.
② Feud → You are being married to put an end to the bitter enmity between your two families.
③ Economics → Your economic state and/or your station will improve through the union, though one of you may be marrying down.
④ Empire → You and your spouse are merging your businesses and/or property to create something more influential or profitable.
⑤ Tribute → You have been offered as a gift or appeasement, alternately you're the spoils of war.
⑥ Bloodline → Carrying on your distinguished family name has fallen to you and the equally well-bred spouse of your family's selection.
⑦ Disapproval → Your marriage has been arranged to keep you away from the person with whom you truly wish to be.

POSSIBLE SCENARIOS:
① First meeting → This is the very first time you're meeting your future spouse.
② Courtship → To get to know each other and encourage affection, your family has approved of you going on dates.
③ Engagement party → Be it a huge, formal affair or a small, intimate get together, you're celebrating (or pretending).
④ Wedding day → The big day!
⑤ Reception → The big party!
⑥ Wedding night → Every meme needs a smut prompt, right?
⑦ Honeymoon → Where will you go with your new spouse and what will you do there?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

[ First is the silencing spell and then she speaks her mind. ]

When I was a child--[ Around the time she first arrived in the Drabwurld, of course. ]--I thought of nothing other than marriage. With my Servants coming and going, bonds breaking and friends leaving nothing other than an empty shard behind, I thought if I could make someone commit to me...

That maybe I wouldn't feel so alone.

Now that there's a ring involved that indicates a different bond between us, I feel lonelier than I have in my life.

Is that due to what is expected with that kind of bond?

[The question is Waver's fears, voiced in a way that doesn't make them clear.

There's an urge to fold his hands behind his back - a trait picked up from elders and betters - that Waver fights, choosing instead to wrap an arm around Rin's shoulder.]

You told me once before how you are when it comes to commitments. To force your hand into it seems cruel and here I am.

[ Being cruel. ] I've turned into someone cruel instead of your best friend. It breaks my heart when I should be happy that someone loves me enough to commit their life to me.

[Waver shakes his head quietly, looking around for a place to sit. His cursory glance yields nothing, to his disappointment.]

If it wasn't you, it'd be higher powers, and I prefer to at least make it seem like we're in contro--

[He stops himself. The cold, calculating mage mask needs to come off if they're going to make this work, and talking about control and appearances does nothing to help.]

Sometimes I worry that when what's unsaid becomes said, it'll all go to hell. I'm not going to lie to you about that, but I'm going to suggest that we try and make sure that whatever labels are assumed, what's always been true between us endures. Labeled as an engagement or marriage or whatever the fuck else we decide.

[He picks at a little bit of his own hair, feeling a little knot in it.]

The best and only thing I can think of is that we just pretend everyone else has the wrong definition of what these words mean. That what we're declaring is just another expression of friendship, and everyone else seems to be deeply baffled and misunderstanding.

[ That mask is what she's so used to in times like this so when he starts going on about beating the monarchs, about being in control, she feels at ease. The discomfort only begins to creep back in when he turns back into her best friend. ]

What's been true will endure, there's no denying that, Waver. You're my best friend and I love you dearly.

[ Stepping away from him, she approaches the railing herself to use it to keep herself from falling over. ]

That's the problem.

I love too hard. [ As they've witnessed together in the past with her Servants. ]

[Waver watches as she moves, and clicks his tongue softly.]

Are you assuming that the moment you start doing that, I'm going to leave too?

[ Softly: ] Not likely by your own choice, but it will happen.

[ So many events in her life fortify this belief that it's hard for her to believe otherwise. Rin can (and will) place her trust in him to not abandon her; it won't stop people from trying to take him away. ]

[God. Leave it to them both to take a night of celebration and turn it into insecurities that've festered for years.

Waver can work with Rin's. It's a way of avoiding his.]

I haven't gone from your side yet, and we both know that anyone that tries to force the issue will have to contend with us both.

[ As far as the act of celebrating is concerned, Rin has her entire life (drawn out) in the Drabwurld to find joy. Right now, she fears losing one of the very few things that keep her stable. What if he rode away in the middle of the night while she was asleep just so he wouldn't have to be tied down by marriage? The conversation they shared about it was years ago, but he was at that age where he could say those things with confidence while she was stupidly much younger. Therefore the result was mental discord she would carry with her for a long time.

She already has all these years they've spent together. ] High-Queen Morla seems to be insistent on forcing the issue herself.

Look, us doing this or not will benefit her in some way, I'm sure. For now, don't factor her into this discussion.

[He doesn't move, not yet, but the whole thing is so fucking fraught that he could scream. They're both aware that this can change everything although it should change nothing.]

This is about us, and what we need from each other from here on out. We're going to be fighting against labels and the baggage they carry, and--

[Waver runs a hand through his hair, exhausted. He's going to spell it out.]

I'm scared that I'm going to fuck this one up.

[ Isn't that a difficult thing to do? Not factoring in the monarchs or any of the politics of this world in on their marriage was a mistake. Rin's a person who has to look at the full picture because anytime she focuses on one or two exquisite details, the imperfections are ignored. That's why she can't afford to ignore all the aspects to their marriage even when he asks her to.

Why is he even asking her to take that risk in the first place? To focus on their feelings? Aren't that the kind of people who get back up after being swept off their feet while disregarding their emotions? Wrapping them up and keeping their feelings secure--far from conversation--that's just the way they have lived their lives for years. ]

... I wonder if this was their plan all along. [ Looking over the balcony towards the garden below, her sigh is heavy enough to match the shackles they both felt. ] No matter what, they win in separating us.

Hell if we can guess what their long game plan for us is. But we both know we're better together, and that we can't be driven apart. That much we must always keep in mind.

[Finally, Waver walks over, coming to stand beside Rin. To her right, always to her right, always so careful to make sure everyone knew the truth of where the two of them stood.

The politics are too easy to break down. They're cold and logical and on paper they can't second guess any of it. Treating it like a business transaction is the smart thing to do, and they've agreed on it time and again. But it's stupid to ignore the emotional side, because the minute that's done, everything is fucked. Waver knows that much.

He rests his arms on the railing as well, hands dangling over them.]

[ Turning her body a bit to face him, she watches him carefully. Everything she says or does now will be treated differently despite how many times they insist otherwise. Even a simple gesture like reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder might be taken as inappropriate now.

She looks back at the ring on her hand and wonders why this commitment has to be the lie. ]

But we're apart now, aren't we? It feels so strange.

I think that's our anxieties working overtime.

[He nudges her shoulder with his, just to make sure it feels the same.]

Is it? [ She doesn't nudge back, but maintains her balance. ]

Can I see the ring for a moment?

[ Has he forgotten what it looks like already? Holding up her hand for a second, she then moves her other hand towards it to remove it so he could inspect it on his own. ]

Hold on.

[Waver slides it off, holding it up in the moonlight to inspect it carefully.

This next part is done with the ring in both hands, his eyes on Rin.]

This is my actual proposal to you, as equals: that I continue to be there for you as I have been in the past, with the same devotion and commitment that has been the cornerstone of our friendship here from day one. That I continue to work by your side in all aspects that you need me to, as we've done, and that when you're crossing that bounded field we have over that window spot, I'll be there, just the same as before. That we ignore the expectations we've taken on with this, and that if something is wrong, especially emotionally, we tell the other. That we accept that there will be changes, and talk about how to navigate each and every single one. That we acknowledge where our hesitation, in this moment, lies, and that we overcome it as we've overcome everything else.

Will you accept?

... are you proposing to me for real now? [ She doesn't understand how to accept this.

After all, they have always known each other as friends who loved one another without a doubt. Living the rest of their lives together was inevitable, but what if he were to find someone who could make him change his mind? Wouldn't he leave her like the rest?

Rin's not a person one can easily commit themselves to. They both know this and have seen her walk through relationship after relationship. She's high maintenance. She's defensive. She's hot and cold both at the same time. Already she's begun to question it and it hasn't been more than a few hours. ]

Shit.

You really mean this, you stupid bully, don't you?

[Well, that was roughly the expected response.]

Yes. But you should set your own terms too, so that we're clear.

[The funniest part of it all is that Waver's certain that there'll be someone out there that can change Rin's mind. Fill in the gaps that he'd fail to meet because he's always failed to meet them, and it'll be nasty and awkward.]

My own terms? [ They wouldn't be terms that are kind to him and she knows it. ]

Do you mean we should enter a contract with each other..? Like we would a Servant?

No. Just.

[He sighs, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.]

I've been thinking that this engagement thing can stall out for as long as we need it to. In case someone comes along who's a perfect person for you than I am, and can meet the needs that I can't. That way we can find something that works for everyone involved.

It's been years, Waver Velvet. [ Sometimes it's easy to forget how long they've been here, especially when they appear as if they haven't aged at all. ]

If you're going to wait around in hopes that someone else will do what you can't, then you'll possibly be waiting for the rest of your life then some. There have been people and I, I've only pushed them away.

I don't want you unhappy in any aspect, you know that.

[And he can still hope. It isn't like him, who's had maybe two one-off dates the entire time they've been here.]

I fail to see how the concept of you can make me unhappy. Through everything, you have been the one constant who always had a shoulder to offer when the others left and the one who holds me nearly every night.

[ Rin and years of failed relationships. At this point, she's tired of getting her hopes up waiting for the right one. As far as she's concerned, that person left her long ago and anyone else would just be someone she's settling on.

... except maybe her best friend. It isn't settling if they've sworn their lives to each other, right? ]

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