The Ties That Bind

[waitingforsin]

The Not So Happily Married Meme
(or the FORCED FAMILY UNIT meme)



Let's get one thing straight. Not all marriages are happy. They don't start with love, and they don't end with it. In fact, some marriages are more arrangements that anything. Whether it be through the will of an iron-fisted totalitarian government or something as ancient as tradition, people end up stuck. And now, you're one of them. Maybe you were assigned you partner. Maybe your parents picked them out. Maybe it's something different all together. But no matter what, you're going to be with them in some shape, fashion, or form.

So, what can you do? Do you just deal with it? Try to find a way out? Or worst of all, do you blame your so-called "spouse" for all this? You'll have to do something.

HOW TO PLAY;
1. Comment with your characters, putting any preferences you have in the subject. These are your OOC preferences, however. Remember, in meme your character's preferences won't matter.

2. Reply to others! You can use the RNG to roll for the WHY (why are your characters in this mess), the WHEN (what stage are they at), and the HOW (how do they feel about their partner). Or just wing it.

3. The fun of this meme is putting together characters who would normally never be together or have no business getting married, whether it be cross-canon, enemies, or strangers. But feel free to do what you want. Unlike your characters, you're never forced.

4. This is not a smut meme, nor is it a romance meme. There is a smut option and a romance option, but neither are required. The focus here is on CR and coping with situations that might be fairly unpleasant.

5. Have fun! And by that, I mean be miserable.


WHY;
1. GOVERNMENT: You live in a world where all aspects of life are controlled by the government. This includes who you're matched up with. Take "government" to mean anything you want it to, whether that be actual government or something like gods.

2. ARRANGED: Due to your culture, status, or family, you have an arranged marriage. Your significant other was picked out long before now.

3. SOLD: One of you belongs to the other in some way. At any rate, it's not a completely consensual arrangement.

4. KEEPING UP APPEARANCES: You don't particularly care for this person, but you have to look good for some reason. They'll do for that.

5. SHOTGUN WEDDING: Because of outside circumstances (read: an unplanned child), you're stuck together.

6. CURSED/POTION: At least one of you is under the effects of a curse or potion that binds you both.

7. THE BEST I COULD GET: Either one of you or both of you are settling. This is just a marriage of convenience.

8. Wildcard/free space.

WHEN;
1. JUST MET: You've never seen this person that you're engaged, intended, or assigned to. This is your first meeting.

2. JUST MARRIED: Ceremony or knot, you've just tied it.

3. CONSUMMATE: What's a married live without consummating the union? Whether it's for some kind of ritual, a fulfillment of a contract, or the need to produce offspring to become workers, you have to come together.

4. IN THE FAMILY WAY: Congratulations! You're about to bring a child into this (potentially loveless) family. Are you proud?

5. MARRIED WITH CHILDREN: You have kids already. They might be biological, or they might be state-assigned. How's the family life going?

6. FILLING YOUR ROLE: The two of you have a job or purpose, such as starting a business.

7. TRYING TO ESCAPE: You have to get out. You can't take this life anymore.

8. THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE: Since you didn't ask for this marriage, one of you has a lover on the side. Do you tell your spouse upfront, or do they find out themselves?

9. Wildcard/free space

HOW;
1. STRANGERS: You hardly know this person. Getting to know them is important (since you're only going to be spending the rest of your lives together) , but are you willing to put forth the effort for that?

2. HATE: They've ruined your life. Maybe not directly, but they're there and that's enough.

3. LOVE: There might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps you do love each other, or you're at least learning to do so.

4. IN THIS TOGETHER: It may not be perfect, and you might not be be in love, but you're making it work for yourselves or for any children you might have. And hey, sometimes friendship like that can be a strong enough bond.

5. Wildcard/free space

Comments

Amy | The Walking Dead | OTA

[lovesmermaids]

Brittany S Pierce | Glee

[brittspierce]

Haymitch Abernathy | The Hunger Games | OTA

[defaultisdrunk]

Andrea | The Walking Dead | OPEN

[survivorandrea]

Niki/Jessica Sanders | Heroes | OPEN

[nikiorjessica]

Anne Cunningham | Silent Hill: Downpour

[officer_cunningham]

Amon | Legend of Korra

[amonnabenduover]

Usagi Tsukino | Sailor Moon | OTA

[prismpower]

Steve Rogers | MCU | OTA

[starspangledspandex]

Lisa Reisert | Red Eye | OTA

[lisareisert]

Megamind | Megamind

[megamind]

[...hope you don't mind alien drama queens. Or, if you do, you have a good escape plan.]

Hope you don't mind an alien assassin, ex-spy and outcast? 1- 4-5

[edosianorchids]

[This was indeed a Cardassian justice, Garak thought as he re-read the message from Gul Zelek for the umpteenth time. And for the first time in his admittedly long career as Cardassia's #1 outcast, he felt that being exiled hadn't been so bad, after all. At least not compared to the newest punishment - a punishment that was even more perfidious than assigning him to a complete stranger.]

This must be a joke - and a rather tasteless one, I must say.

[He holds out the pad with the message for Megamind to see.]

Apparently, the wise men leading this planet have decided that our house should become the nest for three war orphans - half-bajoran war orphans I should add. Cardassia must really love her children...

Jenna Sommers | The Vampire Diaries | OPEN

[imauntjenna]

Penelope Wilhern | Penelope

[blueblood]

[This is practically canon.]

Claire Bennet | Heroes | OPEN

[healerclaire]

Nurse Christine Chapel | Star Trek XI | OPEN

[xusschapelx]

Blaine Anderson | Glee | OTA

[yesimblaine]

Nariko Lunae | OC | OTA

[gunslingerqueen]

Merida | Brave | Open to All

[lambentbow]

Raven Darkholme | X-Men: First Class

[notscaredofme]

6: Cursed work for you? (I couldn't resist.)

[gstringwitch]

[I-No can easily think of worse things to have happened. She can also think of better: getting married has never been on her to-do list. At least it shouldn't be boring, although it's not so much of a consolation as all that.

She's momentarily not showing her pissiness, fake (and predatory) smile plastered on her lips.]

I see you decided to show up.

Katniss Everdeen | The Hunger Games

[ofarrowhead]

Beck | Buffyverse | OTA

[unstablepyro]

The Incredible Hulk | Marvel | OTA

[smashing_good_time]

8, 4, 4

[neveracoward]

[For anyone else, being married to a giant green potentially killing machine would have presented a problem. But Mystique was in no way like anyone else, and if it meant getting the X-Men off her back and giving Hulk a good reprieve from dealing with hero and superhero types, why the fuck not? Oh, no one knew where she was or who he'd married, of course, everything that had been told was secretive and cautious, and if it kept her from blowing up an orphanage out of sheer petulance and him from having to deal with Captain Blowhard and Iron Alkie, then there wasn't anything wrong with it as far as she was concerned.

Then again, Mystique's ideas of right and wrong weren't anything to hold in high regard.

He really, really, really hated Banner, that much was obvious. That was why the only two times she'd come across him, she'd turned from garden snake to ten ton Cobra, which was the easiest way to get him back to be all jolly and Green and away from the computer where he was, most likely, about to call the Avengers and ask what was going on. It wasn't love or anything it, but more them laying low and needing someone else to help keep up appearances, and Mystique was far more agreeable in that regard than one might imagine. It was a lot easier for her to keep up any sort of appearance in the first place, but that was neither here nor there.

Of course, the house had been remodeled to accommodate Mister Darkholme, which was why she was simply waiting, sitting on the kitchen counter while a tiny white mutt from the pound shivered in her lap and let out the most nervous-and-yet-excited of noises ring throughout the house. She had a feeling it wouldn't be very long until he wandered in to ask her what the hell that terrible noise was.]

Sansa Stark/ Alayne Stone | A Song of Ice and Fire

[songsandstories]

Alcide Herveaux | True Blood

[runshot]

3, 1, 1

[sharpsuitfluffytail]

[Since the trial wherein the world discovered his unethical genetic testing, he'd spent months in a lab, forced into numerous experiments, both in dog form and out. Torture became routine. Until the night he awoke not in his steel cage, but in a van, bumping down a rocky road.

The details given to him were the bare minimum. He'd inadvertently gotten the attention of the local werewolf pack. Months back, he might've laughed at that revelation. Not only had he created a serum on immortality, but lycanthropy as well. (Though his sheepdog form was nowhere near as threatening as theirs, he imagined). They wanted to know the hows and whys. He'd been traded - well, sold into, actually - one lab rat life for another. He kept his ears down and tail against his legs, trying to appear small. Everyone around him smelled wrong. He wanted nothing more than to take a shower and scrub his skin raw.

The van came to a stop. Before the doors opened, he was told he would meet his new pack leader, and to make nice. He laughed, nervously, and said he'd try his best, but wasn't optimistic.]

Lucy "Quinn" Fabray | Glee | OTA

[itsfabray]