bakerstreet | The Forced Family Unit Meme

The Forced Family Unit Meme

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

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He was getting distracted by the wafting smell of perfume of her skin and the glow to her skin, so he really had to make himself focus on the words coming from her full, luscious lips and not on what he wanted to do to them instead.

"I think we probably should - will you be able to put it together with that little amount of time?" A concerned frown brought today a little more into focus. "I don't want you to stress yourself unduly."

She was not oblivious to where his attentions were lingering, and she didn't mind in the slightest. As distracting as it was.

"I can manage to pull at least something together." Which meant that she would have a flawless reception for several hundred people ready in a week. "Don't worry, I'm not that delicate just yet. And I will have help."

He gave a slow approving nod. "Well, as long as you have help ... I just want you to be careful." He kissed her gently, lightly, trying not to smudge her lipstick, before he chuckled with a touch of irony, "Which means I'll have to start doing the same, hm?"

No more race car driving for him - at least not professionally.

"I'm organizing a party, not preparing for a dangerous mission. I'll be fine." She returned that soft kiss, keeping an eye on her lipstick situation. It wouldn't do to arrive with him wearing her color on his lips. "And I won't ask you to tone down your lifestyle just because you're going to be a father."

He wouldn't be Howard if he lived his life completely safe and within the rules.

He snorted softly, his lips curving up into a helplessly amused smile. "Good point. I'm not asking you to invade Germany, after all." He reached over to claim her hand and squeeze it gently. "You sure, Beautiful? I don't want to leave you a widow and the kid an orphan."

And he meant it.

"Nothing close to that complicated. The tricky part will be keeping it quiet. Everyone will want to talk about the wedding of Howard Stark. Who knew that would ever happen?" She squeezed his hand back, giving him the affectionately exasperated look that came with a loving relationship. "You do not need to become someone else. I married you knowing what kind of lifestyle you enjoy."

"I think you're only half right, as most of them will be fascinated with the marriage of Inara Serra. And who's the lucky sop who got her." He grinned brightly, even more so with the exasperated look she gave him. "All right, love. It's going to be me racing in the spring, and using the racecar to get to the hospital on time, no less."

"Companions retire and many of them marry. It is the nature of things. Of course, there were some that thought I would never retire." Companions were not eternal. They aged, and eventually they all retired. Most of them married because that was the way of the world.

"You're careful because you worry about me. I will expect no less for our future child. I will ask no more of you than what you've already given me. It's already enough."

"And apparently, I was just the man to do it. I think I shall be quite smug this evening." He kissed her cheek again, before laughing quietly, "And you know you're the woman who got the Last of the Long Island Playboys. So there's a feather in your cap no Companion shall ever boast of."

"I do worry, and I'll be worrying about him or her just as much." He squeezed her hand in his. "But I don't want you waking up in a year wondering who this fuddyduddy is that you're sleeping next to."

"Few men in the world are as stubborn as you." Very few men would pursue a Companion as single mindedly as he did. "You forget, I'm not a Companion anymore. I'm just a trainer." Minor detail that she would probably end up the High Priestess of her House.

"A fuddyduddy?" Inara burst out laughing, leaning against him. "I can't even imagine you living life anywhere other than on the edge."

I hope what you plan on adding after that is - and so few men are as devastatingly handsome and charming as well." He grinned, lopsidedly, as he leaned back against the seat. "Right, right. Just a trainer. We'll see how long that lasts."

"...You may have a point. I do like pushing the envelope. Which is why me eloping is going to ruffle so few feathers. Or me being a father so very soon after the honeymoon." He mused, "How old to kids have to be to start learning how to fly anyways?"

"Of course, darling. How else could you have been so sucessful?" She leaned back with him, cuddling into his chest. "I thought you enjoyed the fact that I was no longer a Companion and that you no longer had to share my bed or time with other men."

"Nothing about this will surprise anyone. And at least ten years old, Howard. Not a day sooner."

"Mmm, I'm sure you'll tell me it's because I was tenacious like a bulldog." He smiled as he slipped one arm around her waist, holding her against him lightly. "I do! I'm a huge fan. I'm just saying - you've got management potential slapped all over you, Beautiful. I won't be surprised if they're asking you to run the House, sooner or later."

He laughed again, his chest rumbling, "Fine, fine. Ten. Can I do anything exciting with him when he's say, a week old?"

"It certainly didn't hurt your cause. Most men will give up when they're so bluntly turned down." Her fingers played over his chest, laughing quietly. "Perhaps. Later. Right now I'm focused on getting their training program up to standard. While this may be a primitive culture, that is no excuse to let standards slip."

"Absolutely not. Infants at that age only concern themselves with sleeping and eating. You will have to be patient."

"Maybe I wasn't so encouraged by the lady. And the way you kiss me is absolutely encouraging." He kissed her forehead gently, as so not to muss her hair, smiling quietly, "I'm sure you'll whip those girls into shape into no-time and hey! We're not that primitive. Just a little ... Protestant."

He laughed quietly, "I'm going to be very bored with our baby in the first few weeks, aren't I?"

"Running across the globe was encouraging?" She belatedly remembered her hair and shifted so it wouldn't get mussed resting against his shoulder. "How old is this country? It's very young, it's not the citizens fault. My House in India was established before this country was founded."

"Somehow I don't think you'll be bored. I always envisioned you as one of those doting fathers that is fascinated by their first child."

"Well yes, you never actually said 'no'. You said nothing, then ran off. Girl runs off like that - you have to think she either hates your guts or ... something else." He rubbed his fingers across her, across her stomach, "Only about, ah, one hundred and seventy odd years? I guess it's not that old compared to yours."

He smiled again, "I will be, too. Everything that little tyke does is going to be a new adventure." He glanced down at her, "So what do you want, boy or girl?"

"I'm glad you decided to investigate. I hate to think how close I came to missing out." She set her hand on top of his, her fingers also resting against her stomach. "Very young. But they will learn."

She tipped her head to the side while she thought. "I will be happy either way, though I would like to meet a daughter of yours. You will be an impossible father when it is time for her to make her debut."

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The Forced Family Unit Meme

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