Meme: February 9: One of my favorite things

[dira]

February 9: lannamichaels asks, What's something you LOVE in fic, but don't see as much of it as you like?

Ohhhh, man. Um. The one that springs to mind is arranged marriage/marriage of convenience. Not pretend marriage or woke-up-married, but a situation where the characters are actually going into this situation knowing that from now on they are going to be legit married, permanently or for a long time, and this is how it's going to be, and now they need to make the best of that. And one or both of them are trying cautiously to court the other without making it awful, and they've gone from zero to enormous intimacy without any intervening relationship and now they have to learn each other and make it work (and then, of course, they fall madly madly in love). I especially am in favor of a situation where they don't hate each other and neither of them really holds the situation against the other, even if they might be angry at some outside force that pushed them into the marriage, because I don't like adversarial relationships but I looooooove people pushed to work together on something, and I love it even more when the something they have to work together on is domesticity and a life together and yes. Please.

...Shit now I want to write a million of this. Or reread King and Lionheart about six thousand more times. BUT OTHER PEOPLE SHOULD WRITE IT MORE TOOOOOOOOOOO.

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

I wrote one, but it might not be with pairings you like.

How We Laugh the Day Away

It's a fun trope.

[minoanmiss]

I remember that one! *rolls around joyfully in it again*

[princessofgeeks]

tnx!

[dira]

Oh, man, I LOVE Jack/Sam/Daniel! :D

[princessofgeeks]

Well, then! I hope you enjoy. :)

[dogeared]

You know, I didn't realize how many of my all-time favorites had this trope until reading this :D TIME TO REREAD!

[dira]

Feel free to rec some if you think of it! :D

[dogeared]

Oooooo, well! Super duper all-time favorite: The Convenient Husband :D

And more recent favorite, The Well of Living Waters

HAPPY SIGH!

[dira]

Oooh, thank you! <3

[elbomac]

I definitely think you should write a million words of this while I go reread King and Lionheart. Sound good? Okay, BREAK!

Seriously, though, this is a perfect description of exactly what I love about arranged marriage stories. You wouldn't happen to have any other recommendations, would you?

[dira]

:D :D :D

I am planning to write one that follows this general plan! I can't think of one off the top of my head that is as purely satisfying as King and Lionheart, though.

[elbomac]

Yaaaay!

[susan_voight]

Tracking the heck out of this post, because I have already read King and Lionheart a million times!

[dira]

I am kind of sad that there haven't been more helpful recs, but hopefully some will turn up! :)

[susan_voight]

Or people who write (not just you!) will be inspired!

[larissabernstein]

Oh yes, this is a wonderful and rather rare trope indeed! I have seen so many Kirk/Spock fics where they end up either accidentally bonded or forced into it by aliens/circumstances, but many times they start out hating each other (or even dealing with the situation by forcing the other into a submissive position!)

So, yeah, hurray for consensual and positive dealing with an arranged marriage!

[jerakeen]

YES YES YES but I want arranged marriage, not just marriage of convenience. I want them to not even know each other until the wedding, and then one of them is like, okay, we don't have to be *in love* to be friends who live together and have sex, but the other - which, who am I kidding, it's Derek - Derek is all distant and cold and so not friend material, and then they piiineeee. They pine so much. Mix in some tightly reined in possessiveness and mutual protectiveness and IT'S GOLD.

[dira]

Yesssss all of that is A+!

[kass]

Oh, I love that thing too. Now I want more recs. <3

[dira]

I think a few more have appeared in the comments! :D

[mmegaera]

This is one of my favorite romance novel tropes.

[dira]

Yes! I think this is definitely the part of my id shaped by my early exposure to romance novels. :)

[riverlight]

OOOOH I WANT ALL OF THESE STORIES.

What about regency-era stories of this nature; does that work for you?

[dira]

Hmmm, regency era as in fanfic regency AUs? I am down with that. And actual regency romance novels, yes, definitely there for that, although I did have a terribly scarring Heyer experience reading the one she wrote where they SKIP THE STEP ABOUT FALLING MADLY IN LOVE. ;_;

[riverlight]

Yeah, fanfic regency AUs, I meant, since those are the ones I tend to associate with arranged marriage. I think the best ones I know are American Idol RPF, weirdly—do you read that?

(Also, did you ever read Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series? BEST FORCED MARRIAGE STORY EVER.)

[dira]

YES DID YOU KNOW BOOK 8 COMES OUT IN MARCH I AM ALREADY PLOTTING OUT MY PREPARATORY REREADING.

Ahem. I have been known reading Kris/Adam, in AI! And I feel like maybe I have read a regency AU with them? That sounds familiar. :)

[riverlight]

NO I DID NOT KNOW THAT OMG. Must rereaddddddd. So exciting!

Haha yup you've probably read the one I'm thinking of—astolat's Matter of Inconvenience—but there's also a wonderful fic by solvent. Problem is, it's no longer on LJ—I'll see if I can dig it up.

[dira]

Oooh, thank you! ♥

[(Anonymous)]

I think the text's gone pretty much completely, but paraka's podfic of solvent's 'The Bargain' is here - http://archiveofourown.org/works/217810

[riverlight]

Thanks for the link!

[goodgriefcharlie]

Oh man, I love arranged marriage stories. Have you been reading the Teen Wolf one Helenish is posting on tumblr? SO MANY DEREK FEELS.

[dira]

I don't like reading fic on tumblr, because reasons, so hopefully someday she'll finish it and throw it up on the AO3! :D

[doctor_denmark]

I really, really want the Jamie Benn/Tyler Seguin one. In a sort of step-to-the-side universe where the team arranges their marriage to build confidence in Seguin.

[sperrywink]

One of my favorite tropes too!

[taliahale]

I'm writing a Sid/Geno fic for the Hockey Reverse BB and the beta and I were discussing tropes hockey rpf fans like. The list ended up looking like this:

-secret genius/non-hockey skill
-spacetoasters
-soulbonds
-pining like the champions they are
-families of choice
-you, me, and an angst-ridden closet
-arranged marriages/marriages of convenience/accidental marriages/fake marriages

so you'll excuse me if I laugh for a minute.

Arranged Marriage/Marriage of Convenience Recs (because, wow, this was just a quick scan of things I had bookmarked):
-hoʻokāne, H50 Steve/Danny
-The Prince, Thor/Jotun!Loki
-The State of Marriage, Hockey RPF,Sid/Geno
-And the all-time favorite, No Refunds or Exchanges, SGA John/Rodney