Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement

[melannen]

Poll #23823

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 100

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Which is best?

View Answers

Accidental marriage - "we didn't know it was legally valid!" subtype
34 (34.0%)

Accidental marriage - "one night in Vegas" subtype
17 (17.0%)

Arranged marriage
46 (46.0%)

Aliens make them get married
19 (19.0%)

Boston marriage
29 (29.0%)

Confirmed bachelorhood
19 (19.0%)

Confirmed spinsterhood
28 (28.0%)

Elopement
17 (17.0%)

Fake marriage
44 (44.0%)

Forgot they were married
22 (22.0%)

Group marriage
38 (38.0%)

Long, happy marriage
55 (55.0%)

Ludicrously long engagement
21 (21.0%)

Ludicrously short engagement
14 (14.0%)

Marriage of convenience
47 (47.0%)

Marriage of inconvenience
31 (31.0%)

Married in all but name
46 (46.0%)

Platonic marriage
37 (37.0%)

Secret marriage
26 (26.0%)

Shotgun marriage
4 (4.0%)

You left off the most important one!
3 (3.0%)

Comments

[melannen]

It's weird how many people vote for that option but how few people actually write stories about it!

[polarissruler]

Which one exactly - the group or the happy marriage? If it's the first, well, I have trouble writing only two characters in a single scene, so a group is out of question. If you are talking about the happy marriage, I can only say that angst is far more interesting to read. (Although there's one pairing about which I write only fluffy, happy fics - but not a marriage fic yet.)

[melannen]

Oh, I meant the happy marriage one, but I would be delighted to see more group marriage too!

I think it is possible to write delightfully interesting stories about happy established relationships, there just aren't a lot of examples out there for people to model off of. (And of course they're a differently structured type of story. But there seems to be a market for them....)

[polarissruler]

Yeah, there's a market for them (at least for me - if I find a good fic with an established relationship, I binge-read it). Part of my problem is my literature teacher, who insisted "Every text must have conflict!" However much I try to write happy relationships, I feel obligated to shoehorn some conflict.

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

You just have to contextualize conflict differently. I'm writing Phlint as happily married for 13 years (Commonwealth of Mass, thank you) and recently married mixed pair Bruce Banner/Steve Rogers.

Though, not on the list is "Vaudeville" complex polycule. Because Bruce Wayne and Bruce Banner, how often has it been unclear until context. Run with it.