Unconventional Courtship 2018

[aralias]

Welcome to 'Unconventional Courtship 2018'!



'Unconventional Courtship' is a panfandom fic fest where you write and post a 1000w+ fic based on a M&B/Harlequin plot. Fics will be posted to this community, staggered through August 2018.

This year we are also welcoming a co-mod in the form of tidal_race!

How to play:

It's as simple as:

1. Sign up! All you need to do is comment on this post with the day you want to post your fic. You can tell us which summary/pairing you're going with, but you don't have to. You can also ask us to assign you a summary, if you want. (You don't need a Dreamwidth to play - just comment with OpenID, although you will need to ask us to post your fic on the com. If you are on DW, please follow the community!)

2. Choose a M&B/Harlequin summary (or two etc) - we have hundreds of suggestions here, but there are literally thousands. Our prompt generator may also help (thank you john_amend_all) You can write more than one fic, if you want. You can also combine prompts, if you like.

3. Replace the names (and pronouns if necessary) with the names (and pronouns) of the pairing of your choice. Any any all fandoms and pairings are welcome in this fest.

You can also replace place names and jobs as long as you keep to the spirit of the prompt. So, if you want to write Kirk/Spock, but you don't want to write a modern day AU, you could replace 'the Sahara desert' with 'a desert planet' and Kirk wouldn't need to be the boss at a law firm, he could be the boss... in the sense that he's the captain.

4. Write a fic based on your altered summary. You can take the prompt seriously or use it as an improbable basis for lols.

4.5. Pimp the fest far and wide. I'm hardly going to do this at all, so it's up to you - the players! I've re-uploaded the make-your-own banners and of course you can use any that I've already made

(N.B. Historically our banners were at Photobucket. I've re-uploaded to this post, but you should still see a lot of dead links around the place). Please do pimp where ever you think would be appropriate.

5. Post the fic to this community on your assigned day.

You can also post to our AO3 collection if you want!

You can see some examples of Unconventional Courtship fic by looking through the collection, or earlier in the com.

6. Profit! Fics for all! I'll post a masterlist once all the entries are in. Crossposting is encouraged.

Any questions? Leave a comment or PM me or (even better) tidal_race. Or email me at heroic.tendencies@gmail.com


Rules:

1. All fics must be over 1,000 words long.

2. You must use a modified Mills & Boon and/or Harlequin summary.

3. You don't have to use a beta, but it is strongly advised.

4. Please use the following header (or similar - the AO3 share function is fine) when you post to the community:

<b>Title:</b> <b>Author:</b> <b>Fandom:</b> <b>Pairing/Characters:</b> <b>Rating:</b> <b>Length:</b> <b>Summary:</b> <b>Notes:</b> <b>Link:</b>

5. Please post on your assigned day. If you can't for whatever reason, please let me or tidal_race know either by PM or email heroic.tendencies@gmail.com

6. You can use this fic for another challenge i.e. trope_bingo

7. You can sign up for any day you like, but if it is possible for you to sign up for a day that nobody else is interested in then that'd be best of all.

1 Aug: out_there
2 Aug: georgewashington
3 Aug: killaurey
4 Aug: raininshadows,
5 Aug: paranoidangel
6 Aug:
7 Aug: somehowunbroken
8 Aug: anoyo
9 Aug: innie_darling
10 Aug: gingayellow
11 Aug: merryghoul
12 Aug: meilan_firaga
13 Aug: estirose
14 Aug: navaan
15 Aug: samuraiter, ella_rose88
16 Aug: tigerlily, auroracloud
17 Aug: cestlamorte
18 Aug: sunrises, queso_amigo
19 Aug: celeste9
20 Aug: vilakins
21 Aug: apgeeksout
22 Aug: plaid_slytherin
23 Aug: devilswings
24 Aug: saiditallbefore
25 Aug: storyspinner70
26 Aug: vexed_wench, lordoflions
27 Aug: artemis10002000
28 Aug: luvbarryfefe,
29 Aug: sidhe_faerie meridian_rose
30 Aug: misslucyjane, 238900mi
31 Aug: liadt, rudigersmooch


If you have questions, feel free to ask! And/or consult the FAQs.

Comments

[sunrises]

I'd love August 18, if no one's taken it yet!

The summary that I gleaned from the Harlequin website itself:

He never mixed business with pleasure. But when fresh-faced Shana O'Reilly appeared at his office door, she threw no-nonsense attorney Travis Marlowe's carefully ordered world into a tailspin. For the first time ever, he couldn't stop thinking about a client—and not just because of her father's mysterious request to adjust his will.

Shana wasn't looking for romance—she had her hands full with her family and her business. But she couldn't shut off the electric current humming between her and—of all people—the new family attorney.

Talk about finding love where you least expect it….

Ideally, the fandom is Ace Attorney and the pairing would be Maya Fey / Simon Blackquill, but I'm not 100% certain on that yet.

[vilakins]

I'll take 20 August!

I'm considering this one unless I find something better:

Tyce Sarkoff, daughter of the president of Lindor, has always been impeccably behaved. So why does she suddenly feel a wild urge to kick over the traces?
Vila Restal is a mysterious figure. A gentleman of leisure by day, he steals secrets for the rebels by night.
When Tyce finds a man in her bedroom late at night, her first instinct is to call for help, but something stops her. The thief apologises and gracefully takes his leave... with a kiss for good measure.

And Constance knows that won't be the last she sees of this intriguing rogue….

[artemis10002000]

Thank you!

I've decided on Han/Lando from Solo, to Major Crimes by Janie Crouch

Working together would bring down a killer

But her secrets could tear them apart…

Hayley Green never wanted to see Omega special agent Cain Bennett again. Ever. He seduced her, then sent her to prison for hacking, and Hayley’s only just started piecing her life back together. Except now Cain needs Hayley’s help to catch a murderer. Their past is colliding with their still-smoldering attraction…and the only thing more dangerous than the killer is the secrets Hayley’s been keeping.

[liadt]

I think I may have an idea, I just need a prompt to fit the characters!

Good luck with your bunnies:)

[meilan_firaga]

May I sign up for August 12, please? :) There are so many summary options that I haven't picked one yet, but I'm very inspired!

Re: Eggsy Unwin is very inspiring!

[aralias]

you can do either - it's quite nice if you can spread it over two dates, but i don't mind. whichever you want :)

[aralias]

it's yours!

[aralias]

sounds good :)

august 18th is free, as well.

[aralias]

;)

oh vila.

20th august is yours.

[aralias]

good stuff. plenty of time to look through other funny summary options.

[vilakins]

Last time it was Jenna/Blake; I'll keep looking to see if anything inspires me.

[cestlamorte]

August 17th, and I'm going to go a little off-the-wall and go with an Amazon original: Seven Beasts(A Reverse Harem Romance) by Kelli Callahan.
I asked my father for a rose. It nearly cost him his life. I found myself alone in a castle, surrounded by seven beasts living under the curse of a witch they all wronged at some point in their lives. Each of them were torn from the mortal world and doomed to spend eternity in torment. Could I find a way to tame seven beasts and help them remember the people they used to be?

[cut descriptions for characters they don't apply to, all you need to know is that there's a lot of shady characters from various times going on here]

And number seven? Well, she's a legend, just like her sword, and we're all in her castle.

[aralias]

sounds good! and definitely in the spirit of the challenge.

[aralias]

and it was a fantastic jenna/blake if i recall correctly :D

[rudigersmooch]

Hello! :) I'd like to sign-up for August 31, and I'm currently weighing my options between four different prompts. I'm so excited!

[aralias]

\o/

added you to the list.

[tigerlily]

I'd like August 16, please! Star Wars, and currently I've narrowed it down to twenty summaries. From thirty.

[aralias]

ahaha - well, it's a good start! keep it up :)

[navaan]

I still need to pick a summary, but I'd like to sign up for August 14th.

[somehowunbroken]

i'll take the 7th! i'll be writing hockey RPF based on Cloaked in Danger (https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781426897849_cloaked-in-danger.html):

Aria Whitney has little in common with the delicate ladies of London society. Her famous father made his fortune hunting archaeological treasures, and her rustic upbringing has left her ill prepared for a life of parties and frippery. But when Gideon Whitney goes missing, Aria must embrace the unknown. Armed with only the short list of highborn men who'd backed her father's venture, she poses as a woman looking for a husband. She doesn't intend to find one.

Adam Willoughby, Earl of Merewood, finds London's strangest new debutante fascinating, but when he catches her investigating his family's secrets, he threatens to ruin her reputation. He doesn't intend to enjoy it so much.

When their lustful indiscretion is discovered, Adam finds that he regrets nothing. But now, as Aria's father's enemy draws near, Adam must convince his betrothed that she can trust him with her own secrets…before it's too late.

[aralias]

still plenty of time to choose a summary!

[aralias]

awesome! i've added you to the list.

[shuufleur93]

I'd like to sign up on the 6th!
I'm not sure yet I might go with this summary (from Mills & Boon):

French Quarter Kisses by Zury Day
Can this celebrity chef keep his past hidden?
Not with a beautiful society reporter uncovering his secret desires!

Pierre LeBlanc is a triple threat: celebrated chef, food-network star and owner of the Big Easy’s hottest restaurant. Journalist Rosalyn Arnaud sees only a spoiled playboy not worthy of front-page news. Their sizzling attraction tells another story. But when she uncovers his secret, their love affair could end in shattering betrayal

(or one of the summaries from the generator)

For this one, I'll be writing on Supernatural, Sam Winchester/Benny Lafitte.

Btw, the generator is a lot of fun and created unusual pairings and crossovers!

[aralias]

hooray! you took the final slot :D

and yes - the generator is brilliant. johnamendall used to participate a lot in this fest, and has continued to contribute without actually having to write anything through his amazing generator :)

[out_there]

1 Aug, please!