Unconventional Courtship 2026: Sign Ups!
Apr. 1st, 2026 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aflaminghalo posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
unconventionalcourtshipCome join our thirteenth round and over a decade of proud trope subversion.
'Unconventional Courtship' is a panfandom fic fest where you write and post a 1000+ word fic based on a M&B/Harlequin plot. Fics will be posted to this community, staggered through June 2026.
This year's mod is
aflaminghalo. Thank you to liadt for all your hardwork modding this fest.Sign Ups - April 1st - June 10th 2026
Posting - 1st June - June 30th 2026
Amnesty Week - July 1st - July 7th 2026
How to play:
It's as simple as:
1. Sign up! Sign ups close on June 10 and 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 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 do 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. Complete 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 ready made ones found over here and here.
Please do pimp where ever you think would be appropriate.
5. Post to this community on your assigned day. If you unable to post on your day there is a amnesty week for those that sign up from July 1 - 7.
You can also post to our AO3 collection if you want!
You can read examples of Unconventional Courtship fic by looking through the collection, or by going through masterposts in the comm.
6.
Any questions? Leave a comment or PM me.
Rules:
1. All fics must be over 1,000 words long. Fics must be complete, no WIPs.
2. You must use a modified Mills & Boon and/or Harlequin summary.
3. You don't have to use a beta.
4. Please use the following header (or similar - the AO3 share function is fine) when you post to the community:
5. Please post on your assigned day. If you can't for whatever reason, please let me know either by commenting on this post or by PM.
6. You can use this fic for another challenge i.e.
trope_bingo7. 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.
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shuufleur9314 Jun:
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aflaminghalo16 Jun:
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libbi20 Jun:
prideascending21 Jun:
paranoidangel22 Jun:
meridian_rose23 Jun:
cornerofmadness24 Jun:
natequarter25 Jun:
lumiosecity26 Jun:
melagan27 Jun:
vilakins28 Jun:
rubylily29 Jun:
lilly_c 30 Jun:
killaureyIf you have questions, feel free to ask! And/or consult the FAQs.
(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-01 10:58 pm (UTC)25)The Veiled Bride by Elizabeth Bailey
Why does Anton, Lord Raith, need to advertise for a wife? When Rosina Charlton walks down the aisle towards this stranger, the truth is revealed - a cruel scar disfigures his otherwise handsome features. Penniless, orphaned Rosina finds herself committed to an embittered man who wants a marriage based on convenience alone...
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Date: 2026-04-02 08:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2026-04-02 08:32 am (UTC)184) Her Battle-Scarred Knight by Meriel Fuller
WOUNDED SOLDIER
When he returns from the Crusades, battle-scarred and tortured by painful memories, it is only Count Giseux de St-Loups code of chivalry that sees him escorting a sharp-tongued spitfire of a lady on a quest to help her injured brother.
WAYWARD LADY
The beautiful Lady Brianna is fiercely independent, and finds his powerful presence disturbing. As the danger surrounding her grows deeper, Giseux is forced to extend his protection further than either of them ever wanted it to go…
(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-02 01:03 pm (UTC)Those prompts sound like great choices.
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Date: 2026-04-02 03:02 pm (UTC)Thank you!
(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-02 07:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2026-04-05 03:49 am (UTC)I'll be using one off Harlequin's romantasy list
Welcome to Lost.
It was supposed to be a small escape. A few hours' driving before turning around and heading home. But once you arrive in Lost…well, it's a place you really can't leave. Not until you're Found. Only the Missing Man can send you home. And he took one look at Lauren Chase and disappeared.
So Lauren is now trapped in the town where all lost things go—luggage, keys, dreams, lives—where nothing is permanent, where the locals go feral and where the only people who don't want to kill her are a handsome wild man called the Finder and a knife-wielding six-year-old girl. The only road out of town is engulfed in an impassable dust storm, and escape is impossible…
Until Lauren decides nothing—and no one—is going to keep her here anymore.
(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-06 01:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-06 02:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-08 03:47 am (UTC)I know I picked one out but don't remember which one 😂 Oops. I do know it pits two people against each other that I'd never put together elsewhere so... 🤭
(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-09 11:35 am (UTC)have fun!
(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-09 02:51 pm (UTC)JOSIE WEBSTER WAS NOT A BORN KILLER…
But her thirst for justice could make her one. The outlaw who'd murdered her parents and fiancé had gotten off scot-free. And now the only thing standing between her and vengeance fulfilled was Sheriff Davis Lee Holt, who held her quarry prisoner…and completely captured her heart!
A woman with secrets needed watching, and lawman Davis Lee Holt intended to watch Josie Webster like a hawk. Why would a seamstress need shooting lessons? Or be curious about the jail? But after nursing her for a near-deadly snakebite, he faced a much more compelling problem: he loved a woman he couldn't trust!
^ That one =D Except Gender Bent cause both lucky guys are well... guys HAHAHA This should be fun!
(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-09 05:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2026-04-28 09:19 pm (UTC)I'm eyeing two different summaries for two different fandoms-if I end up writing both, is it alright if I post them both on the 19th?
(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-29 07:45 pm (UTC)