Beyond the Roundels

It's unconventionalcourtship time again!



I asked what I'd forgotten last post and liadt quite rightly said, unconventionalcourtship! And I thought, great, that's two things for the next post! (Who knows what the other thing was? Not me.)

Anyway, it's a laid back old school writing fest where you pick a romance novel summary, choose characters/OT-whatever to inflict it onto, sign up to post on a chosen day and that's it, really. Whether the resulting fic is at all romantic or not is up to you.

Check out the comm for more details, selections of banners to use to promote it (and indeed, the template to make your own). They have lists of summaries if you don't want to go hunting for them in the wild.

There's even the Unconventional Courtship Generator so you can choose one by randomness and hilarity: http://www.seasip.info/Misc/ucrpg.html

(You can customise it and put your own characters in, as well as the preset ones.)

I mean, what more can you ask of a fest?

ETA: ( Because obviously I couldn't say that and not play with the generator )

I was feeling a bit blah for the last day (mostly because I did a mix of nice/stupid things the last couple of days!) and cheered myself up no end generating these last night. And of course, what would ever stop me sharing the continuing saga of Dalek Sec's eternally doomed attempts at a love life?

( And more under here )

... that I've been meaning to post:

1. Doctor Who Action/Adventure Plot Generator - really rather nifty! Less cracky than some (alas), but can definitely throw out some potential ideas and is very cool.


2. tumblr has polls. tumblr is behaving exactly as anyone would expect tumblr to and it's mostly pretty entertaining. (I was at first deeply impressed by the maths ones, but now I feel I know what it is to be a guinea pig in the hands of evil maths masterminds and have stopped doing them.) Anyway, I got polls and naturally in the spirit of me-when-ill and tumblr, I made my first poll this one. (Posting the bit that had the fun bonus result I got from it.)


3. Not really a proper third thing, I can't remember what the proper other thing was, but I noticed hurtcomfortex put up a new badge reward scheme for treating and I was just looking at it, and I've never felt so hard that someone was posting from another universe. (They're awarding badges for treats created for the exchange, and they start at 25 treats! :-0 They go up - 25, 50, 75, 100 & 200. It is, tbf, an exchange where you can just post anything written from the tagset to the fest, so you wouldn't have to post like 50 works each to the only 4 people you could possibly write for in order to achieve the max, and maybe these numbers reflect what people have written in previous rounds. But, I, a mere mortal, am boggling. lol.)

ETA: (It finally occurred to me after I wrote this (and switched off the pc and went to have my afternoon lie down, of course), that I think they mean communally? Which does make more sense! In my defence, I am literally clinically stupid quite a lot right now, and also I don't understand how communal badges work, but, lol, then again, I also don't have full reading comprehension either!)

I managed to edit the Unconventional Courtship ficlets I wrote for john_amend_all, and here they are!

This one really could have been a whole thing, but now it isn't: 642) An Inconvenient Engagement by Joy Reed
Clara Oswald was furious when she saw her betrothed the Fourth Doctor waltzing with another. So she decides to make him jealous by flirting with the most beautiful woman at the ball, the Mistress, Countess of Stanford. The "wicked" noblewoman knew exactly what the enticing miss was up to — and she was only too happy to play along. But as Clara gazed into her magnificent eyes, her errant fiancé was soon utterly forgotten.

the simple things you see are all complicated (606 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (1963)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Missy/Clara Oswin Oswald
Characters: Clara Oswin Oswald, Missy (Doctor Who), Fourth Doctor (Doctor Who)
Additional Tags: Ficlet, Echoes of Clara Oswin Oswald, Hypnotism
Summary: Clara's got to stick with the Doctor, even if she doesn't know quite why - but then she meets with someone else instead...


From: 162) There Goes the Bride by Judy Duarte
Stop that bride!
Instead of heading down the aisle toward a man she didn't love, ex-beauty queen Lucie Miller hightailed it out of the church, landing at the feet of brooding loner Graham O'Brien. When Graham begrudgingly helped Lucie flee Kane's Crossing and her powerful groom-not-to-be in his private plane, neither one of them expected passions to ignite. But once they did, both tried to deny it. But maybe Graham could make room for Lucie in his emotionally bereft life, and maybe Lucie would actually walk all the way down the aisle one of these days….

Getaway Bus (858 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Eighth Doctor & Lucie Miller, Lucie Miller & Graham O'Brien
Characters: Lucie Miller, Graham O'Brien, Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)
Summary: Lucie's on the run from an unwanted wedding in Sheffield - and luckily, the right bus comes along at exactly the right time.


From: 432) BABY'S WATCH by Justine Davis
Bad boy turned undercover agent the Third Doctor had come home to Texas to bust a baby-smuggling ring – not deliver a baby! But he couldn’t turn his back on helpless pregnant charmer the Master. Especially when his only safe haven is in his arms.

Just Desserts (681 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who (1963)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Third Doctor & The Master (Delgado)
Characters: Jo Grant, Third Doctor (Doctor Who), The Master (Delgado)
Additional Tags: Ficlet, Crack, Humor, Mpreg, mild body horror, Unconventional Courtship Generator
Summary: The Master plots with an alien species in a diabolical criminal money-making scheme. And then it backfires, as usual...


Plus, for good, measure, these are some scenarios the generator gave me that I did not write:

Steel and Silver on possibly matching assigments?

88) WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT by DIANE PERSHING
Silhouette Sensation
It began with a noise in the night…
When strange things began happening at his isolated home, lonely widower the Eighth Doctor turned to handyman Steel for protection. But what a mistake? Steel was not only an ex-cop but also an ex-convict – though he swore he’d been framed. Yet if he was so eager to prove his innocence why was he spending his time fixing his house, instead?
Steel seemed intent on gaining his trust – and as the mysterious dangers escalated, Eight needed someone to keep him safe. Steel was the perfect protector, because he needed nothing from him… or did he? Suddenly Eight wondered just why Steel had come to him – and how close he meant to get…

177) Undercover Memories by Alice Sharpe
Reeling after being left at the altar, Leela seeks comfort in her secluded cabin. But there's someone sleeping in her bed—a sharp-eyed, sexy stranger who claims to have no memory. While a little digging reveals Silver's true identity, Leela knows there's more to his past…and more to her feelings.
He may have been told who he is, but bodyguard Silver isn't satisfied with the answers, especially when they place Leela in danger.With his protective instinct in high gear, Silver vows to uncover his true identity while keeping her safe. But what if recovering his memory means he is the one Leela should be afraid of?


403) THREE DAY NIGHT - TORI PHILLIPS
THE WHITE ROSE OF YORK WAS NO HOTHOUSE FLOWER
Nay, Sir the First Doctor was a long-stemmed charmer with a dangerous secret of royal proportions. But for a chance to claim him as her promised groom, Sara Kingdom would fight the hounds of hell... !
Though plots and plans and barking dogs seemed to pursue the Countess of Thornbury wherever she went, One knew he'd found a champion. Mayhap Sara Kingdom was not what people expected, but the gentle dame had become his heart's desire.

407) The Redemption of Darius Sterne - Carole Mortimer
So innocent. So tempting...
Having built a global empire synonymous with excellence, formidable tycoon Jack Harkness is a man who gets what he wants. Always. And right now he wants ex-ballet dancer Count Dracula... in his bed and sighing his name in pleasure.
Virginal Dracula can’t resist the allure of the brooding billionaire. But the closer he pulls him, the more Jack threatens the barriers he’s carefully constructed to conceal the scars of his past. And Dracula isn’t the only one with pain to hide...
Can his pure love dance into his heart and redeem the dark and damaged Jack Harkness?


It was busy shipping Martha/Baldrick that day as well (sorry, Martha):

517) From Ruin To Riches by Louise Allen
Ruined and on the run, Sodoff Baldrick is in desperate straits when he meets a lady with a shocking proposal. Certain she is close to death, Martha Jones, Lady Dereham, believes Baldrick to be the perfect man to care for her beloved estate when she is gone - if he will first become her husband...
Marriage is Baldrick's salvation - as Lord Dereham he can finally escape his sins. Until three years later, when the wife he believes is dead returns as beautiful and strong as ever and intent on claiming the wedding night they never had!

I've been feeling rotten post-Covid Jab #2 for the past few days, so generated myself some very random summaries to share in order to cheer myself (and other people):

( Click here if you dare )

So, I continue to feel rotten, even though the weather is giving me a break but hey. ANYWAY, to turn to something more cheerful than weather, illness, and certainly than current news, liadt is running the unconventionalcourtship fest again this summer! Sign-ups open now!

unconventionalcourtship is the ficathon where you take a Mills & Book/Harlequin/Avon type book blurb and then kill it with fanfic use it as inspiration for a fic, as shippy or not, or cracky or serious or not as you please.

It's an old school fest, so you just choose a prompt and sign up for a posting day some time in August and there you are. \o/

Anyway, I doubt I can do it (see above), but in addition to pointing you to it, I have generated some random summaries from the Unconventional Courtship Generator in case anyone is short of ideas. I'm sure these would make great crack fic. XD (On more sensible note, you can also customise it for your own fandoms, too, if you want help with inspiration.)

( a whole bevy of unholy pairings under here )

Okay, so I made up a meme, one where everyone else gets to do the work! (I'm not doing so well at doing writing memes lately, and I miss them! So... lazy magic solution, or possibly a post I will just have to sweep under the carpet and pretend I never made. Time will tell. It always does.)


1. Give me a list of two or more characters (same fandom, multiple fandoms, whatever, it's up to you, doesn't have to be a shared fandom, just whoever you want to write).

2. I'll use them to generate you 3 prompts from the Genremixer!

3. Go write tropey flashfic from any or all of them & link back here.

All profit with ficlets and drabbles! Or at the very least, amusing prompts to contemplate. \o/

(Feel free to specify any settings - no. of chars/tropes per prompt, or which set of prompts, or whether or not to include NSFW. If you're feeling brave and we know each other well enough, I'll make the list myself, too, if you want.* ;-p)


Stealing the meme itself entirely encouraged obv. (A meme you can play even if you don't write!)


* Select this option at your own peril.

I managed ages ago to write two ficlets, courtesy of the Unconventional Courtship generator, for john_amend_all's birthday which was *mumble mumble* ago. I finally managed one more, so here goes. Crack is probably the only way to deal with rl right now anyway.

Belated happy birthday, John!

( Three unconventional ficlets under here + bonus summaries )

While I'm here, let's do the thing:



I love random generators! They are my favourite internet creative toy and responsible for many a fic from me, one way or another.

My favourite was the Genremixer, which sadly died, but thankfully john_amend_all stepped in and made another version, the Ersatz Genremixer. It is the one that most works for actually kick-starting fic for me. It's simple, adjustable to your preferences, allows you to put in your own choice of characters, it's sometimes semi-sentient, and altogether delightful.

( Random results )

But for hours of amusement, the Unconventional Courtship Generator is probably even more fun. (I think because it gives you summaries, it's like little ridiculous stories in themselves without me having even to write them.) While I've been ill, I have cheered myself up with this more times than I can count, and certainly more times than I have ever written for the results. (Although I have written for the results, including the Steed/Baldrick one that astrogirl said I couldn't do. Few of them are romantic, but romance is most certainly not required.) It was originally made for unconventionalcourtship ficathon (where you write fic based on terrible Mills & Boon type summaries, hence the generator full of them). You can type in your own characters here, too, if you wish to, although it comes pre-populated.

( And then you get things like this.... )

Other generators that I am very fond of and/or find extremely useful:

this Bingo generator, which came via allbingo, which I've used for both of the bingos I've run.

They Fight Crime (Just for the lols mainly: "He's a bookish small-town gentleman spy from a doomed world. She's a violent hip-hop nun from a secret island of warrior women. They fight crime!")

The Doctor Who Random Pairing Generator (the cause of a lot of DW fic from me once upon a time. Although, as with me and the UC generator, very rarely actually romantic, and still a favourite.)

The Cakefic Generator (cakefic is important!)

Probably one I should look at now, for my thingies, an Element Pairing Generator

And I have made an awful lot of use over the years of the random poetry generator for making prompts for memes and comms and things (despite its Emily Dickinson fixation).

I've been feeling very down this evening, and then I remembered what I do on these occasions when I can't do anything useful. Yes, I played with the Unconventionalcourtship generator, obviously.

( Usual unexpected combinations under here )

unconventionalcourtship is running again! It is the fest where you take a romance novel summary and kill it with fanfic write your own story from it (actual romance not necessary). It's always a lot of fun. There are banners, those are fun too. (I don't have one to hand right now, but there are lots at the comm. Some of them are even proper ships and things and not ones people made for the lols because of the tempting nature of the template.)

In the meantime, because of that, and because it's being summer, which is always unreasonable, have some summaries from the Unconventional Courtship Random Generator:

( Cut for the usual ridiculous )

I was feeling a bit bored and played with the Ersatz Genremixer, with the challenge to have to write flash fic for at least one prompt out of each 10 it gave me. The results are under the cut. (Some splinter!Claras were sacrificed in the process.)

( Twelfth Doctor / Servalan - alien invasion & in vino veritas/drunkfic )

( Vila Restal / Silver - estrangement & major illness )


( Sarah Jane Smith / Clara Oswald - drabble & reunions )


( Ace McShane / Clara Oswald - cuddling & hiding an injury )