unfinished business

some of these are darker in nature since that is fitting for the spooky season. 

AUs

academic / teacher / professor / tutor 

addams family

babysitter / nanny

bartender

biker

bodyguard

bonnie and clyde

bounty hunter

boxer 

camp counselor

circus / carnival

cult 

demon / angel

fairytale retelling

fantasy 

farmer

firefighter

guardian angel 

historical 

hybrid

mafia / mob 

magic 

maid / butler 

mechanic 

modern 

monster / mythology / supernatural

paranormal investigator 

pirate / mermaid

post-apocalyptic

priest

prison

rockstar 

royalty

serial killer

sex worker / porn / camgirl/boy / stripper 

slasher

soulmate

spy / secret agent

steampunk / cyber punk

sugar daddy

tattoo artist 

time travel

treasure hunter 

vampire

werewolf 

wild west

Write a fic with 6 puns/references/inside jokes in 7 sentences.

Write about the meaning of life, the universe, or everything in exactly 42 words.

Write a smut scene in 69 words.

Write a fic of 101 words that includes at least one dog.

Write a 10 sentence fic about why one character hates another.

Write a 666-word fic about a dark omen.

Write a fic containing substance use that is 420 words long.

Write a fic that's 404 words long about a character who can't find something.

Write a fic with a three-digit word count (100-999) that contains your AO3 user number.

Write a 314-word fic that contains a mathematical concept.

Write a new backstory in exactly 52 words.

Write a 616-word fic that takes place in our universe (for a fandom that doesn't).

Write a dystopian future!fic that is 2046 words long.

Write a fic about an evil government that is 1984 words long.

Write a fic that is 177 words long and contains the number 76 and a reference to football.

Write a fic about a hacker that is 1337 words long.

Everyone writes about characters "not meeting Character's gaze." Let’s retire it for a minute.

• A smile that doesn’t reach the eyes • Holding eye contact a beat too long • Laughing half a second too late • Over-correcting posture when addressed • Clearing their throat before answering • Adjusting sleeves, cuffs, jewelry repeatedly • A visible swallow before speaking • Exhaling through the nose instead of responding • Looking at the exit mid-conversation • Nodding too quickly

Below is a plain text list of the official prompts as well as five alternative prompts. This post will be updated over time with links to our explanations of each prompt. For more information as to the timeline, rules, and FAQ for this challenge, please see the pinned post on our Tumblr.

ACTING AU: “I'm up for one of the biggest roles of my life but never had time for dating, so please help me perfect that longing look I need.”

“After only a night together my nosy neighbour saw you leave and told my parents and they can't know I'm having casual sex so I need to introduce you to them.”

“Being married gets you benefits at my job, so I really need a partner but I don't have time to date.”

CELEB AU: “I'm sick of my PR team putting me up with other celebs so I want someone to go on dates with me every couple weeks so the press thinks I'm in a committed relationship.”

CELEB AU: “My PR team wants to better my image and you have a really good reputation so now we're on a fake date but you're actually really charming.”

CRIMINAL AU: “I need to steal some stuff from a rich people event and need someone to come with me to cover for me while I sneak off.”

“I never cared to find a partner but my childhoold best friend is getting married and I don't want to be the only one without a plus one there.”

“I paid you for a night but ran into someone I know and I was embarrassed and called you my partner and now we're both invited to a dinner next week.”

“I’m an influencer and need a partner to get pics with and post cute videos with and shit my follows love our dynamic specifically, can we keep up the act?”

“I'm trying to get back at my parents and you look like trouble, so wanna cause chaos at thanksgiving?”

“Let's get dressed up and go to different bars to pretend to get engaged for free drinks and desserts.”

“My ex cheated on me and I need to show that I can pull too and you're the hottest person I know so can I use you to make my ex jealous?”

“My grandparents are horrible people but to get their inheritence I need to marry, will you fake a wedding with me and keep it up until they pass?”

“Thank you for playing along when we ran into my ex with their new partner and I pretended we're together even though we're just coworkers, but now we're both invited to their wedding.”

“They offer free drinks to couples at the bar on valetine's day, so wanna pretend to be my partner?”

“This person is following me around the bar and won't leave me alone, please play my partner for a second.”

“To be able to see you when you're in a coma in the hospital, I lied about being your partner, but now the nurse introduced me as such to your family and I was too awkward to clear it up and we spent weeks at your bedside together and now that you're awake I need you to keep up the act.”

“We both need a place to live and this apartment is perfect but the landlord is weirdly conversative and will only rent out to couples so we need to pretend to be together and it worked but oops wait there is only one bedroom.”

“We're barely even friends but when my friends saw a picture of us together and asked I wanted to show off and said you're my partner, but now you moved closer and I need to keep up the lie.”

“We're childhood best friends and I just found out people back in the day bet on whether we would get together and I kinda want to know how they would react if we say we're together at the next class reunion.”

Mating March is all about instinct and possession, jealousy, territorial tension, protective devotion.

“Mine”, in whatever way you choose!

Prompt List 🌱

1. Instinct

2. Territorial

3. Jealousy

4. Close

5. "Come Here."

6. Protective Touch

7. Scent

8. Fighting For Love

9. Rival

10. Standing Between

11. Marked / Claimed

12. Challenge

13. "Don’t Touch Me."

14. Heat Rising

15. Boundaries

16. A Warning Growl

17. Proximity

18. Choosing Sides

19. “Stay Behind Me.”

20. Possessive

21. Romance

22. Public vs. Private

23. Tension in the Air

24. Softening After

25. Guarded

26. “You’re Safe.”

27. Protective Instinct

28. The Edge of Control

29. Pulled Closer

30. A Promise

31. Mine

As always tag @monthlywritingchallenges and use the #matingmarch tag so we can reblog!

Whumpril 2026 approaches!

Rules:

Anyone can participate.

Any media form is allowed (art, fic, gifs, music, whatever).

AI-generated content is NOT permitted.

You can participate however much or as little as you want, no pressure to complete every single day.

You can post your work anywhere on the internet, Tumblr, Ao3, etc.

Tag potential triggers and NSFW accordingly.

If you want to be counted as an official participant and have the chance to be featured on the blog, post your content during the month of April. You can still use the prompt list after April ends.

I can’t guarantee that every single work will be featured but I’ll try to reblog as many as I can.

To increase your chances of being featured here, tag your post with the event name and the prompt of the day that you used (For example: #whumpril2026, #whumprilday1, #beg) 

You can also @ the blog, @whumpril.

Questions? Check the FAQ to see if your question has already been answered!

Full write-up of the prompts can be found under the cut!