Welcome to Remix Through the Seasons!

[hafnia]

Remix Through the Seasons is a quarterly, trope-based multifandom event hosted on ao3.

What is a remix?

A remix is a retelling or reinterpretation of an already created work. Wicked is a remix of The Wizard of Oz. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a remix of Hamlet. The Great Mouse Detective and Enola Holmes are both remixes of Sherlock Holmes. Howl’s Moving Castle (Miyazaki film) is a remix of Howl’s Moving Castle (Diane Wynne Jones novel). The idea is to retain the spirit of the original story while writing something in the style and manner of your choosing.

Some ways to remix a story:

• Retell it from another point of view


• Write a prequel, sequel, or missing scene


• Change the setting (time period, place, etc)


• Take a minor event from the story and focus on it


• Take a minor character from the story and focus in on them


• Change the outcome of significant plot events

This list is not exhaustive. The definition of remix is expansive – you can and should have fun and write what you want to write. As long as there is a clear throughline to the original story (whether that is tropes, plot events, characters or otherwise) that makes a reader go, “I see what inspired this”, you are in the clear.

Your remix does not need to focus on the same pairing (or even fandom) as the original work. You may remix a work by taking the same events and applying them to different characters (in that fandom or another fandom). That said, if it looks like your “remix” was taking the original fic and doing a find-replace on character names, that is plagiarism and not a thoughtful re-interpretation of the original story. Your remix should be your own words, written in your own voice, without use of AI (ChatGPT, Claude, etc) and without copy-pasting from the fic you have been assigned to remix. (Yes, we will notice.)

You are strongly encouraged, but not required, to include the same tropes in your remix as are present in the fic you are remixing. You do not need to include all tropes, but can instead choose to focus on what is interesting to you. For example, if the fic you are assigned to remix includes Arranged Marriage and Forced Proximity, you may choose to focus on the Arranged Marriage aspect and not the Forced Proximity trope – this is still within the spirit of the event.

This is not a gift exchange. There is no expectation that the person whose work you are remixing will comment on, kudos, or even read your work. You are not required to acknowledge fic that is not to your taste. There is no penalty for not commenting on work that was inspired by your original fic. Event participants are required to be civil to one another, both as remixer and remixee, but there is no expectation of engagement on either part.

Event Rules

By signing up to participate in seasonalremix, you agree to adhere to the following rules:

1. Don’t be an asshole. What this means: adhere to the spirit, not solely the letter, of event rules. Assume good faith and good intentions from participants, and report bad actors in the event space to the mods.


2. Common DNWs must be clearly stated in your fic via archive warnings, tags, and/or author’s notes. This event’s list of Common DNWs is defined below. If you would ordinarily tag your work as “canon-typical [warning]”, please specify further what that means in your author’s notes! The mods do not know all fandoms. (e.g., “canon-typical incest” might mean “on-screen consensual twincest”, “a pair of lovers on the verge of marriage learns they’re secretly half-siblings”, “two characters later revealed to be twins kissed once without knowing they were related”, or any number of other things.)


3. This event is open to any/all participants writing English-language stories on ao3 and is multifandom (inclusive of Original Work). While mods will do their best to match based on fandoms, it is not guaranteed that you will be matched with someone familiar with your fandom(s). By signing up, you agree that you are OK with (a) your work(s) potentially being read canon-blind, (b) potentially being assigned to remix a work you are reading canon-blind, and/or (c) your work being remixed into a different fandom.


4. Participants agree that any/all works they submit were created by them (not by AI/with AI assistance) specifically for this event, and that they have checked the work’s spelling, grammar and formatting to the best of their ability. If you need help finding a beta reader or would otherwise like another pair of eyes on your fic before reveals, please contact the event mods.


5. The rules are not exhaustive. Mods reserve the right to remove participants at any time.

Common DNWs:

For the purpose of this event, please provide warnings for the following topics. The warnings must be at minimum present in your story’s author’s note; they may additionally be warned for using tags/archive warnings as appropriate.

Common DNWs (must be warned for)

• Bad/Sad/Downer Endings


• Bodily fluids (nonsexual context)


• Bodily fluids not normally involved in sex being used for sexual purposes (blood, piss, etc.)


• Cannibalism


• Dubious Consent


• Graphic depictions of violence


• Incest (for our purposes: blood relations only; “like a brother”/adopted siblings do not count)


• Major character death


• Pregnancy/Impregnation (Breeding Kink without actual pregnancy does not apply)


• Racism, misogyny, queerphobia, etc.


• Rape/Noncon


• Suicide


• Underage sex (younger than 18)


• 1st Person POV


• 2nd Person POV

This list will also be used for matching purposes. When you sign up for this event, you will be asked to check boxes indicating what warnings your story contains. You will also be asked to check boxes indicating which of these warnings you are unwilling to read and remix.

Work/Assignment Rules

As part of your signup, each participant will provide:

• One (1) complete, new, previously unpublished on ao3 story of 1,000-5,000 words. This work may be in any fandom, including Original Work. It must be entirely your own work; no use of AI. (Use of beta-readers welcome!)


• A list of Common Event DNWs extant in that work.


• A list of Common Event Tropes extant in that work.


• A list of Participant (your) DNWs selected from the list of Common Event DNWs. (If you have further DNWs, you may contact the mods about them, but we cannot guarantee those DNWs are warned for in works across the event collection.)


• A list of Tropes you would enjoy remixing, selected from the list of Common Event Tropes.


• An email address which the participant will check, as assignments for this event will be provided solely via email.

As your assignment, each participant will create:

• One (1) complete story of 1,000-5,000 words, which remixes the assigned work. This work may be in any fandom, including Original Work. It does not need to be in the same fandom as the work being remixed. It must be entirely the participant’s own work; no use of AI. (Use of beta-readers is welcome and encouraged!)

Assignments will be provided via email. Participants will be provided with a link to the work they will be remixing and a reminder of the due date. Participants must respond to the email within one (1) week to confirm that they have seen the email and are intending to create their remix.

There will be no extensions. If you do not turn in your remix by the due date, the mods will put your assignment out for pinch hit. (You are welcome to complete your remix anyway as a treat. If you complete and post your remix while the pinch hit is still up for grabs, you may claim the pinch hit to satisfy it.)

Remixes are not gifts for the author whose work you are remixing. You do not need to write something that the original author would like. They wrote their version of the story, and now you’re writing your version; write something that you want to write!

Matching Criteria/Guidelines

The mods will hand-match each participant with a work that the participant will remix. The work you are assigned to remix will not contain any of your indicated DNWs. The work will, if possible, contain tropes that you have indicated that you would like to remix.

The work you are matched to may be in a fandom that you are familiar with, but this is not guaranteed and is not a major factor in matching. The work you are matched to may not be of a genre or relationship category that you normally read, as these are not matching criteria for this event. Mods will match on factors that you will need to actively engage with for your remixing. Other factors (such as fandom, genre, etc) can be changed as part of the remix and will not be taken into consideration when creating assignments.

Pinch Hits

The mods will do their best to ensure all works submitted to this event receive remixes. Pinch hits will be posted to seasonalremix and/or pinchhits as needed.

The event will not be held up for pinch hits; reveals will occur on the specified date regardless, though post-deadline pinch hits are welcome and encouraged.