Remix

:You may be looking for the Star Trek: TOS zine Re-Mix.
In fannish spaces, a remix is a fanwork that is a re-envisioned version of an earlier fanwork. The term is also a verb describing the process of creating a remix. Remixes are most usually fanfiction, but fanart is sometimes included in challenges. 
Current fannish use probably originates from the 2003 popslash fanfic challenge We Invented the RemixWe Invented the Remix on the Wayback Machine, archived 23 October 2003 that spawned many other challenges; in some circles on LiveJournal, remix and remix challenge were synonymous, and the challenges were the main source of fanfics labeled with the term remix.See What's a remix? by camelotremix (archived version), which essentially uses "remixing" and "remix challenge" interchangeably, and also explains more generally where the concept of the remix challenge originates from.
Remixes should not be confused with recursive fanfiction (fanfiction of fanfiction) or a certain type of responsefic.
==Definitions==
What does or doesn't count as a remix is pretty wide and varied; the term has been in use for more than a decade, after all. Disagreements often focus on what one can and cannot change, as people have different views on how close to the original fic a remix has to be to count. 
A definition from We Invented the Remix's FAQ:
One user's definition:
 
Another fan said that their entry point to writing a remix is, "If I had been writing this story in the first place, what would I have done with it?"anonymous, Re: How would you define or explain remixes?, 01 August 2018. Accessed 04 September 2018. They went on to say,
==Techniques and Conventions==
Writers sometimes incorporate dialogue, description, or other details of the original work into their remix story, but it's not necessary. Many remixes keep the same characters, ships, and basic plot, especially in remix challenges where there are often rules about what remixers can change.
A discussion on fail_fandomanon produced a list of possible remix techniques, most of them from one post. The list has been reproduced and expanded on below.
* POV flip — Retelling the same events from a different character's point of view or switching between first, second, or third person.
* Role Reversal — If A was the bank robber and B was the security guard in the original, B is now the bank robber and A is now the security guard.
* Sequel/prequel — The remixer explores what led up to the events in the original work, or what may have happened after. (The writer of this list noted that "There's quite a bit of disagreement about whether or not this actually counts as a remix," and suggested that "the best way to resolve it as an issue is to be certain the remix overlaps with at least a couple scenes of the original.")
* New spin/tone shift — The same things happen as in the original fic, but they mean something different than they did in the original. For example, a happy time travel fic might be portrayed as tragic by the remixer.
* Characterization shift — Similar to the above, but what's changing is the characterization. This "works quite well when you see the characters entirely differently than the person you're remixing."
* Genre change — Changing a western into a space opera or changing between slash, het, or gen.
* AU to Canon — That modern/space/western AU now happens in the canon era/setting.
* Canon to AU — That canon fic is now an AU.
* Different place in canon — The same events happen, but they happen at a different point in canon.
* Pairing shift — This can have several meanings: 
**a fic with a main pairing of A/B and a background pairing of C/D may be remixed so that C/D is the main pairing instead.
** the remix backgrounds the shippy parts in order to focus on the plot (changing a shipfic into a casefic for example) or the other way around. 
* Pairing change — The events of the fic happen to C/D instead of A/B. This is an unpopular option because challenges tend to disallow it.
* Missing Scene — The remixer writes what might have happened in a scene that was not portrayed in the original work.
* Expansion/Contracting — The remix expands a 200 word story to 5k or contracts a 20k story down into 1000 words.
* For want of a nail — One small detail at the beginning of the story original story is changed, so events spin out differently in the remix.
* Mash-up — The remixer takes two or more of someone's fics and combine them.
* Based on the summary — The remixer reads the summary and writes what they think the original was about based on just the summary. (The list-writer notes, "I DON'T actually recommend this, but I've known people to do it that way, so.")
* Changing the ending — Someone dies in the original, they don't in the remix (or vice-versa).
* One crucial detail — The remixer pulls out what they consider to be the most important detail of the original fic, then lets everything else go in order to explore that detail.
* Scope of events — The remix covers a smaller or larger scope of events than the original. For example, if the original focuses on the events of one day, the remix might cover the entire month that day takes place in, recontextualizing the day the original focused on by showing how it relates to what happened before and after, or it might focus on just one hour of that day.
* Trope addition — An extra trope is added by the remixer, for example soulmates or wingfic. This is "similar to genre shift but not quite the same."anonymous, Re: How would you define or explain remixes?, 01 August 2018. Accessed 04 September 2018.
Remixers may do several of the above at once, or just one.
===Remix Challenges===
In a remix challenge, the moderators assign to each writer another participant's work. Each writer selects and rewrites at least one of their assigned participant's stories, with the expectation that another participant will do the same to one of the writer's own stories. Most remix challenges require the plotline of the remix to stay the same as that of the original. The remix challenge may also require that the ending of the original story be preserved; this does not necessarily mean that the remix and the original must end at the same point.
One particularly well-known remix challenge was Remix/Redux. camelotremix wrote on LiveJournal in 2010,
==Origins and Usage==
In non-fandom contexts, remix refers to edited songs or wider cultural practices of recombining existing works in any medium to create new works. The term Remix culture could be applied to all fanwork-producing communities, and remixing audio happens in the course of vidding and audfics in the vein of Spork! An Erotic Love Story, but the term itself is not used as much in these fan communities.
The word 'remix' to describe this rewriting and re-telling practice was chosen as a riff on the practice of remixes in pop music, where the vocal and instrumental tracks of a song are rearranged in time, speed, duration, or possibly entirely replaced. Some fans have argued that a more apt analogy would be the song cover, where one artist or musical group re-records a song previously commercially released by a different musical act.Victoria P., you can hear 'em in the back room strumming, 26 April 2007 (Accessed 2 October 2008.)
The first remix challenge was We Invented the Remix in popslash fandom. It was begun by MI (2003-04), continued by zvi (2005-06), and then bossymarmalade (since 2007). From 2003–2012 and 2014–2015, Victoria P ran We Invented the Remix... Redux, an annual multifandom FPF remixing challenge which started accepting popslash once We Invented the Remix stopped running. Remix/Redux stopped running in 2016 and was replaced by Remix Revival, run by Unforgotten, in 2017. Remix Revival is still on-going as of 2018.
Around the same time, in June 2003, multifandom archive Silverlake held a remix event centered on "giving people different viewpoints on stories that are already out there."Silverlake: The Remix (2003)
==Controversy==
Some fanfiction authors permit or encourage other writers to remix their stories at any time, without the structure of an organized challenge. Other fanfiction authors believe that unauthorized remixes are a violation of their moral rights as an author. 
Though remixing in both fanfiction and vidding has become enormously popular, not all fans embrace the concept. Negative perceptions of remixes can range from boring and unoriginal (it's just the same stuff, done over again with a slight tweak) to insulting (the remix is fixing their writing, or changing things that someone else found lacking) to disrespectful (ignoring that the author had specific character or plot developments in mind and felt they were final), among many other beliefs. 
A 2007 comment: 
Though some fans feel any story is fair game for remixing, others believe that permission should be gained from the author first before using their work as a jumping-off point. Many fans feel it's hypocritical to reuse the original creations of the copyright holders in the canon and then argue against other fans being allowed to remake your fanworks. 
A 2007 comment: 
And feelings about remixes can be dependent on either the type of work being remixed or even the specific, individual piece. For instance, some fans may embrace the concept of remixing in fan writing, but not in vidding, or vice versa. Or they may be fine with having some stories remixed, but particular stories are off-limits to the idea. Some fans may object to having a certain genre of stories (slash, gen, het) remixed in a different genre (this can be particularly problematic when fan writers who don't approve of slash find their gen or het stories remixed into a slash piece). This can be a particular problem, as well, in shared universes, where one single story can become a huge universe that nearly defines the fandom, such as in The Magnificent Seven fandom.
In addition, reusing even basic phrases that have become fanon have, in the past, stirred debate. The 1984 column "The Protocol Droid," published in the letterzine Jundland, Too, contains a letter from a fan saying she was worried because her fanfiction was about the fall of the Jedi enclaves, but that she'd learned that concept of "enclaves" was from another fanwriter's universe. She wanted to know if she could still use this term. The answer she received? Absolutely not without specific permission from the fan originator, and if any similar appropriation was done by accident, the fan needed to apologize by writing a personal letter. See Jundland, Too issue #1. Many fans today would not require permission in this situation as the writer is not reusing a specific story or a character, only a concept.
See The Mission Report Challenge (2006) for a lengthy discussion on remixes.
==Examples==
===Remix Works===
X-Men: First Class
*Strange Lands (No Good Man Remix) by Unforgotten (remixes The Cost of a Good Man by arcapelago (arcanewinter))
* A Nice Boy (The Family Matters Edition) by pocky_slash, a remix of A Nice Boy
Stargate Atlantis
* The Epic Tale of John & Rodney, Two Girl Scout Cookies In Love [The Pix or it Didn't Happen Remix] by bitter-crimson
* Mating Rituals by Karen McFadyyon, a remix of Pygoscelis (Or, a Gift of Pebbles)
* Manifest: Latency Remix by Brighid, a remix of Latency by Zoe Rayne
Hawaii Five-0
* Red Line Overload (the Lytton Strachey remix) by ariadnes_string
Naruto
* What Isn't Broken (Can Still Be Fixed) by edenfalling
* Five Kisses (The Seven Minutes in Heaven Remix) by megyal
Harry Potter
* Harry Potter is a Dirty Exhibitionist by eidheann, a remix of Beer, Boyfriends and Bedroom Talk
MCU
* Our history is just in our blood (history, like love, is never enough) by musesfool
* Nothing Else but Miracles (An Ancient Secrets and New-born Dreams Remix), a remix of Follow in Your Footsteps by Sineala
Merlin
* The Other Half Of My Heart by RocknVaughn, "An Arthur's POV remix of The Pact by Cori Lannam"
* To A Place Of No Return (The Surrender Remix) by Ingberry, a remix of The Strongest Among You by clotpolesonly
* At the Tavern (The Gwaine Knows Something About Taverns Remix) by Thursday Next, a remix of One Night at the Tavern by RocknVaughn
* Visited Upon the Son (A Thousand Shattered Futures Remix) by Woldy, a remix of Visited Upon The Son by fiercynn
* First Up Against the Wall (the grease and diesel oil remix) by Netgirl y2k, a remix of Grease-stained by Heather
Les Misérables
* dance this silence down (the emergency room remix) by Fahye
Bungou Stray Dogs — all 8 fics below are an example of a rolling remix, in this case from the 2018 BSD Rolling Remix
* Not Enough Blood in the Waves by scribblemyname (remix of A Careful Hand by Mornelithe_falconsbane)
* Be Careful How You Lick Your Wounds by shadow_lover (remix of Not Enough Blood in the Waves by scribblemyname)
* Never Enough by TheGreatCatsby (remix of Be Careful How You Lick Your Wounds by shadow_lover)
* Steal Death From Your Lungs by lileura (remix of Never Enough by TheGreatCatsby)
* run for our lives by Prinzenhasserin (remix of Steal Death From Your Lungs by lileura)
* lavender dreams by Shinkirou (remix of run for our lives by Prinzenhasserin)
* Run Where the Ocean Meets the Sky by geckoholic (remix of lavender dreams by Shinkirou)
===Remix Challenges===
:See also: List of Remix Challenges'
====Multifandom====
*We Invented the Remix... Redux, 2003-2015
*Fandom Mashup, remixing multiple fics into one, 2006
*Remix: The Drabble for short ficlets, 2007-2008
*FemmeRemix, 2015-16
*Remix_Me, 2016
* Remix Revival (dreamwidth and AO3 collection, plus Remix Madness), 2017–current
* Remixapod, combining podfics and remixes, 2019
====Specific Fandoms====
*We Invented the Remix, 2003-2008, popslash
*LOTR RPS Remix archive
*Breelanders Hobbit/Interspecies Remix Challenge, Lord of the Rings, 2005
*A Hobbit-Centric Remix, Lord of the Rings, 2007
*The Harry/Draco Remix Challenge, 2006-2007, 2011-2018
*Tales From the Crypt: The Supernatural Remix, 2006-2008
*Kamikaze Remix, a Supernatural remix challenge, 2008
*Stargate: Atlantis Remix Challenge, 2005
*The Stargate Remix Challenge, 2007-2008
*EX Mode, a video game fandom remix, at newgameplus, 2011-2012
*Avengers Remix, 2013-2014
*Cap/IronMan Remix, 2016
*DC Multiversity Remix, 2016
*MCU Rolling Remix, 2016-2018
*Elementary Rolling Remix, 2016
*Wintry Remix, a Hanson remix challenge, 2016
*Star Wars Rolling Remix. 2017 
*BSD Rolling Remix, 2018 
*Dreaming of Sunshine Rolling Remix. 2019 
*Camelot Remix, a Merlin (TV series) and Merlin RPF challenge, 2010-present
==Meta==
* January 18 2004 — Take a chance, make a mess, have a good time by musesfool (archive)
* March 22 2005 — "They should live in glorious freedom on their own terms." by kattahj (archive)
* September 14 2005 — my two remixes, and a little meta on them by isiscolo (archive) 
* June 2 2006 — Mash Up and Remix and meta about the same by telesilla (archive)
* August 25 2006 — Apropos of nothing... by shayheyred (archive)
* February 21 2007 — The way you do that thing you do by zvi_likes_tv (archive) 
* April 6 2007 — i lay traps for troubadors by musesfool (archive)
* April 23 2007 — there is no order to my mind by elishavah (archive)
* May 23 2007 — It takes as much effort to produce a good Remix as to produce a first-generation story. by pensnest (archive)
* July 10 2007 — Re: Mixing by cupidsbow (archive)
* August 25, 2007 — by shusu, comments on The Mission Report Challenge 
* March 2 2008 — didn't know there were no rules by musesfool (archive)
* March 2 2008 — Some thoughts on Remix, SPN pairings, and Being (Like) a Pro Writer by hossgal (archive) 
* April 19 2008 — The Take a Penny, Leave A Penny Theory of Remix: What is a Remix? How Do You Write One? by zvi (archive)
* April 23 2008 — remixy meta by isiscolo, hosted on Livejournal (archive)
* May 14 2008 — Remixes, as a whole sub-genre by _minxy_ (archive)
* July 7 2009 — Titling and You by zvi_likes_tv (archive)
* July 20 2009 — Remix Redux 2009: First Reactions by zvi (archive) Below are reactions to selected remixes, not reviews. I am more concerned with how stories approach remixing than I am with how well or poorly they are written, although I do give some of my personal reaction to the texts as well. I extensively spoil both the remixed texts and the remixes themselves.
* May 23 2010 — on reading. by velvetmouse (archive)
* July 4 2010 — Reading remixes by zvi (archive)
* March 27 2015 — , a Tumblr ask and a response by copperbadge
===Link collections:===
* links to remix meta in musefool's Livejournal memories
* 'on remixing' tag in remixers_lounge Livejournal community
* annotated list of 17 remix meta links on wafflelate's dreamwidth
==Further Reading==
* The Art of the Plagiarist by [J C] (1997)
* The Mission Report Challenge (2006)
* The Homophobic Remix Rag by metamiri (2006)
* My take on the "Pro Authors Who Don't Like Fanfic" rants... (2010)
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