Sign up here!

As a friendly reminder, here are the pairings that are NOT ALLOWED in this year's Rare Pair Exchange:

Band of Brothers
Lewis Nixon/Richard Winters
Edward "Babe" Heffron/Eugene Roe
Joseph Liebgott/David Kenyon Webster
Carwood Lipton/Ronald Speirs
George Luz/Joseph Toye
Kitty Grogan/Harry Welsh

The Pacific
Merriell "Snafu" Shelton/Eugene Sledge
Andrew "Ack Ack" Haldane/Edward "Hillbilly" Jones

Generation Kill
Brad Colbert/Ray Person
Brad Colbert/Nate Fick
Walt Hasser/Ray Person

Masters of the Air
Gale "Buck" Cleven/John Clarence "Bucky" Egan
John D. Brady/Bernard "Benny" DeMarco
Harry Crosby/Joseph "Bubbles" Payne

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, you can refer to the info post right over here. Likewise, your friendly neighborhood moderator thrillingdetectivetales is always available for questions, either by DM here on Dreamwidth or on Discord (thrillingdetectivetales).

'Tis the season again, y'all. That's right, it's time to release the participant prompts!

If you'd like to treat someone, the only rules are that you respect their do-not-wants. There are no word count minimums or maximums and there's no limit to how many treats you can offer. When you've finished a treat, you can post it to the Heavy Artillery Holiday Exchange 2024 Treats collection on AO3.

A few of the participants have elected to keep their names anonymous. If you would like to fill a prompt for an anonymous participant, just leave a comment on this post with the participant's number and I'll provide you with the names of the people whose requests you'd like to fill so that you can gift your treat accordingly.

( Anthrobrat )

( Arwen88 )

( evidenceof )

( forgetyourscarf )

( fuckyousledge )

( heystovepipeboys )

( Howling_Harpy )

( Impala_chick )

( Read more... )

( partypaprika )

( Roaroftheninth )

( taxingme )

( Zippit )

( Anon #1 )

( Anon #2 )

( Anon #3 )

( Anon #4 )

( Anon #5 )

( Anon #6 )

( Anon #7 )

( Anon #8 )

( Anon #9 )

( Anon #10 )

Hooray, hooray! It's officially the season for the annual Heavy Artillery HBO War Holiday Fic Exchange. Sign up to swap a fic with another mystery member of the HBO War fandom on and revel in the gift provided to you in exchange on December 25, 2024!

If you're unfamiliar with how a fic exchange works, check out the FAQ section below.

SCHEDULE

Tuesday, October 15: Sign ups open!
Sunday, October 27: Sign ups close!
Monday, October 28: Assignments out.
Monday, November 18: 1st check in.
Monday, December 9: 2nd check in/dropout deadline.
Sunday, December 29: Fic due!
Friday, Jan 3: Collection opens!

SIGN-UP INFO
To participate in the Holiday Fic Exchange, you will need:

• an AO3 account (to post your fic to the collection)


• an email account (to receive your assignment)


• a Discord account, if you'd like to take advantage of the two check-in dates on the calendar, or if you enjoy hanging with cool people who are into HBO War shows like yourself

You'll be allowed to make up to ten requests and up to ten offers total. All completed fic must be at least 1,000 words long, in English, to qualify.

If you have any questions that aren't answered in the FAQ below, feel free to reach out to yours truly in the comments, here on Dreamwidth, or via Discord (username: thrillingdetectivetales).

FAQ
What is a fic exchange?
Precisely what it sounds like! You write a fic for another member of fandom while a mystery author writes one for you, and then you exchange them. (Note: the person you are writing for will not necessarily be writing for you, though in a fandom this size it is a possibility.)

How do I sign up?
Simply pop on over to the sign-up form, fill in the relevant data fields, and click submit!

How detailed do my requests have to be?
Your requests detailed as you like! You can offer as little as "wing!fic plz" or expand into entire paragraphs. If you don't think there's enough room in the form to accommodate your request, you can always add more details in a "Dear Author" letter.* Just keep in mind that while fic writers will do their best to accommodate your needs, they are individuals with distinctive styles and voices, and as such will bring their own flare to any request you make. Which is all part of the fun!

*If you're not familiar with what a "Dear Author" letter looks like, here are a few I've written for various challenges over the years, as examples.

What about my offers?
You're welcome to add additional details to your offers, as well!

What if the person I'm matched with is requesting something on my DNW list as part of their prompt?
You're never obligated you to write something you find distasteful or triggering for the person you match with. If your match includes some of your personal DNWs in their prompts, you can avoid or ignore those parts of the prompt and focus on other tropes/details they've listed that work for you.

Am I allowed to request/offer more than one pairing/fandom?
You're welcome to request and offer as many pairings in as many fandoms as you like, provided that they fit within the 10 request and offer slots you'll be allotted on the sign-up form. (Also, of course, it's gotta be HBO War—Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Masters of the Air, Generation Kill.)

I only write [insert character/ship here]. Do I have to offer or request more than one character/ship?
To keep matching manageable, you're required to offer at least three characters/ships. At present moment, you're allowed to request only one, but that may change if it continues to make matching too difficult.

There's some stuff I really don't like. Will I have the option to request that my writer excludes those things and that I don't have to write them?
Of course! There will be a an additional details option in the requests portion of the sign-up form that allows you to specify any content you don't want to see or include in both the fic you write and the fic you receive.

What about original characters?
You are not currently allowed to request an original character as the main focus of a fic, even as part of a pairing with a canonical character. Limiting main character focus to what exists in the canon without requiring additional reading or research keeps the event accessible to everyone.

How are assignments generated?
Your friendly neighborhood moderator, thrillingdetectivetales, will stay up all night matching in a frenzy by the light of a lonely candle.

Does my fic have to be complete to be posted?
Yes. Meaning if you write a multi-chapter fic, every chapter has to be present and accounted for by the default deadline on December 9, 2024. If you don't think you'll be able to finish your fic in time, you always have the option to default.

What does "default" mean?
If you don't think you'll be able to finish your story by the deadline, let your moderator (thrillingdetectivetales) know and you will default on your assignment, which will then be awarded to someone else as a pinch hit.

Am I going to get in trouble if I default?
Nope! Life happens, and the holidays can get hectic. I would request that you be realistic about your schedule and capabilities to let me know that you're going to default by the default deadline so I don't have to scramble to ensure that all recipients receive a fic, but if you elect to sign up next year, you will not be penalized for defaulting.

How do I claim a pinch hit?
After the default deadline, all pinch hits will be posted here on the community, where you'll be able to claim them via screened comment on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Where can I find the collection?
I'll drop a link to the collection here once it's open to post in, and will make a separate post on the Heavy Artillery Dreamwidth community and Tumblr pages as well. A master list will also be provided here in the community once the collection goes live.

THE RULES
Rules are subject to change or expand at any time as necessary to ensure that this event remains fun and inclusive. Having said that, rules will not change without any explanation or notice. Likewise, nobody will be punished for breaking the rules without the same consideration. If you have questions about any existing rules or need clarification on anything, you're welcome to reach out to me at any time.

1. Don't be a dick. Pretty straightforward, right?

2. Make sure your fic is appropriately tagged. Yes, this includes the option not to tag, so long as you appropriately apply "Author Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings," etc.

3. No kink shaming. That includes within your requests and your DNW list. Keep it civil or get booted.

4. No prioritizing requests. Basically, don’t list out which of your requests you want most and which you want least, as it can make matching tricky.

5. Do not troll fill or purposefully, maliciously include your recipient's Do-Not-Wants in the gift fic you provide for them. Doing so will result in expulsion from all future Heavy Artillery fic events and potentially blacklisting from the community itself.

6. Do not post your fic to the collection unless it could reasonably be construed as finished. You're welcome to edit or expand your fic until the collection goes live, but I ask that you not post an unfinished work. If you're worried about missing the default deadline but still think you might be able to finish your fic, let me know and I'll do my best to work something out with you.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or if you require clarification on anything.

HOW IT WORKS
You can think of a rolling remix like a game of telephone! It's an anonymous challenge that functions like a relay, with every participating author remixing the fic of the (anonymous) author preceding them. Here's a semi-illustrated example of how it all works:






Pinch hitters will step in to fill date slots as necessary throughout the process.

And, we have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! This year, for the first time in this event's five-year history, we'll be accepting art as an alternative to fic! If writing isn't your jam, you can remix a story into an art piece instead. That art piece will then be sent to the next participant, who will either write a story or create another artwork based on it.

Pretty straightforward, right? If not, you can feel free to reach out to me (on Tumblr [thrillingdetectivetales], or via Discord [thrillingdetectivetales]) or Mucca (via email [muccamukk@hotmail], or via Discord [mucca]) for clarification on any point.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the nature of this challenge, your assigned fic may include pairings or plot elements you don't usually read or write, but you're welcome to reinterpret to emphasize other aspects or be about different pairings. You're not obligated to carry over every element of your assigned fic so long as you do your best to provide a sincere reinterpretation.


SIGN-UP INFO
To participate in the Rolling Remix, you will need:

• an AO3 account—to post your fic to the collection


• a Dreamwidth account, or an e-mail, or both—to receive your assignment

A link to the sign-up form will be provided as soon as it goes live on July 8, 2022 at 10AM MDT.

SCHEDULE

Monday, June 24, 2024: Sign-ups go live at 10 AM EDT.
Friday, July 5, 2024: Sign-ups close at 10PM EDT.
Sunday, July 7, 2024: Assigned dates and finalized schedule go out, the starter piece is sent to the first participant on the list by 10AM EDT.

Further dates to be determined once sign-ups are closed.

FAQ
What does "remix" mean?
Exactly what it sounds like! In the same way that music artists take an original song and "remix" it by adding beats, changing tempos, or extracting samples for use in different songs, you'll be taking a completed fic and re-imagining it into something new.

(For some examples of how this might work, you can check out previous Rolling Remix collections here: Heavy Artillery Rolling Remix 2020, Heavy Artillery Rolling Remix 2021, Heavy Artillery Rolling Remix 2022, Heavy Artillery Rolling Remix 2023.)

How similar does my fic have to be to the fic that I'm remixing?
The short answer is: as close as you want it to be. While we recommend doing your best to carry through a theme or a character or a trope, the whole point of a rolling remix is to end in a vastly different place than we started with a bunch of delightful variation along the way. (For example: if you receive a fic set in the Generation Kill canon that deals with PTSD, you can write a fic about those same characters that doesn't deal with PTSD, or you can write a fic set in the Band of Brothers canon that does deal with PTSD, etc.)

Do I have to write for one specific HBO War fandom?
Nope! Band of Brothers, Generation Kill, The Pacific, and Masters of the Air are all welcome, as are crossovers and RPF. Just keep in mind that if you write a crossover, at least one of the fandoms included in the crossover must be an HBO War property.

Is there a min/max word count or other fic specifications I need to meet to participate in the Rolling Remix?
Yes! Your fic must meet a minimum of 500 and a maximum of 3000 words and be written in English.

What if my fic winds up just a little over 3000 words?
If your fic is over 3000 words, you will be asked to cut it back to that hard cap of 3000. Yes, even if it's only 3001. This is to ensure that the accepted word count doesn't slowly creep higher and higher and that all fic in the event remain manageable to read, digest, and remix over the short window of a week.

Can I choose my date slot?
We'll do our best to accommodate everyone's schedules, as we know that this is something of a tumultuous time for many of us, but we ask that you let us know your date slot won't work within 48 hours of receiving the confirmation message we'll be sending out after sign-ups close on July 5, 2024 at 8PM EDT.

How do I sign up to be a pinch hitter?
There will be an option on the sign-up form that allows to volunteer as a pinch hitter. Please be sure that you're prepared to turn around a 500-3K word fic or a finished piece of fanart in a short amount of time if you volunteer to pinch hit.

Where can I find the collection?
The collection will be hosted on Archive of Our Own. You can find it by clicking here.

RULES
As always, with every challenge and aspect of this community, the rules remain:

1. Don't be a dick. Pretty straightforward, right?


2. Make sure your fic is appropriately tagged. Yes, this includes the option not to tag, so long as you appropriately apply "Author Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings," etc.


3. No kink shaming. Keep it civil or get booted.


4. Do not troll fill. While you may not love every aspect of the fic you're remixing, trolling the author whose work you've been tasked to remix will see you booted from the challenge.


5. Do not post your work to the collection unless it's completed. As this is a remix challenge, once you post your fic to the AO3 collection it is essentially locked in. While you're welcome to adjust minor typos or misspellings, any actual content change at this point is not allowed, as your fic will have been passed on to the next author in the list for remixing.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or if you require clarification on anything. I'm very looking forward to this challenge!