Remix Revealed, Mischief Managed
For Remix this year, I wrote Alchemical Solution (Swish and Flick Remix).
It is a remix of a Stargate: Atlantis story called Springtide by mayachain. In the original, which takes place after the series finale, Atlantis starts displaying green lights that direct John, Rodney, Ronon and Teyla-who have drifted a bit apart since being stranded on Earth-to an unmapped room, where they reconnect over childhood games in a hazy sleepover party.
I combined a few different remix techniques this time around. The main intention was to define and preserve the foundation of the story-semi-sentient city encourages characters to bond, with undertones of John/Rodney-while changing something in the retelling. I was for some reason really enamored of the idea to do a Harry Potter fusion and resituate these characters in another cherished semi-sentient setting: Hogwarts. The POV changed from Rodney to John. And I thought that rather than reuniting old friends, it would be interesting to explore how the castle in its various incarnations-moving staircases, portraits, ghosts, mysteriously intelligent magical creatures-encouraged these four people to become friends in the first place.
For whatever reasons, it was tough going. Well, I know a few of the reasons. Even after settling on the story from among a few finalists (runner up: a Lupin/Snape "measure of a man"-themed Five Times fic), it was hard to decide whether the team should be students, and if so, then how old (and should their professors be HP or SGA characters), or professors/administrators, so they could retain their adult character voices. I think in the end I didn't do a very good job of making them sound like teenagers. Oh, well.
Second, thinking about how long the fic would need to be to tell the story of four people kindling friendships was intimidating. I hadn't written a proper fic in a year and a half.
Third, or perhaps consequently, it just took a long time to get the words out. It didn't help that I was rusty on SGA and really rusty on HP. Had to keep stopping to look things up at the HP Lexicon. What a lifesaver. (Also I stopped to take a BBC quiz to confirm my suspicions on which Doctors John and Rodney would like best.) On the official due date I think the story only had about 2,000 words done, not counting sketched-out scenes to come later. When it was finally finished on the day before reveals, it became the third longest fic I've ever posted to the AO3.
Fourth, while I did more or less succeed in showing at least one way in which each pair of characters formed a connection in the Room of Requirement, I don't think I gave Teyla much of an arc. :/
Which isn't to say there weren't plenty of fun parts. I enjoyed working in details of how these characters would translate to the Wizarding world, like John loving to fly on a broom, Rodney being the Hermione of his year, Ronon having run from Dementors instead of Wraith, and the villains being in Slytherin. (Kolya's cutting of Rodney's hand --> Sectumsempra!) I was pleased with coming up with stuff like John mis-transfiguring a beetle into an Iratus bug, a way to play with something like the Gate address system using Arithmancy runes, and one way a student's food allergy might be handled in the Great Hall. I liked retelling bits of "Hide and Seek" with the Shield spell and "Tao of Rodney" with Ascendio (John helps him practice and he only goes a little bit!).
I really liked thinking about how this universe could have resulted in the same critical character traits we saw on the show or in fanon tropes. Like John's absent mother having been a witch, and his ATA gene and possible queerness being symbolized by magic. If there'd been more time, I probably should have explored ways in which the Wizarding world changed some aspects, too. I guess the closest I came was changing Melena from girlfriend to sister for Ronon, who wouldn't have had a girlfriend at age 11 or whenever Sateda was destroyed in this AU.
When all was said and done, in contrast to a couple of early remixes where I stuck too close to the original story, I think I only referenced two or three lines from mayachain's:
Original: They found a quiche-like cake that looked freshly baked although it must have been sealed more than ten thousand years ago. Safe, safe, safe said the almost-voice and the reassuringly green blinking walls, and Rodney took the first bite and didn't worry about a thing.
Remix: John still felt that low hum of a comforting feeling, safe, safe, safe. He scanned the spread again. "Besides the tea, I don't think any of this stuff's got citrus."
Original: He lay there for a while, unwilling to move and vaguely hoping that any of the others would be the first to admit to being awake. There were worse ways to spend a morning. Rodney knew - he had lived many of them. He found that he would not mind at all to start his days like this.
Remix: John's whole body ached from running, getting beaten up by Teyla and sleeping on the stone floor, but overall, there were worse ways to start a day.
And the ending is different; in the original, there's a cute coda where Lorne's team gets targeted next. But I was of course thinking of the original all the while. I wouldn't have attempted the fusion if mayachain hadn't written quite a bit in both fandoms. I made a note to self to throw a bone to Dave Sheppard because mayachain likes him so much. I went with something similar to the original structure. And I kept the stirrings of a John/Rodney relationship. Man, it would have been nice to include the same puppy pile the morning after, but it just didn't feel right here.
All in all, I'm not sure how I feel about this story. It was not beta-read because of the timing, and it didn't get many comments during the anonymity period. The writing feels looser than I'm used to (& than I prefer); I'm not sure if that's because I usually tell a tighter story or a shorter story. How do you feel about it, if you have read it or are interested in reading it?
It is a remix of a Stargate: Atlantis story called Springtide by mayachain. In the original, which takes place after the series finale, Atlantis starts displaying green lights that direct John, Rodney, Ronon and Teyla-who have drifted a bit apart since being stranded on Earth-to an unmapped room, where they reconnect over childhood games in a hazy sleepover party.
I combined a few different remix techniques this time around. The main intention was to define and preserve the foundation of the story-semi-sentient city encourages characters to bond, with undertones of John/Rodney-while changing something in the retelling. I was for some reason really enamored of the idea to do a Harry Potter fusion and resituate these characters in another cherished semi-sentient setting: Hogwarts. The POV changed from Rodney to John. And I thought that rather than reuniting old friends, it would be interesting to explore how the castle in its various incarnations-moving staircases, portraits, ghosts, mysteriously intelligent magical creatures-encouraged these four people to become friends in the first place.
For whatever reasons, it was tough going. Well, I know a few of the reasons. Even after settling on the story from among a few finalists (runner up: a Lupin/Snape "measure of a man"-themed Five Times fic), it was hard to decide whether the team should be students, and if so, then how old (and should their professors be HP or SGA characters), or professors/administrators, so they could retain their adult character voices. I think in the end I didn't do a very good job of making them sound like teenagers. Oh, well.
Second, thinking about how long the fic would need to be to tell the story of four people kindling friendships was intimidating. I hadn't written a proper fic in a year and a half.
Third, or perhaps consequently, it just took a long time to get the words out. It didn't help that I was rusty on SGA and really rusty on HP. Had to keep stopping to look things up at the HP Lexicon. What a lifesaver. (Also I stopped to take a BBC quiz to confirm my suspicions on which Doctors John and Rodney would like best.) On the official due date I think the story only had about 2,000 words done, not counting sketched-out scenes to come later. When it was finally finished on the day before reveals, it became the third longest fic I've ever posted to the AO3.
Fourth, while I did more or less succeed in showing at least one way in which each pair of characters formed a connection in the Room of Requirement, I don't think I gave Teyla much of an arc. :/
Which isn't to say there weren't plenty of fun parts. I enjoyed working in details of how these characters would translate to the Wizarding world, like John loving to fly on a broom, Rodney being the Hermione of his year, Ronon having run from Dementors instead of Wraith, and the villains being in Slytherin. (Kolya's cutting of Rodney's hand --> Sectumsempra!) I was pleased with coming up with stuff like John mis-transfiguring a beetle into an Iratus bug, a way to play with something like the Gate address system using Arithmancy runes, and one way a student's food allergy might be handled in the Great Hall. I liked retelling bits of "Hide and Seek" with the Shield spell and "Tao of Rodney" with Ascendio (John helps him practice and he only goes a little bit!).
I really liked thinking about how this universe could have resulted in the same critical character traits we saw on the show or in fanon tropes. Like John's absent mother having been a witch, and his ATA gene and possible queerness being symbolized by magic. If there'd been more time, I probably should have explored ways in which the Wizarding world changed some aspects, too. I guess the closest I came was changing Melena from girlfriend to sister for Ronon, who wouldn't have had a girlfriend at age 11 or whenever Sateda was destroyed in this AU.
When all was said and done, in contrast to a couple of early remixes where I stuck too close to the original story, I think I only referenced two or three lines from mayachain's:
Original: They found a quiche-like cake that looked freshly baked although it must have been sealed more than ten thousand years ago. Safe, safe, safe said the almost-voice and the reassuringly green blinking walls, and Rodney took the first bite and didn't worry about a thing.
Remix: John still felt that low hum of a comforting feeling, safe, safe, safe. He scanned the spread again. "Besides the tea, I don't think any of this stuff's got citrus."
Original: He lay there for a while, unwilling to move and vaguely hoping that any of the others would be the first to admit to being awake. There were worse ways to spend a morning. Rodney knew - he had lived many of them. He found that he would not mind at all to start his days like this.
Remix: John's whole body ached from running, getting beaten up by Teyla and sleeping on the stone floor, but overall, there were worse ways to start a day.
And the ending is different; in the original, there's a cute coda where Lorne's team gets targeted next. But I was of course thinking of the original all the while. I wouldn't have attempted the fusion if mayachain hadn't written quite a bit in both fandoms. I made a note to self to throw a bone to Dave Sheppard because mayachain likes him so much. I went with something similar to the original structure. And I kept the stirrings of a John/Rodney relationship. Man, it would have been nice to include the same puppy pile the morning after, but it just didn't feel right here.
All in all, I'm not sure how I feel about this story. It was not beta-read because of the timing, and it didn't get many comments during the anonymity period. The writing feels looser than I'm used to (& than I prefer); I'm not sure if that's because I usually tell a tighter story or a shorter story. How do you feel about it, if you have read it or are interested in reading it?