cap_ironman_fe (
cap_ironman_fe) wrote2018-12-01 03:35 pm
Art/Fic Relay Example Chain
This is an example of our newly introduced Art/Fic Relay Chain, featuring a short chain of just 4 creators, resulting in 5 works. The 'Art/Fic' Chain runs like a game of Illustrated Telephone: a telephone game that alternates between prose and images each turn.
In Remix Relay, each creator is only given the work they're assigned to remix, and are unaware of all the preceding remixes in the chain. They were also not given any extraneous details outside of the work itself, so it's up to each remixer to extrapolate information based on the context provided within the work.
In this example chain, the accompanying explanations are supplementary and are for your reference if you'd like thorough descriptions on how participants might approach remixing between images and prose. If you'd like additional information and tips on how to remix, please check out the How to Remix guide!
If you'd like to join the 2019 Remix Relay, sign-ups will be opened between December 8 to December 22. Please check the Relay challenge page for more information.
Starting Work — ART — Creator A

First Remix — FIC — Creator B
Tony reaches around with his Extremis-powered senses. He turns the nearby CCTV cameras, each just a few degrees away: nothing that would be noticed, just enough so there’s a little blind spot right where he’s standing. Next, he checks for cameras and phones. A twist of his will, and any photo aimed at him won’t save.
Finally, he nods.
A tall shape steps out of the shadows. Tony smiles, relieved, and Steve kisses him hello. Tony leans into him, his hands on Steve’s lapels, but it’s over too soon. It always is: they don’t have a lot of time. They can’t waste all of it kissing, no matter how much Tony wishes otherwise.
“How are things, Director?”
Tony looks down. “Slow,” he mutters. “Everything’s moving in the right direction, but I fear it might take a year yet.”
“We knew it’d take time,” Steve says quietly.
“Time we don’t have,” Tony snaps. “You’re a fugitive, for god’s sake, I hate thinking what might happen to you—”
“Yeah,” Steve says. “But it’s you pretending to agree with SHRA in the public’s eye. I kinda think you have it worse.”
“I’m safe.” And he is. And sure, it did sting how easily everyone believed he’s a traitor, but Tony knows he’s doing the right thing. They couldn’t fight SHRA, so they need to dismantle it from the inside.
He misses Steve so much, though. A few stolen moments not even twice a month just aren’t enough. They can’t risk more, Tony knows that, they’re risking enough as it is, but he hates it. Hates hiding and hates pretending and hates being called Director Stark.
Better him than anyone else, though.
Steve tells him how they’re all doing, then; on the run but for the most part, unharmed. And Stephen Strange is with them to help those who did get hurt by the organisation Tony’s currently running. It’s a cold comfort.
“I love you,” Steve says, kissing Tony again, lighter. “I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” Tony says, but he clings to Steve like he’s the only thing keeping him alive.
Which is true enough.
“I love you too,” he adds, because Steve knows, but it doesn’t mean Tony can’t remind him. When this is over, Tony will say the words every day, as a promise and a thank you.
We survived that; we’ll survive everything, now. I’ll never leave you again.
“You’re sure no one saw us?” Steve asks, as usual when he’s about to leave.
“Sure,” Tony confirms. “And anyway, pretty sure the assumption would be I’m on a date. Scandalous for the Director of SHIELD to have a private life, but I’ll deal.” Once again, he’s thankful for Stephen’s cloaking spell: just enough of an illusion to convince everyone the tall man in front of Tony isn’t one Steve Rogers. It’s difficult to uphold for long, apparently, which is why all of the Avengers on the run aren’t under it, but even used so sparsely it makes a world of difference for Tony.
He knows he couldn’t carry on if he didn’t have these meetings with Steve, rare as they might be.
They kiss one last time before Steve steps away and slips into the crowd.
Second Remix — ART — Creator C

Third Remix — FIC — Creator D
He took measured steps across the lawn, taking the time to time to think this over. Quick thinking is part of who he is and it had saved his life more than once in his life as Iron Man but he had learned an important lesson about not rushing into your next mistake if you could help it. His life was a series of brilliant discoveries, genius ideas and rushed into mistakes and he had tried his best to find a better balance. It was a work in progress.
Getting a better handle on the emotions that had influenced his decisions and had led him to act up, push back, become emotional and lose sight on what was important – that was why he was here.
To rethink. To reevaluate. To work through it and get over it.
To see and understand how this next bit would play out and see what choices he would be left it.
To be a better man, perhaps the better man.
Which was already next to impossible when the person walking towards you with their head down and a baseball cap drawn into their eyes was Steve Rogers – and whatever name that man had picked for what he was doing these days, to Tony and most of the world he would always be Captain America.
How did you beat that?
That Steve had chosen to work against instead of with Tony still hurt. That Steve had, in the end, decided that Tony and what they'd been through together didn't rate very high in his list of priorities hurt more but it was hardly surprising. Oh, Tony got it. Tony was the one who had grown up with a cold father who never approved of anything he did and had found himself bereft of both parents before he'd ever managed to live up to any of the man's expectations. How could he ever have imagined winning Cap's approval? And of course, Steve had been the one to wake up alone, stranger in a strange land, pulled from one day and age to the other, going from fighting a war that was history to a deceptively peaceful future. While Tony had thought the Avengers had given Steve a place and a support network, who could compete with a childhood friend? Barnes had been Steve's best friend, close as a brother. Tony and the heroics they'd lived through together, the growth Tony had experienced to become a better Avenger – it would never compare to that for Steve.
He came to a halt a few feet away, watched Steve approach slowly. That was fine with Tony. There was no rush now. It gave him time to ponder if letting Steve come to him would send the wrong signal. Should Tony be meeting him instead, signaling his willingness to talk, to work this out?
How would Steve react to it? How could Tony communicate his willingness to put this behind them, forgive and forget?
He waited until Steve was right in front of him.
Steve looked like shit, just like he had looked in the blurred pictures, the CCTV footage and the brief glimpse of satellite captures that over the last months Tony had made sure would never make it to Ross.
“The beard for camouflage?” Tony asked before he could stop himself, regretting it before the question mark had even sounded. He pressed his eyes closed.
Note: To self. Do not antagonize when you want to make up, even though he was wrong and an idiot. You know how that feels – being wrong and an idiot. That's what you end up being most of the time. Emphasize. Be friendly. Try to smile.
“Tony," Steve said and his voice sounded all those things that Tony was perpetually failing at. Friendly, calm, controlled, non-threatening.
You can do this, Tony. Look at him. Let him say his piece. Listen. Grind your teeth and work with him. You want to work this out. You know you want him here with you.
And he came.
So he wants to work it out too.
“I'm glad you called,” Steve said.
Ah, yeah, Tony thought. That would set him in the right mood. Good to keep in mind.
“You came when I called.” He wasn't sure why he needed to point it out.
“I did,” Steve agreed and the sad expression on his face took Tony's breath away.
Faced with that, he found he had no idea what to do. He wasn't ready for this, for apologies, for more arguments, for even working it out. The wounds were too fresh, the hurt too deep and he had only just started to pick up the pieces and work with what he'd been left with – helping Vision learn, helping Rhodey recover, helping Peter stay with both feet on the ground, rebuilding the Compound, holding Ross at bay. He wasn't sure what to do with this now.
Then Steve, who always berated Tony for making the decision for everyone without consulting them first, made the decision for both of them.
Suddenly, lips brushed against Tony's and a rough beard tingled against his upper lips. It was perfectly sweet and much too chaste and tentative to be good. What was he a breakable china doll? And yet, he leaned into it anyway, brushing his lips against Steve, letting the gentle touch pull him along until their lips moved and the spark flew over.
Steve whispered: “I love you. I will never leave you again. We survived that; we'll survive everything now...”
The unexpected shock and joy of it hurt. An ache ran through him like a tingling lightning-flash pain that spread through all of him. He wanted to hear it again, wanted to receive the next kiss and trust it, let things get out of hand right here and now on the... lawn.
“Stop!” he hollered and pushed himself back as if burned. “Break it off, FRIDAY! End BARF simulation. STOP!”
Before him Steve's face froze in the moment, remained hanging there, eyes closed, still leaning into the kiss that was no longer happening. His face was softer than it had any right to be.
“This is all wrong!” Tony cursed.
“Boss, parameters are in sync. All information and psych profiles evaluation show that there is at least a 94% chance of accurate predictions at this setting. 98%% chance of this helping you to work through the..."
“There is not,” Tony said, his voice now going quiet and Steve's face was still in front of him, hanging frozen in that impossible moment. “There is not.”
It had been a stupid idea. BARF had played through his memories and evaluated what Tony needed. This wasn't what Steve would do. It was what Tony had wanted him to do.
“This was supposed to help me prepared for an actual meeting, not to make me face my own feelings. Those are irrelevant.”
He spun around to walk out of the simulation, didn't even look back at the face of Steve wavering, ignored the BARF console blinking at him. The words on the virtual console read: “New calculation. Result: Predicted accuracy of simulation: 97.457%. Cross-referencing recent unauthorized evaluation of Steve Rogers BARF session conducted in Stark Med facility in Beirut. MATCH.”
But they disintegrated as the console bled away, no longer needed without an active user, putting the device back into standby mode and leaving its creator to figure out what to do on his own.
Final Remix — ART — Creator A

In Remix Relay, each creator is only given the work they're assigned to remix, and are unaware of all the preceding remixes in the chain. They were also not given any extraneous details outside of the work itself, so it's up to each remixer to extrapolate information based on the context provided within the work.
In this example chain, the accompanying explanations are supplementary and are for your reference if you'd like thorough descriptions on how participants might approach remixing between images and prose. If you'd like additional information and tips on how to remix, please check out the How to Remix guide!
If you'd like to join the 2019 Remix Relay, sign-ups will be opened between December 8 to December 22. Please check the Relay challenge page for more information.
Starting Work — ART — Creator A
This is the starting work. The artist kicking off the chain can create any illustration to be remixed, as long as it follows all of the Remix Relay rules. The starting artwork, however, should provide enough material within the drawing for the remixer to work with — in terms of narrative, setting, context, or so on — and it's up to the remixer to interpret and reinterpret these elements.
The only concrete information provided in this starting work is the caption. From there, additional details can be determined: the language and placement of the caption to the drawing, as well as the monochrome color palette, suggests that it's a newspaper photograph; "Midtown" places their meeting in a city; "mysterious blond" suggests that Steve's identity is kept anonymous, for whatever reason. The remixer should acknowledge these details when identifying the 'general plot elements,' but it's entirely up to them what they choose to bring forward in their own work.

CREDIT: drawn by faite
First Remix — FIC — Creator B
This is the first remix of the chain: a remix of the 'starting work.' The writer chose to focus on the meeting between Steve and Tony within the drawing, shifting the timeline to when the meeting took place instead of the potential aftermath, and recontextualizing the narrative outside of the 'newspaper' framework in which the art was presented. (See: "Change the focus of the story" in the How To Remix guide.)
While the original starting artwork is open to interpretation, the writer chose to place their work concretely in Marvel 616, during a specific era (as suggested by the mention of the 'SHRA', which is specific to Earth 616's Civil War), and provided an implicit romantic history for Steve and Tony's relationship, features that could be remixed or kept in the following work in the chain.
Tony reaches around with his Extremis-powered senses. He turns the nearby CCTV cameras, each just a few degrees away: nothing that would be noticed, just enough so there’s a little blind spot right where he’s standing. Next, he checks for cameras and phones. A twist of his will, and any photo aimed at him won’t save.
Finally, he nods.
A tall shape steps out of the shadows. Tony smiles, relieved, and Steve kisses him hello. Tony leans into him, his hands on Steve’s lapels, but it’s over too soon. It always is: they don’t have a lot of time. They can’t waste all of it kissing, no matter how much Tony wishes otherwise.
“How are things, Director?”
Tony looks down. “Slow,” he mutters. “Everything’s moving in the right direction, but I fear it might take a year yet.”
“We knew it’d take time,” Steve says quietly.
“Time we don’t have,” Tony snaps. “You’re a fugitive, for god’s sake, I hate thinking what might happen to you—”
“Yeah,” Steve says. “But it’s you pretending to agree with SHRA in the public’s eye. I kinda think you have it worse.”
“I’m safe.” And he is. And sure, it did sting how easily everyone believed he’s a traitor, but Tony knows he’s doing the right thing. They couldn’t fight SHRA, so they need to dismantle it from the inside.
He misses Steve so much, though. A few stolen moments not even twice a month just aren’t enough. They can’t risk more, Tony knows that, they’re risking enough as it is, but he hates it. Hates hiding and hates pretending and hates being called Director Stark.
Better him than anyone else, though.
Steve tells him how they’re all doing, then; on the run but for the most part, unharmed. And Stephen Strange is with them to help those who did get hurt by the organisation Tony’s currently running. It’s a cold comfort.
“I love you,” Steve says, kissing Tony again, lighter. “I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” Tony says, but he clings to Steve like he’s the only thing keeping him alive.
Which is true enough.
“I love you too,” he adds, because Steve knows, but it doesn’t mean Tony can’t remind him. When this is over, Tony will say the words every day, as a promise and a thank you.
We survived that; we’ll survive everything, now. I’ll never leave you again.
“You’re sure no one saw us?” Steve asks, as usual when he’s about to leave.
“Sure,” Tony confirms. “And anyway, pretty sure the assumption would be I’m on a date. Scandalous for the Director of SHIELD to have a private life, but I’ll deal.” Once again, he’s thankful for Stephen’s cloaking spell: just enough of an illusion to convince everyone the tall man in front of Tony isn’t one Steve Rogers. It’s difficult to uphold for long, apparently, which is why all of the Avengers on the run aren’t under it, but even used so sparsely it makes a world of difference for Tony.
He knows he couldn’t carry on if he didn’t have these meetings with Steve, rare as they might be.
They kiss one last time before Steve steps away and slips into the crowd.
CREDIT: written by laireshi
Second Remix — ART — Creator C
This is an art remix of the previous fic remix. The artist identified the 'core element' of the work as a meeting between Steve and Tony and incorporated a notable line from the story to allude to the relationship history established in the previous work. For the remix strategy, the artist chose to change the universe of the work from Marvel 616 to MCU (implied by the visual cues in the remixed artwork — Steve's beard and 'incognito' look, the height difference, etc.). (See: "Change the setting/canon and/or time frame" in the How To Remix guide.)
For the next remixer, in addition to the setting/universe, they might pick up on the following as they identity the 'general plot elements' of this artwork: an encounter between Steve and Tony (the drawing itself), a confession of love ("I love you."), a shared past ("We survived that."), and a promise ("I'll never leave you again."). The next creator is free to interpret these elements in their remix work.

CREDIT: drawn by apivotal
Third Remix — FIC — Creator D
This is a fic remix of the previous art remix. The writer maintained the pervasive core element (a meeting between Steve and Tony) from the remixed artwork, the available text within the artwork, and the canon (MCU). However, while they kept the universe intact, they chose to remix the circumstances of their meeting, changing the setting from Tony meeting Steve in real life, supposed after the events of Civil War or Infinity War (as suggested by Steve’s beard) to revealing that Tony was immersed in a simulation.
While this remix is faithful to the plot of the previous work, it also introduces new elements and details for the next potential remix. The main premise is Steve and Tony "meeting," but now Tony's Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing prototype (B.A.R.F.) and the characters' physical separation are also parts of the work's blueprint.
He took measured steps across the lawn, taking the time to time to think this over. Quick thinking is part of who he is and it had saved his life more than once in his life as Iron Man but he had learned an important lesson about not rushing into your next mistake if you could help it. His life was a series of brilliant discoveries, genius ideas and rushed into mistakes and he had tried his best to find a better balance. It was a work in progress.
Getting a better handle on the emotions that had influenced his decisions and had led him to act up, push back, become emotional and lose sight on what was important – that was why he was here.
To rethink. To reevaluate. To work through it and get over it.
To see and understand how this next bit would play out and see what choices he would be left it.
To be a better man, perhaps the better man.
Which was already next to impossible when the person walking towards you with their head down and a baseball cap drawn into their eyes was Steve Rogers – and whatever name that man had picked for what he was doing these days, to Tony and most of the world he would always be Captain America.
How did you beat that?
That Steve had chosen to work against instead of with Tony still hurt. That Steve had, in the end, decided that Tony and what they'd been through together didn't rate very high in his list of priorities hurt more but it was hardly surprising. Oh, Tony got it. Tony was the one who had grown up with a cold father who never approved of anything he did and had found himself bereft of both parents before he'd ever managed to live up to any of the man's expectations. How could he ever have imagined winning Cap's approval? And of course, Steve had been the one to wake up alone, stranger in a strange land, pulled from one day and age to the other, going from fighting a war that was history to a deceptively peaceful future. While Tony had thought the Avengers had given Steve a place and a support network, who could compete with a childhood friend? Barnes had been Steve's best friend, close as a brother. Tony and the heroics they'd lived through together, the growth Tony had experienced to become a better Avenger – it would never compare to that for Steve.
He came to a halt a few feet away, watched Steve approach slowly. That was fine with Tony. There was no rush now. It gave him time to ponder if letting Steve come to him would send the wrong signal. Should Tony be meeting him instead, signaling his willingness to talk, to work this out?
How would Steve react to it? How could Tony communicate his willingness to put this behind them, forgive and forget?
He waited until Steve was right in front of him.
Steve looked like shit, just like he had looked in the blurred pictures, the CCTV footage and the brief glimpse of satellite captures that over the last months Tony had made sure would never make it to Ross.
“The beard for camouflage?” Tony asked before he could stop himself, regretting it before the question mark had even sounded. He pressed his eyes closed.
Note: To self. Do not antagonize when you want to make up, even though he was wrong and an idiot. You know how that feels – being wrong and an idiot. That's what you end up being most of the time. Emphasize. Be friendly. Try to smile.
“Tony," Steve said and his voice sounded all those things that Tony was perpetually failing at. Friendly, calm, controlled, non-threatening.
You can do this, Tony. Look at him. Let him say his piece. Listen. Grind your teeth and work with him. You want to work this out. You know you want him here with you.
And he came.
So he wants to work it out too.
“I'm glad you called,” Steve said.
Ah, yeah, Tony thought. That would set him in the right mood. Good to keep in mind.
“You came when I called.” He wasn't sure why he needed to point it out.
“I did,” Steve agreed and the sad expression on his face took Tony's breath away.
Faced with that, he found he had no idea what to do. He wasn't ready for this, for apologies, for more arguments, for even working it out. The wounds were too fresh, the hurt too deep and he had only just started to pick up the pieces and work with what he'd been left with – helping Vision learn, helping Rhodey recover, helping Peter stay with both feet on the ground, rebuilding the Compound, holding Ross at bay. He wasn't sure what to do with this now.
Then Steve, who always berated Tony for making the decision for everyone without consulting them first, made the decision for both of them.
Suddenly, lips brushed against Tony's and a rough beard tingled against his upper lips. It was perfectly sweet and much too chaste and tentative to be good. What was he a breakable china doll? And yet, he leaned into it anyway, brushing his lips against Steve, letting the gentle touch pull him along until their lips moved and the spark flew over.
Steve whispered: “I love you. I will never leave you again. We survived that; we'll survive everything now...”
The unexpected shock and joy of it hurt. An ache ran through him like a tingling lightning-flash pain that spread through all of him. He wanted to hear it again, wanted to receive the next kiss and trust it, let things get out of hand right here and now on the... lawn.
“Stop!” he hollered and pushed himself back as if burned. “Break it off, FRIDAY! End BARF simulation. STOP!”
Before him Steve's face froze in the moment, remained hanging there, eyes closed, still leaning into the kiss that was no longer happening. His face was softer than it had any right to be.
“This is all wrong!” Tony cursed.
“Boss, parameters are in sync. All information and psych profiles evaluation show that there is at least a 94% chance of accurate predictions at this setting. 98%% chance of this helping you to work through the..."
“There is not,” Tony said, his voice now going quiet and Steve's face was still in front of him, hanging frozen in that impossible moment. “There is not.”
It had been a stupid idea. BARF had played through his memories and evaluated what Tony needed. This wasn't what Steve would do. It was what Tony had wanted him to do.
“This was supposed to help me prepared for an actual meeting, not to make me face my own feelings. Those are irrelevant.”
He spun around to walk out of the simulation, didn't even look back at the face of Steve wavering, ignored the BARF console blinking at him. The words on the virtual console read: “New calculation. Result: Predicted accuracy of simulation: 97.457%. Cross-referencing recent unauthorized evaluation of Steve Rogers BARF session conducted in Stark Med facility in Beirut. MATCH.”
But they disintegrated as the console bled away, no longer needed without an active user, putting the device back into standby mode and leaving its creator to figure out what to do on his own.
CREDIT: written by navaan
Final Remix — ART — Creator A
Here is the final remix of the chain, created by the participant who contributed the starting work. The artist kept their remix in the same universe (MCU) and era (Civil War or Infinity War), but has shifted the focus of the work and provided a different emphasis on the plot. While the previous remix was in Tony's perspective, seeing a simulation of Steve, the point of view is now in Steve's perspective, interacting with a simulation of Tony, and the work focuses on the part of the story where it states Steve conducted his own simulation. The characters engaging in the Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing prototype has become a more pronounced plot element, rather than the Steve and Tony "meeting" in prior works.

CREDIT: drawn by faite
