Fandoms never really die, but they sure can get quiet. Raise a qualifying fandom from the grave by making it a new fanwork or two.

Rules

Create a fanwork that prominently features a qualifying fandom!
For crossovers, as long as you prominently feature one dormant fandom, the other(s) can be whatever you like.
Dead Fandoms does permit derivative works such as podfics and translations as your submission.

Check if your fandom qualifies

Our staff vetted fandoms for the original round, but for this one, you’re on the honor system! We’ve eased requirements to focus on age and status of the source material.

Dead Fandoms celebrates older fandoms that have gone quiet, not small and niche fandoms for newer stuff. The fandom must meet ALL CHECKBOXES to qualify:

[ ] The work the fandom is based around has been completed, stalled, or canceled for at least 5 full years, and:
- [ ] The fandom is NOT for a direct adaption of an actively ongoing book/manga/game/comic etc.
  - If you’re still getting new canon details from the original source material, your fandom does not qualify, even if you’re anime-only, TV-show-only, etc. Separate AO3 tags don’t matter here. There’s new stuff if you wanted it.
  - A loosely inspired adaptation is different. If the adaptation’s canon is totally distinct and you would never consider tagging both the original and adaptation’s fandom tags on AO3, you can use if it the rest of the criteria holds.
- [ ] It does not have an English-language release newer than 5 years old.
- [ ] If the fandom relies entirely on fansubs, the English-language version(s) must have been completed for at least 5 years. (If you got into it via subs but now have an official English release, or an official version is about to release, go by the official version’s date.)
- [ ] It does not have follow-up movies, sequels, and/or live action adaptations newer than 5 years old. It doesn’t matter if the fandoms operate separately. If you had new material lately, your fandom does not qualify.
- [ ] It does not have confirmed upcoming adaptations or sequels. If you’re about to get new source material, your fandom does not qualify.
- [ ] Any recent reboots have their own AO3 fandom tags, and they have not revitalized the original media’s fandom. You would never dream of tagging both.
- [ ] It is not part of a larger overall franchise that keeps its older media fandoms active, such as Star Trek and Star Wars.
[ ] The fandom should be on the quiet side, especially compared to its height.
- If it’s still a fairly active fandom with year-round events, active discords, tons of readers, plentiful fanart, thousands of new fics each year, etc., you shouldn’t use it for this event. I’m not going to put hard numbers on this, because no two fandoms are the same. You know a quiet or dormant fandom when you see one, especially if you were in it when it was hopping.
- If activity is genAI slop, you can ignore that. We’re looking for humans using their wonderful creativity to make things & engage with each other.
- If you’re not sure whether your fandom is too active, assume it is and pick another.

be kind, rewind • runs March 1st through May 31st

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These rules are given in good faith, and we ask you to follow them in kind. They are provided AS-IS and cannot account for every possible scenario. Please use common sense when approaching this event. Attempting to find loopholes and skirt the rules, or nitpicking a definition to get your way, is disrupting the peace and not in the spirit of the event or the server. The mods will clarify how rules will be applied, but we will not provide detailed rationalizations behind our decisions. This is fandom, not a courtroom.

This is a hate-free event. If we learn that any participant has engaged in bullying, hate, or harassment on social media, Discord, AO3, another site, or as a participant in a different event, their invitation to the event will be permanently rescinded.

You may not reproduce or use any part of this documentation without our permission. Stealing is bad.