HEX (glossary term)

Synonyms:	responsefic, fix-it story
See also:	Happy Ending, remix, shared universe
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HEX is a term that is used in Blake's 7. It means to put a happy ending or spin on a previously written story that originally had an unhappy or tragic ending. It stands for "Happy Ending Expediters." Use of the word: HEXing, HEXed, a "fixed" story is a HEX.

Also see: Hafren's Review of Tales from Space City #5

History

Executrix explains the term:

The Freedom City mailing list culture also includes a variant of the remix called the HEX--Happy Ending Expediters--when a reader who thinks someone else’s story has an overdose of angst is authorized to cheer it up a little"

entropy house explains:

HEX was kind of a toss-up. IIRC Nova coined the term and first applied it to me, but I certainly wasn't the first person to do HEXing. I may have been the first person who isued a challenge to a whole mailing list. Anyone who had a 'downer' ending and was curious to see if I could continue the verse to at least a hopeful ending could challenge me. I did enough one year that two mini-zines were published- one contained stories from the mailing list, including the ones I'd HEXed, and a much smaller zine was just the HEXes. That was fun.

Differing Opinions

HEXing can be done with or without the original author's consent. The latter can be controversial. Hafren writes:

HEXing is not entirely uncontroversial. Some people feel a sad story may in some way be devalued by being HEXed, in that it was complete in itself and meant to end as it did. Others, in true AU style, feel they can separate the two in their minds and keep the original in two dimensions at once, one where it ends the way it did and one where it can go on.