TDFFC 2025 Challenge Explanations

Stage 19- Classic Cycling AU

The final hilly stage is here, and the breakaway hopes to snatch a win while the GC contenders struggle and the sprinters hope they can crush the breakaway's feeble hope. It is the final stage of the AU category classification, and our competitors will be challenged with one of the more complex AUs this Vuelta- a Classic Cycling AU!

In order to pass this stage, your characters must be in the classic cycling era when they wouldn't be otherwise- anywhere from the 1930s to the 1970s! If the characters in your fic would be in that time period normally, feel free to simply move them to a different decade of cycling than the one they were active in. How do classics change? Does someone become the maillot jaune who otherwise wouldn't in the modern era? This AU is a tricky one, requiring a bit of research- but we're confident in our wonderful competitors to figure it out! Reach out and talk to us if you have any questions- there is no minimum word count for this fic.

Stage 6- Accidental Baby Acquisition

The flat stage is behind the riders in the peloton, and a mountain stage looms! For our competitors for the maillot chispeante, another stage in the trope classification awaits. In this stage, our competitors must make a fanwork dealing with the trope of accidental baby acquisition. As usual for the trope classification, competitors are free to play with and subvert this trope as they wish and their creativity dictates.

How did your characters get a baby? What are they going to do with it? Those are decisions you, the competitors will have to make over the course of writing (or creating)! Best of luck, as the stage plays out! If you have any questions, please contact us on Tumblr or Discord. There is no minimum word count for this stage.

Bingo Board Reveal!

Attention, bingo enthusiasts! You can now visit the bingo board website to generate your board (which will look something like the example above).

The Basics:

Your browser will save your bingo board. You can click on the squares to mark them off. Should you wish for a new board, simply click ‘generate a new card’. (Warning: if you’ve filled in boxes and you wish to submit, take a screenshot of it first!). You can regenerate your board as many times as you would like!

The Prompts:

You may have noticed our prompts- while most are fairly self-explanatory here are a few general categories most of them fall into.

Tag Prompts:

it includes a colon, it is likely a tag prompt. For these, you will need to comment on a fic that has the tag. (i.e. if your prompt is warning: choose not to use archive warnings, the way to fill it is to comment on a fic that has for it’s warning ‘choose not to use archive warnings.) These prompts are easy to fill, as long as you know your way around ao3’s filtration tools. If you’re struggling to find fic that meet the prompts, don’t be afraid to ask for help!

There are also a couple "fun" tag prompts to pay homage to folks with immaculate tagging game.

Comment Prompts:

Comment prompts come in two forms- they either tell you how to comment, or where to comment.

For the first type, consider the example above ‘mention a plot point that you liked’. In order to fulfill that prompt, you would need to mention in your comment on any Cycling RPF work, a plot point that you liked. This category might go from as simple as quoting a line to as complex as making a comparison with another fic or real life event.

For the second type, it will tell you where to comment based on the amount of comments. For example- look at the above prompt ‘fic with less than two comments (before you)’. In order to fulfill that prompt, you would have to be the third comment thread on any Cycling RPF fic. While you could simply sort by comments, we hope that this will cause some fun explorations of the dustier parts of the Cycling RPF archive!

Scavenger Hunt Prompts:

The third and largest category, these prompts are meant to make you search out fic yourself! While the previous categories are more quantitative, these prompts are by far the most varied, and are made to make you both discover new fic you might not have read or old favorites you might not have remembered otherwise!

Whether ‘a fic you would rec to someone else’, or a more event-based prompt like ‘someone gets a puncture’, these prompts will hopefully send you far and wide over the available works on ao3, appreciating creators and (hopefully) leaving a whole lot of comments!

More than the other categories, some of these prompts might be difficult- so if you’re stuck, feel free to ask for help, not just from us, but other participants- this event is all about community, after all. If you’ve found a hidden gem of a fic you think fits a particularly tricky scavenger hunt prompt, share it! You might just make someone’s day!

FAQs:

For the prompts that say 'less than X comments (before you)', does that mean total comments?

We mean 'top-level comments', or 'comment threads.' We know some authors get very chatty in the comments, and we don't want to penalize them for it.

For all the 'less than X' prompts, do stories/pairings with X comments count?

Nope! We mean strictly less than X. So if it says 'less than 5' only 4 or under count.

What do you mean by 'speculative fiction'?

Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre term covering sci-fi and fantasy and other related genres. Loosely, it refers to an alternate universe that is distinct from our own. Not only are space and magic AUs covered, but so are omegaverse and soulmates! We wanted to make this square broad enough to cover a lot of different types of interesting AUs without policing the boundaries of what counts as 'scifi' or 'fantasy.'

When does a fic count as 'abandoned'?

Either the author has declared it abandoned OR it hasn't been updated in over a year. If the author is still active in fandom and hasn't declared it abandoned, try not to use it for the first board you complete.

What about "on hiatus"?

For this challenge, we are saying that "on hiatus" is a status assigned to the work by the creator/author. Further on in the challenge, we may revisit this.

Do second-person and dialogue-only fics count as 'experimental'?

Yes! These are a little more common than those listed in the square, but they are still considered experimental. For other possible fics, your best judgment. If you feel like the author is trying something new and challenging, feel free to count it.

Can I comment on a fic I've commented on before?

Yes! We believe the authors will appreciate the extra love.

In the same vein, can I comment on the same fic multiple times for multiple squares?

Since this is a long event and it's still a (relatively) small fandom and there's theoretically infinite bingo, we understand that repeats might come up, BUT we want to spread the love around as much as possible. A good rule of thumb is to have a unique work for each square on a single bingo board. Once you generate a new board, then you can go back to commenting on a fic you've commented on before.

I've been in fandom too long! I've read all the tropes before! How can I fill the square that says 'fic with a trope you haven't read before'?

Most likely, there's a trope hiding out there that you haven't tried yet, but if it's really impossible, you can count 'fic with a trope you haven't read in cycling RPF' before.

Do fics tagged 'AU - no wives/girlfriends' count for alternate universe or canon divergence squares?

Since this concept is really common, we are choosing to exclude them from these categories. We want to emphasize other types of interesting alternate universes out there. Speculative fiction AUs can still count as canon divergence! And no wives/girlfriends stories of course can still be used to fill other squares.

Can I share my board and what fics I've been commenting on to fill it?

Please do! We want to encourage folks to find new or underappreciated fics.

Is the all-FEET board real?

The all-FEET board isn't real. It can't hurt you. (Or can it...)

In Conclusion:

Over the course of the event, we may add more bingo square prompts to keep everyone on their toes. 👀

Get your boards ready and waiting, folks!

The Board Link Again, Just Bigger And Easier To Find

prepare yourselves for Board Spam lmao

Stage Four: Genderbend

As the peloton makes its way into the mountains, our competitors for the maillot scintillement begin competition in a new category- the wonderful world of tropes!

This prompt is all about gender and playing with it in different ways! Whether you want to do Always A Different gender, explore trans headcanons, or simply play with gender in sport, this prompt is for you!

The beginning of the trope classification awaits! Feel free to ask us questions if you have any, either here or on Discord and we’ll do our best to help. This stage has no minimum word count.

Rest Day

No prompts today! Rest up and get ready for the gauntlet of Hyperspecific Week to come!

Stage 13- Enemies to Lovers

The high mountains beckon the peloton once more, as GC contenders weigh each other up and consider their chances. The competitors for the maillot chispeante are less lucky, as their GC won't become clear until the final deadline. As it is a mountain stage, our competitors will be attempting to create a fanwork based on a trope.

For this stage the trope is Enemies to Lovers. While we do usually allow complete subversion, please note that we will only be accepting works that have them be full enemies at some point during the fic/fanwork. Have fun  with it and contact us if you have any questions whatsoever! There is no minimum word count for this stage.

Giro d'Italia 2025 Fanwork Classification Masterpost

The Grand Tour Fanwork Classification is back, with its first event of the summer- the Giro! Participants will once again compete for a variety of category classifications, attempt to win the debut maglia glitterata (who doesn't want a png of a pink glitter jersey?), or compete in our first ever gauntlet- Hyperspecfic Week! Whether you're here to compete or simply complete a stage or two, enjoy yourselves and have fun!

Rules: As always, tumblr submissions will be counted only within the timeframe of when the collection itself is open. We have also put in place a Code of Conduct- please read over it to know the behaviour expected of participants towards others!

Timeline: Collection opens: 7th May 00:00 UTC Collection closes: 3rd June 11:59 UTC Classification winners announced: 10th June (roughly)

(useful links and legend below the break)

Useful Links: Ao3 Collection Countdown to when the collection closes Explanation post for the challenges FAQs

The Classification is Open!

Post your works mentioning us her on Tumblr or in the ao3 collection.

I really appreciate the enthusiasm you guys have for hosting these events; but 20-21 fanworks within a month seems like a really big ask (I know we don't have to do all of them) but maybe a suggestion for next year's Tour: doing three weekly challenges? Team presentation and both rest days, to allow people to work on their works for longer and not just pump out drabbles

We are totally sympathetic to how difficult the challenge is for most people. It's a lot of stories in a short time!

But we aren't planning on making any radical changes in the future to the format going forward. We think having the nature of the challenge (a prompt a day with each corresponding to the stage profile) really captures the unrelenting nature of a grand tour. It also makes the challenge unique! If we went down to a challenge per week, it would feel like we were stepping on @cycleprompttuesday's toes.

This challenge is designed so you can can choose your own difficulty. Category classifications are there so you can take on a smaller list of prompts if you wish to complete a whole set of prompts instead of just picking and choosing a few. We even had a suggestion of a 'Wout' classification for doing one of each category! (Maybe we'll implement a more formal prize for that later. 😂)

Additionally, we welcome drabbles! One of the things we would like to encourage is experimentation with formats and pairings and tropes you may not have tried before, and no minimum word count gives folks space to play with that without the pressure of producing something long and in depth.

Hopefully, you can find a way to interact with the challenge that works for you, and we might tweak things within the challenge to really emphasize the variety and flexibility of how folks can participate.