What’s a Big Bang?
A Big Bang is a fandom event for creators to team up and work together on a set of creations! Each team traditionally consists of an author, a beta reader, and an artist, and the set of creations consists of a longer fic (10k words minimum), and artwork to go with it.
This Big Bang is for the all iterations of the MDZS and CQL fandom: novel, live action (The Untamed), donghua (Q, too!), manhua, audio drama. We refer to characters as from MDZS throughout for consistency.
Works should be centred around at least one of the characters in MDZS, but RPF of CQL actors is not permitted.

How does it work?
We will be running sign ups for people to get involved from February (find the full schedule here).
All sign ups open simultaneously, but author sign ups close first.
Each author should submit a summary of their fic - including setting (Canon/Divergence/Post-Canon/Alternate Universe), rating, focus characters, pairings (if applicable), potential warnings and tags, approximate fic length and whether they’d like a beta reader. They must also submit an eligibility document of 3,000 words to be matchable.
We put all information other than the eligibility document (which will only be briefly looked at to verify word count) into an Airtable gallery.
Artists and betas will be able to look over this gallery, and then submit a selection of fics that they’d most like to work with. It’s completely anonymous up until the teams are formed - so writers please keep your ideas quiet before claims are done!
When the teams are announced, teams should reach out to their team members and decide how they’re going to keep in contact. Discord is mandatory this year, so you may choose to stay in touch there, but the decision ultimately lies with you. At minimum, your emails need to be monitored regularly.

How can I be a good participant?
Talk to us. Keep in communication with us and your team(s). Fill out your check-ins in good time, and contact us in advance if you see any problems cropping up. We don’t bite, and we want to help - if you’re unhappy for any reason, you can always contact the mod team to discuss it.

I’m blocked by a mod, can I participate?
Yes, you can still participate. We don’t know who has blocked who, and we won’t ask. If you think it might become a problem, we do need to ask you to contact either Mod Eve or Mod Eevee, who oversee the event as a whole and keep the spreadsheets in line. We do all team matches virtually blind - we assign all participants a number, and use that to make matches, so all teams are matched as anonymously as possible, so we don’t bias specific participants in any way. We are only concerned about making suitable matches, and mods will have a duty to be professional and neutral in all instances.

What if I have a problem with one of your mods?
A tricky situation for sure. Opening a ticket by default puts you in a private channel with all mods. In the first instance, you should contact your designated role mod. If you are a writer, you should contact the writer mod, who you can find on the “Mods” page or on discord, and likewise for Artist and Beta roles. If you’re a pinch-hitter, use the role you’ve been assigned.
In the instance that your problem is with that particular mod, you should contact Mod Eve or Mod Eeevee. Please do not contact Mods in the first instance via DMs outside of this.

I have a really big problem, but none of the mods are replying.
We’re very sorry about that. Timezone differences and real life obligations mean that it’s very difficult to guarantee that someone will see your messages immediately. We will reply as soon as we are able, and we please ask you to be patient. There are very, very few instances we can think where an immediate reply is absolutely necessary. If, for some reason, a day passes without a response, please do check-in again!
Sometimes, it may also seem like we aren’t replying because the mods are discussing the situation in mod chat. For example, if a team member isn’t replying, the relevant role mod will look into their check-ins or any previous communication we may have had, which we obviously won’t disclose directly to you. These help us give you a fully-formed response and an action plan based on your concern.

What’s supposed to be in the eligibility document?
These 3,000 words can include:
   A draft/plan of the fic in as much detail as you like - from bullet points to fleshed out paragraphs
  The summary text and applicable tags you want the artists to get
   Any writing that you have done and are comfortable sharing - regardless of whether you think it will end up in the final fic

Any other miscellaneous information pertaining to the idea you are writing for.
   Any combination of these will be accepted provided it is at least 2,000 words. This is done to ensure that artists, when paired, will have something to work with, and reduce the likelihood of waiting until late stages to begin producing.

What’s a beta reader?
It’s like an editor, someone who can look over your work with a fresh set of eyes, check spelling and grammar, and anything else you want checking. They can even help you with your plot if you’re stuck!

What’s a pinch hitter?
Someone who steps in to fill in any gaps left after the teams are formed, e.g. if someone needs to drop out. We’ll run sign ups for these after claims.

What if I can’t finish/reach the word count?
Our minimum requirement is 10,000 words for participatiion in the event. Keep in contact with your team, and keep them updated as to how things are going. For artists and betas, we will be trying to organise pinch hitters to step in so that a fic is not left artless or betaless. For authors, please get in touch with your team and ask what everyone wants to do - whether the team will drop out, or if the artist wants to go ahead and finish/post their art anyway.
It sounds quite harsh, but 10k isn’t as much as it sounds. Last year, the creation period was approximately 5 months long. That’s about 2,000 words a month, or 500 words a week, or… you get the point! We want to ask you to be realistic about your abilities and responsibilities before you commit to a hard deadline, collaborataive event with a hard lower word count limit. There is no shame in knowing you can’t meet the deadline, and there are other ways to get involved by beta reading or creating art, or by supporting our teams when the posting period begins.

What if I change my mind about my fic halfway through the event?
This depends on a few factors. It may be fine, but there is a strong possibility that it will result in us asking you to drop out, so we would really discourage it if at all possible. We do understand inspiration can be a difficult thing though!
If it’s before claims open, just let us know. Submit a new summary, and we’ll edit the claims form. If it’s during claims, again let us know, and the course of action will depend on where we’re at with claims.
If it’s after claims are done, please communicate clearly with your team as to the summary, warnings, and ratings. If they’re all okay with it, that’s great - just let us know. However, if any of your team is uncomfortable, get in touch with the mods, and we’ll come to a decision as to what can be done. Please know that there will be no obligation whatsoever for your teammates to continue to working with you if you decide to change your idea - they signed up for your original submission, after all!
We will not guarantee a pinch hitter on your fic in the event that your team no longer wish to work on your new submission.

I write best to a deadline, so I’ll write most of my fic at the end of the creation period, is that okay?
Realistically, no. This is a collaborative environment, and we are matching artists, writers, and beta readers. Every person works to a different timeline or schedule. We wholeheartedly believe that you can and will get out an incredible 10,000+ word masterpiece in a very short turnaround if you tell us that’s within your capabilities - some of us have done it! But we also have to take into consideration your artist, who may want more ideas to produce a piece for your fic, may need longer to produce their art, or podficcers who will be at an unfair disadvantage. Without words written, even draft ones, it makes the job for your artist significantly harder in a way that’s not really fair. Beta readers will also be left in limbo for potentially longer than we would like, rushing to meet your posting date deadline.
We will also be slightly stricter on meeting word counts for check-ins this year - being within about 10% of the check-in goal is acceptable provided there are no other problems, but little to no progress until the final check-in or even after it isn’t conducive to a collaborative environment. Not to mention - life happens! You can have every intention of writing it all in a week, but then work gets unexpectedly busy, or you get sick, or any number of things crop up that mean you may now need an extension.
We want you to participate, but we want you to participate in a realistic way. What that might mean to you is writing the bulk of your fic by the first check-in, or by the second. You could treat these as your deadlines, with the external pressure that if you don’t meet them we may unfortunately need to drop you from the event. This gives you a buffer to share with your team, as well as protects in the event something comes up down the line.
Or, you think about it and you realise that you just won’t be able to do it. And that’s okay too. We will not judge anybody who needs to drop from the event, nor will we be upset that people recognise their own limitations to participating in the Big Bang. Just be honest with us and with yourself, and most of all, have fun. If it’s not fun, you’re probably doing it wrong!

Can I have an extension on the check-in?
Talk to us directly by email or by opening a ticket on Discord.
We will not grant extensions for the purpose of reaching the word count for the check-in. For example, if you expect to write 20k, but have written 10k by the 60% check-in, we will not grant an extension just for you to reach the 12k mark. Submit your check-in anyway. We check all the links to verify word count after the check-in has closed so we expect some things to change, but we are most concerned about teams keeping in contact and whether you still feel like you’ll finish your fic. If you still feel on track to finish even though you’re 2k under the check-in goal, that’s what we care about most. We are extremely unlikely to drop you from the event if you’re under the check-in goal - this is mainly in exceptional circumstances, or other issues.
We also won’t grant extensions if you don’t fill in the check-in during the check-in period - asking for an extension during the grace period will be an automatic no. We need clear communication to keep this event running, and so we know at all points when we need to get pinch-hitters involved. To keep things running smoothly, we need to know before the check-in period ends if you need an extension. We will not grant extensions longer than 5 days.

Can I write an OC?
Yes! Just be aware that, like all other elements of your fic, might be taken into consideration by the artists when requesting the authors they’d like to partner with. However, the main focus, or at least 50% of the focus, of your work should be at least one of the canon characters.

Can I use a fic I’ve already been working on?
If it’s not been posted yet, then of course! This can be a really good opportunity to give yourself the motivation to finish that one idea you had but never finished. If you’ve started posting this fic already, you have two options:
   Take the fic down before you submit it to the event.
   Find a new idea!
We can’t check every single writer to make sure the work is completely new, so it’s going to be on the honor system, but if we do find that your work has already been posted, or is actively updating, through the creation period, this will result in your removal from the event. If we discover it during the claims phase, we will reiterate that the fic should be taken down, or otherwise should be withdrawn from the event.

Can I write a sequel to a fic I’ve already written?
Big Bang fics should be able to stand on their own, so direct sequels aren’t allowed. However, we understand there can be a grey area in some cases, so get in touch if you’re unsure.

Can I rework an already posted fic?
It should be fine if you’re for example elaborating on a short one shot, but the majority of the story has to be previously unposted and made for this event.

Can I write a crossover?
This unfortunately isn’t an event for crossovers. While you can write from/about more than one adaptation of MDZS, crossovers outside of the MDZS universe are not allowed.
You can take inspiration from other universes, as it would be impossible for the mods to police this, but please do not integrate characters from other canons into this event in the interest of fairness to your artist/betas, who expect to be at familiar with the source material!
There’s a grey area with crossovers with other MXTX works. We ask people to avoid this as much as possible, but references, easter eggs, or minor cameos are permitted.

Can I post my writing as podfic?
There should be at least a text-based work that can be shared with your team and posted to AO3, but as long as it’s on AO3, that should be fine! Please indicate on your fic details form (this will be sent out after sign ups close) so that we can match you with the right team.

Can I post my work anonymously?
Yes, but the mods and your team will need to know who you are in the creation process.

Can I use AI to write/make art?
This event is about creation, so it’s a hard no on any AI content.
The use of generative AI is absolutely banned in this event. Use of generative AI will result in your immediate removal from the event, and may result in a subsequent ban by any future event run by the mod team.
There will be no second warnings. One infraction, immediate ban.
Please note that this ban does not stretch to tools for assisting with spelling and grammar, such as Grammarly.

What counts as Art?
Anything that comes out of your beautiful brain! Art takes many forms, so really the only limit is your imagination. Be it painting, digital art, gifset, song, podfic, or anything else - as long as you created it and can post it to tumblr or AO3, it counts!

I’m an artist, but I’m busy for the first three days of claims! What do I do?!
Claims will not be first come first serve, so don’t worry if you’re not available exactly when claims open. Artists and betas will have seven days to have a read through the summaries and decide which fic you’d like.

Can I make a moodboard/playlist/something that contains other people’s work as part of a larger creation?
Okay, grey area here!
Moodboards and playlists are absolutely acceptable, but the key here is proper credit and permission. If you have more specific scenarios that you’re unsure of, send us an ask.

Can I sign up more than once?
There is usually a limit to the number of artists and betas, and an overwhelming number of authors, so please don’t sign up to write more than one fic, but if you want to art/beta for more than one, that’s brilliant!
Also consider signing up as a pinch hitter later on (see above).

Can I co-author/co-art?
Of course! Please sign up as one entry so we can keep things organized. Authors cannot co-author more than one work, or accept co-authorship if it involves working on more than one work in the Big Bang as a whole.

Can I be/make my own team?
No. This is intended as an event to create a sense of community in the fandom, so we’ll team up the artists and writers.
However, if you have a beta reader already, or don’t want one, you can let us know when you submit your claims summary, and we’ll exclude you from the beta reader claims.
It can be scary to meet new people, but it can also be really rewarding to work with people you might otherwise not encounter! And since the whole team will have shared/agreed to the summary and warnings, everyone knows what they’re getting into.

Who are the mods?
See our mod page here!
For any other questions, see our answered tag, or send us an ask or gimmick!