Dimileth Big Bang
07/01/2022: Posting begins!
Overview
What is a Big Bang?
Per Fanlore.org: A Big Bang (or "Bang" for short) is a specific type of challenge usually involving long fics and accompanying artwork. This type of challenge is a reprise of the old zine tradition of collaboration between artists and writers for internet fandoms. Most Big Bangs have a similar format: Writers sign up to take part in the challenge and begin writing stories. When the early drafts of the stories are available, each one is assigned one or more artists, or artists might claim stories from posted summaries. Artists create fanart to go along with the story. This art can take the form of illustrations, manips, photo collages, vids, icon sets, etc.What are the writer requirements?
Writers will complete a new fic with a minimum of 17500 words focusing on Dimitri and Byleth’s relationship (romantic or platonic). Byleth can be any gender. Trans headcanons for both Byleth and Dimitri are welcome as well as Rule 63. Poly, side and past ships are welcome as long as the primary focus of the story is Dimileth and are tagged.What are the artist requirements?
Artists will complete one full-color illustration with a background based on the assigned fic and a SFW banner incorporating their art for social media promotion.Are there any content restrictions?
There are no restrictions on content. However, as you will be collaborating with a partner, we reserve the right to reject proposals with content that we reasonably believe we’ll be unable to match with an artist. Even if your proposal is accepted, be aware that extreme content will limit your artist claim pool.What are the participant requirements?
All participants must be 18+ by February 5th, 2022. Participants will have the option to opt out of NSFW content.Where will works be posted?
All stories will be posted to AO3. Writers will be required to have an AO3 account. Artwork can be hosted anywhere but must be embedded somewhere in the fic itself. While it is not required, we encourage artists to have an AO3 account so they can be listed as collaborators on works.How will the mod team communicate with us?
Official communications will be sent via email. All participants must have an email address they check regularly. We will have several additional social media channels (Twitter, Tumblr, Discord) open.
Schedule
(Last updated 12/31/2021)
Interest check: October 3rd, 2021 - October 20th, 2021
Writer Signups: January 9th, 2022 - January 23rd, 2022
Writer Story Proposals Due: February 5th, 2022
Artist Signup & Claims: February 12th, 2022 - February 26th, 2022
Artist Assignments: March 2nd, 2022 - March 4th, 2022
1st Check-In: March 15th, 2022
2nd Check-In: April 15th, 2022
3rd Check-In: May 15th, 2022
Final Deadline: June 15th, 2022Posting Begins: July 1st, 2022
(Tentative schedule based on interest check results and subject to change. Please consult guidelines for a full schedule breakdown.)
Guidelines
(Last updated 12/31/2021. All guidelines subject to change.)
Below is a date-by-date overview of how the Dimileth Big Bang will progress. Additional questions will be addressed via the FAQ. Please read through both this and the FAQ thoroughly and contact us if you have any questions not addressed on either page.All deadlines are at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time. Click the "countdown" links for timers counting down to each deadline.All dates are tentative and subject to change.
WRITER SIGNUPS | Countdown
Dates: January 9th, 2022 - January 23rd, 2022
Writers will sign up via Google form with their name, email, AO3 handle, screen name, and Discord ID.
Due to the challenging nature of big bangs, writers may only propose (1) story.
Two writers may sign up as a pair, but they must use one email address as their point of contact. For further details, please see the FAQ.
Writers and artists may sign up as a pair. They will fill out their artists’ information on the Google form and their proposal will not be added to the artists’ claims slide deck.
Please whitelist [email protected], as official communication will be via email.
WRITER PROPOSALS | Countdown
Date: February 5th, 2022
All writers must submit a writers’ proposal. Writer proposals will be submitted via a separate Google form that will be emailed once signups have closed. The writer's proposal will consist of the following:
A short summary (150-300 words) of your story premise. To keep artist claims anonymous, all stories must be new ideas unrelated to prior works, and must not have been discussed on a public platform. It is recommended to keep summaries less than three (3) paragraphs long.
A short snippet of the story (150-300 words). It is recommended to keep the story snippets less than twelve (12) paragraphs long.
A tagset of no more than 75 tags. Some tags, such as content warnings, are mandatory. Other tags are optional but recommended to better advertise your story for artist claims. Please consult the tag list here.
A list of all side pairings, poly pairings, and past pairings.
A rough outline (approximately one page, single-spaced) of your story. We suggest bolding any scenes that you think would make a good illustration.
As this is an 18+ event, there are no content limitations for this bang.
Individual writers: please be aware that you will be collaborating with a partner. Based on interest check results, if the mod team does not believe your proposal will be claimed, you may be asked to submit a new proposal.
Once your story proposal has been reviewed and accepted by the mod team, you will be sent an invite to the Dimileth Big Bang discord server.
Please make sure your proposal is a polished, accurate advertisement of your story.
February 9th, 2022: Summaries, snippets, and taglists from writers’ proposals will be anonymously compiled into a Google slide deck and posted publicly for artists to claim. You can view a sample story slide deck here.
ARTIST SIGNUP & CLAIMS | Countdown
Dates: February 12th, 2022 - February 26th, 2022
Artists' requirements consist of the following:
A minimum of one (1), colored, clean artwork with full background to accompany the story or stories they claimed. This is a minimum requirement and we encourage artists to draw more if they’re inspired! Additional artworks can be sketches, vignettes, illustrations, or comic panels/pages.
A banner incorporating the artwork for promotional use on social media. Banner should include the story title, rating, author and artists’ name, and word count. The banner must be SFW.
Artists who are uncomfortable creating full backgrounds may also submit one (1) colored, clean artwork with a simple background (abstract/single color) and a second (2) black and white sketch.
Any further deviations from the requirements will be approved on a case-by-case basis with the full approval of the writer and mod team.
Artists will sign up via Google form with their social handles, email address, screen names and Discord IDs.
To maximize all parties' comfort, Artists will also list any content-based Do Not Wants (DNWs) from our tag list.
Depending on distribution, two artists may be assigned to a fic, or two fics may be assigned to an artist.
We will do our best to match you with your first choice. However, our priority will be ensuring no artist is required to work on a story with their DNWs.
Please whitelist [email protected], as official communication will be via email.
Once you have reviewed the story slide deck, you will rank the top five stories you wish to claim.
Artists may claim multiple stories.
Artists who signed up with partners may sign up to claim additional stories.
After three (3) artists have claimed a story, it will be removed from the deck to keep the claims process balanced. (Note that not all artists will be assigned to that story.)
ARTIST ASSIGNMENTS | Countdown
Dates: March 2nd, 2022 - March 4th, 2022
All writer and artist participants will receive an email with their assigned partner’s name and contact information. Artists will also receive invitations to the Dimileth Big Bang discord server.
Writers and artists are expected to make contact within 7 days of receiving their assignment.
Once assignments are complete, writers and artists are expected to communicate one-on-one.
Should you not receive a response from your assigned partner within 7 days, please contact the mods ASAP.
CHECK-IN #1 | Countdown
Date: March 15th, 2022
Check-ins will be handled via Google form. Writers and artists have 7 days (up until the 22nd of their month) to respond. If there is no response to a check-in, we will consider you to have dropped from the bang.
While we understand everyone has their process, given the scope and collaborative nature of big bangs, we must see steady progress at each check-in.
Writers should have completed approximately 5000 words, or 25-33% of their story, whichever is larger. You will also be asked to submit a working title for your story (subject to change).
Artists should have a preliminary sketch or thumbnail of their piece. (If you wish to create something other than the required full-background color illustration for your contribution, you will need to get an alternate list of check-in deliverables approved by Naz.)
CHECK-IN #2 | Countdown
Date: April 15th, 2022
Writers should have completed approximately 9000 words, or approximately 50% of their story, whichever is larger. You will be asked again about your story title and asked to submit an AO3-ready summary.
Artists should have completed lineart or flats for their piece, unless they’ve made alternate arrangements with Naz.
May 1st, 2022: Preliminary posting schedule will be uploaded for participants.