PDL Big Bang
The PDL Big Bang is a challenge for authors and artists based on the works of Please Don’t Laugh/请君莫笑, including Female General and Eldest Princess; Clear and Muddy Loss of Love; My Wandering Spirit Lady; Matrilocal Marriage; and My Death God Roommate.
Authors will write fics of 15,000 words or more, and artists will create accompanying illustrations.
Schedule
This schedule has been revised 9/6/2021!
April 1 - Artist & Author sign-ups open
May 1 - Author sign-ups close
June 1 - 1st Author checkpoint
July 1 - 2nd Author checkpoint
August 1 - 3rd Author checkpoint (MANDATORY)
September 6 - 14 - Submissions open for author rough drafts.
September 14 - 21 - Artist claims
September 22 - Author/Artist Match Reveals
October 14 - Artist checkpoint (MANDATORY)
November 1 - Artist completed rough drafts due & Artist Pinch-hitter post opens
November 15 - Pinch-hitter Artists checkpoint
December 1 - Posting schedule claims
December 15 - Posting begins
Or, in short: authors should be prepared to write spring and summer; artists to draw in fall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be both a writer and an artist?
You can… just one at a time! Writers may sign up to be pinch hitter artists if their fic is completed.
Can I use an existing WIP for the PDL Big Bang?
As long as the WIP has never been published to AO3 or any other fanfiction site before.
Can I talk about my work publicly?
Nope! In the interest of fairness and making claims as anonymous as possible, we request that writers don’t share details about their fics publicly until claims have occurred.
What does the September 1 fic draft need to look like?
It needs to hit the 15k word minimum with a beginning, middle, and end in prose form. We will be checking you have a full draft before we add it to the artist claims.
You may alter this draft as much as you like between September 1 and your final posting date, but you will need a completed draft of some kind in order to be paired with an artist.
Do I need an AO3 account to participate?
Authors will need AO3 accounts to be included in our collection; artists can post their full artwork on whatever platform (AO3, tumblr, twitter, etc) works best for them.
I'm 17, but I'll turn 18 by [date]. Do I count as 18?
Unless you will be 18 by September 1, which is when claims start, you cannot create 18+ content. There's always next time!
The only account that is mandatory is email! Please sign up with an email account you regularly check. This will be how mods will get in touch with you throughout the event.
Rules
Content and Age Policy
The PDL Big Bang has an age minimum of 15. Participants under the age of 18 will not be allowed to create or collaborate on NSFW content. If you would like to create NSFW content in the PDL Big Bang, we ask that, in your signup, you include a link to a social media profile that visibly includes your age or age range.
For SFW creators, we allow both artists and authors to specify whether they would prefer to work only with another adult or another minor.
Regardless of participant age or work rating, authors must disclose major archive warnings in their summaries during claims (e.g. major character death, rape/noncon).
In addition, if you would like your NSFW work promoted by the bang twitter account, your fic will need a SFW summary. NSFW art must be posted to privatter, or other outside filehosting service for NSFW content, in order to be promoted.
Event Info
Here's how the PDL Big Bang will work: authors will draft their fics. Then, after rough drafts are complete, artists will get to see a list of anonymous summaries of all the cool works authors have been working on, and pick one to illustrate.
We’ll do first come, first served claims. After everyone is matched up, we’ll put you in contact with your collaborator. Artists will then create their artworks based on that draft, and the finished works will be revealed together!
We’re running a big bang because we want to celebrate and encourage longer fic for baihe fandom. Fics have a 15,000 word minimum word count. Art pieces should be one large, detailed piece or two smaller, less detailed pieces, on unlined paper. All works created for the PDL Big Bang should be published for the first time in the bang event.
Have questions? Check out our FAQ, or ask us on our twitter.
Sign Up
If you want to be an artist
If you want to be a writer
Writers have until May 1st to sign up (check out the schedule if you haven't already) and artists have until September. You can also follow us on twitter for reminders. Join us on the PDL Events discord if you'd like to message the mods and ask any questions!
And if you’re interested in talking with other PDL fans, we encourage you to join the general baihe server!