Rules

Welcome to the SVSSS 2026 Big Bang! We’re excited to have you!

Overview

A Big Bang is a collaboration between a writer and an artist, sometimes also with a beta. Traditional Big Bangs require 50k words; this event requires a minimum of 20k words. Artists must create an entirely new artwork made specifically for the fic. Works in the main collection must be completed by the event deadline. Works longer than 20k that remain incomplete will not qualify for the main event collection.Writers will be expected to start writing as soon as the event begins.

Betas assist by reviewing, developing, and polishing the work. Writers may use an external beta; however, all communication with external betas is the writer’s responsibility, and external betas will not be moderated by the SVBB team nor invited to the Discord.For pairing, betas and artists will rank their favourites from the anonymous summaries, and the mod team will use these rankings to assign teams. Participants may list DNP (Do Not Pair) preferences for specific usernames (but not categories of people). Anyone who cannot collaborate respectfully with strangers who enjoy different content should not sign up.
Betas and artists will receive invitations to join the Discord only after they have been assigned to a team.Teammate swapping is not permitted. These are people, not trading cards. Rematches may be granted at the mod team’s discretion. Rejecting an assigned partner without allowing for discussion or mediation is grounds for removal from the event. Concerns about a partner’s prior work do not qualify as grounds for a rematch, as all participants are creating new work specifically for this event in a partnership.AI policy: Grammar aids and MT (e.g., Grammarly, Google Translate) are permitted. Generative AI for writing or images is prohibited. This event is about people working together, so let’s create and inspire each other!After creation, fanworks are posted to an AO3 collection with credit given to everyone who worked on the project. Art may be embedded in the fic or posted separately (AO3 or social), with links from the fic to the art and vice versa.There will be two collections:

In this event, writers may post their work to the collection chapter-by-chapter. However, there will be restrictions on when posting can begin, which days chapter updates may be posted, and the final deadline by which all chapters must be uploaded.If a beta contributes to the development of a fic, the writer must credit them in the posted work. Failure to credit betas and artists who contributed to the project will result in removal from the collection.

Eligibility

Discord is required for participation in the event. You must join the event server and maintain regular contact with mods and/or your team. If Discord is unavailable/banned in your country, email us at [email protected] to discuss accommodations.We may bar applicants based on past issues. Examples include (not exhaustive):

If you’re unsure about eligibility, you may still apply; if barred, we’ll inform you upon review.

Roles

Writers

Writers are expected to produce a new, complete fic of at least 20,000 words for this event. The mod team will do their best to match each writer with a compatible artist (and, if requested and available, a beta).Once matched, writers are expected to:

Failure to check in or communicate may result in removal from the event.Additional notes:

Artists

Artists are expected to create a new, completed work to match the fic they are paired with. Each artist must produce one fully finished piece created specifically for the event. The artwork should be comparable in complexity and time investment to the writer’s Big Bang fic.Permitted media may vary, and writers will be able to specify which mediums they are comfortable being paired with. The mod team will aim to match artists and writers with compatible preferences.Once matched, artists are expected to:

Failure to check in or communicate may result in being dropped from the event.The artwork must be the artist’s own work. The expected level of effort may take different forms, such as:

Other mediums will be assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the overall effort is comparable to the writing side.

Betas

Betas are required to join the Big Bang Discord server and take on the beta role there. Betas will select writers to work with from an anonymized list of fics.
Once paired, betas are expected to:

Betas may also take part in designated channels, where writers and artists ask questions or seek feedback.

Everyone

All artists, writers, and betas are expected to:

This is a guideline rather than a strict time interval; the important part is that everyone remains reachable and keeps others informed. Ghosting a partner and leaving the event without notifying the mods may result in blacklisting from future events.

Pinch-Hitters

Pinch-hit artists and pinch-hit betas may be contacted by email or Discord (if already on the server) if a team member drops out.When a pinch-hitter is contacted, the request will include:

Pinch-hitters may then decide whether they are able to participate. Pairings for pinch-hits are first-come, first-served, in order to maximize creation time.Once matched, pinch-hitters:

Deadlines & Drops

Pinch-hitters may then decide whether they are able to participate. Pairings for pinch-hits are first-comeaThe overall schedule may be adjusted at the mod team’s discretion. Individual exceptions and extensions will not be granted.This event is a challenge; it is expected that some participants may miss deadlines. The following outlines what happens in those cases., first-served, in order to maximize creation time.

Writers

Writers are asked to be considerate of their teammates. Leaving the majority of the writing until the final weeks does not allow sufficient time for artists and betas to do their work. Participants are encouraged to work steadily throughout the event so that everyone can take part to the fullest.

Artists

Betas

Reassignments

If artwork has already been completed, or substantial beta work has been done, the affected team members will meet with the mods to discuss possible outcomes.

Communication Requirements

All of the above depends on timely communication.

Communication

The event will use a Discord server and email as primary communication channels. Once teams are matched, they may choose whichever method works best for day-to-day communication, but they must still complete the scheduled check-in forms so the mods can monitor overall progress.Participants must:

Real-life issues are expected and understood. The mod team will always try to support participants where possible, but this is only feasible if participants communicate first.Participants are responsible for checking:

Failure to respond to moderator contact via email or Discord may result in removal from the event. If a participant knows they cannot reliably monitor either email or Discord, they should reconsider signing up.Participants should also be mindful of topics discussed in the server:

Before artist matching, participants must not post information about their fics outside the permitted channels in the Discord server, in order to preserve anonymity during matching.After matching:

Harassment of organisers or participants is not acceptable. Mods are volunteers running this event in their own time, and the expectation is that all participants behave respectfully. Misbehaviour generally follows a three-strike system, but serious incidents may lead to immediate removal. Discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated.If a private conversation with the mod team is needed, a participant’s ability to speak in the rest of the server may be temporarily paused. This is solely to allow the matter to be resolved quickly and calmly. Not every private conversation will count as a strike; sometimes it is simply a space for clarification.Once participants have joined the event Discord, questions should be directed to the appropriate channels rather than to the event’s social media accounts.

FAQ

Both bangs and zines involve collaboration between writers and artists, sometimes with betas. In a zine, mods select contributors from an applicant pool to create a digital or physical collection. In a bang, participation is open regardless of skill level, and teams create works for an AO3 collection.

We welcome all skill levels. A lot of the joy of a fandom event like this is coming together with fellow fans to improve your craft; we hope even beginners will find this to be a welcoming space where we can all learn and grow, and work together.

No. All participants must be 18+ at the time of sign-up.This is for several reasons:1) The original source material is 18+.
2) Participation requires sharing email addresses and other potentially identifying information, which raises legal and data protection concerns for minors.
3) It is difficult to guarantee that minors will not have access to NSFW spaces on Discord.This age limit is in place to protect minors, participants, and organisers, and to ensure the event can continue in future years. Once individuals are 18+, they are very welcome to join future iterations.

No. The 18+ restriction applies to participants, not to the required content. Fics and art may be any rating. However, there will likely be NSFW snippets and sketches present in the Discord server.
For pairings, artists will select fics in the rating range they are comfortable with, and even when working on an explicit fic, they are not required to create explicit art unless they choose to.

Yes, as long as it has not been published or shared publicly. Summaries need to remain anonymous for pairing purposes.

You choose the prompt. Any ship, any characters, any rating. The world is your oyster. Then artists will pick the summaries they're most interested in. After that, we'll match an artist with a fic to maximise compatibility, and an artist will illustrate a scene from your fic.

Betas are not mandatory. In fact, they aren’t even guaranteed. We will do our best to provide matches to writers during the matching process, if requested. For those with no assigned beta, we've provided channels in the Discord server for both artists and writers to ask betas one-off questions. Sometimes a reality check or research question is helpful during the writing process without committing to a dedicated beta reader. It is also fine for you to use an external beta.

Writers will post their summaries and other information about their fics anonymously. Betas and artists will sort through the list and rank their top choices. Once selections have been made, mods will pair everyone up to the best of their abilities.Matching is not first-come, first-served. Last year, we had over a hundred and fifty summaries for artists and betas to sort through – that’s too much to rush! We’ve allotted time in the schedule for artists and betas to carefully peruse their options and make considered choices.

If you’re struggling to work with anyone on your team for any reason, please reach out to us on Discord. We will work to get you through any difficulties. Reassignments are at the mods’ discretion and should not be expected in most cases.

Any changes to ships and characters are fine until you are matched. For beta matching, you should know things like the main pairing, major content warnings, and the story in broad strokes. For artist pairing, you should have set the major plot points of the story. Changes to your fic’s concept after matching must be approved by your assigned team members.

For crossovers (stories involving characters from another franchise), SVSSS must represent at least 50% of the content in the story. What you put in the other 50% is up to you. It is also fine for the crossover to involve multiple fandoms. For example, MDZS could be 30%, TGCF could be 20%, and SVSSS 50%. If SVSSS is 50% and another single fandom is 50%, expect to put the SVSSS fandom tag first when it comes time to post the story on AO3.For fusions (stories which take elements of other franchises or use another franchise’s setting), the expectation is that the majority of the cast will be from SVSSS.AUs can also be considered fusions. For example, SVSSS where everything is the same, but some McGuffin from another property is used, and no external characters are included; there’s no limitation on those. It is expected that SVSSS character(s) will be present within the main cast.In both the case of crossovers and fusions, please note that it may be more difficult to be matched with an artist, especially if the involved fandom is smaller. For example, writing a TGCF/SVSSS crossover will likely get more responses from artists than a Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun/SVSSS crossover, but we will do our best during matching.

Nope! We’ve got all sorts in this fandom, and last year we were astonished by the wide variety of fics that were proposed, picked, and loved. That said, if we do end up having trouble finding a match for you, we may ask you to adjust your fic concept.

Yes. It can't be a fusion (for example, Marvel characters in an SVSSS AU), but you can definitely do an OC protagonist as long as it’s an SVSSS cast.
However, we do warn that a story with an OC protagonist may not be as sought after in comparison with one that stars a canon character. In the event that we can't find a match even after calling for pinch-hitters, we may ask you to reconsider your story idea.

In the past, we have had people who only wanted traditional illustrations, others who have been open to different kinds of visual media, and even those who were open to receiving or providing something completely different (mixed media, typesetting, cosplay, cooking, podfic)!
At the end of the day, we are taking the preferences of both artists and writers into account, and we are going to aim for compatible matches. Some teams may have multiple artists if the choice of wanting traditional art only is a sticking point for the authors, but we aim to find a space for artists where their talents can shine.

The check-ins are not really for the benefit of writers! They’re for the team you’re working with – the artists and betas you’ve been assigned. They need time to read your fic and draw for or edit it in some form. Writing it all at the end of the event is just not feasible for collaboration.You should treat check-ins as deadlines, particularly because if you are not trying to meet them, your team members may end up being reassigned.
That said, if you like to write fast and all in one go, no one is stopping you from writing it all before the first check-in. You do you!Failure to check in in a timely manner may result in being dropped from the event. It is crucial that everyone remains in contact and keeps mods updated so that we can provide any help needed to succeed.

Yes. Each co-author will independently be expected to fill out the check-in forms and communicate regularly with your team and the mods. Please reach out to the mod team before submitting a summary or synopsis for pairing so that we can make sure your entry is correctly handled.

You can sign up as a writer and beta, or artist and beta, but signing up as both a writer and an artist is not permitted in this event. Before you sign up for dual roles, please consider the time commitment carefully.If you drop out from any role, you can then sign up as a beta or pinch-hit artist. To preserve anonymity, if you sign up as a writer and then drop before pairing, you will not be eligible to go through the pairing process as an artist and can only be a pinch-hit artist.

Betas will be able to assist with language difficulties when writing. Among the mods, we have Spanish, Russian, and French speakers available to answer questions as needed.

For the purpose of this event, the only AI tools that will be permitted are those used for grammar checking, such as Grammarly, or machine translation aids for writers whose first language may not be English, like Google Translate. The hope with this event is to have people flex their creative muscles in art and writing. Therefore, the use of GPT models and chatbots is not allowed for writing, nor are AI images allowed for artists.

No financial transactions will occur or be endorsed by this event. It is not for profit or charity. All content produced by artists and writers will be made free and accessible online.

If you have not signed up and joined our Discord, here is a link to our Zaqa, where you can ask questions, and the mods will respond. If you have joined our Discord, there will be several channels available to you to ask questions in, depending on what you want to ask about.

Mods

Here's the team working hard to bring you the 2026 edition of the Scum Villain Self-Saving Bing Bang. We all have diverse skillsets we're bringing together to make the Scum Villain Self-Saving Big Bang fun for everyone!