Rules

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Before joining, please review the rules so you're aware of the expectations and etiquette for this event.

Participants are expected to be 18 or older. This is not implying that works must be explicit, but that those in this event are adults.

General Code of Conduct:
1. Treat others with respect. This event is meant for people to have fun and connect with others creatively, so bigotry and general nastiness of any kind is not tolerated. Please respect others’ boundaries while keeping in mind this is a ship and let ship environment. Fighting or harassing others over ships/characters is not allowed.
Content shared in the Discord server and elsewhere for this event should be tagged appropriately with common content warnings (if needed)--as a rule of thumb, if something would be warned for on AO3, then it probably deserves a CW and/or a spoiler. Please let people know as a courtesy.

2. No bitching. This is an event to have fun and support each other’s interests. If you rudely complain about what you're assigned or those involved in this event (or just general shit-talking), you will be removed.

3. Keep an open mind. Since this is an event open to all series, some artists/writers may be paired with a ship or a series they’re not familiar with. This is especially true for pinch hitters. If you do not wish to create art for a pairing you’re not familiar with, this may not be the event for you. (Keep in mind I will discuss the possibility of this happening and will talk to those who may be assigned something from a series they've not seen given they've indicated at the time of claims they're willing to challenge themselves this way. I am not going to throw anyone a curve ball with a pairing! Plus, those completing work for an unfamiliar series will be treated as a pinch hit and will be rewarded for their extra work).

Event Specific Rules:
4. Communication is key. If you have questions, concerns, or schedule issues, reach out to a mod ASAP. You are expected to work with your partner to create pieces collaboratively, so staying in contact and checking for updates is important to keep everyone on track for our post schedule.

5. Stick to the deadlines. Life happens. However, missing deadlines throws off other participants and may leave someone out. If something comes up, please notify a mod and your partner ASAP. Pieces should be posted in full on your assigned posting date.

6. Please avoid posting or discussing WIPs with those in this event that are not working with the same medium* (EX: writers can discuss with writers, artists can discuss with artists--please be mindful of those creating on both sides of this event so they're not spoiled!).This keeps the claiming process exciting and makes it less likely the event becomes a popularity contest. If you have any questions about this rule, please ask.
* Once claims are over and everyone has a partner, everyone can discuss their WIPs freely!

7. Pieces should be original to this event. Do not submit pieces you’ve created for other events or on your own. In addition, art theft is obviously bad and will not be tolerated.

TL;DR: Be excellent to each other. The goal with this mini bang is to have fun, meet other fans, and create content for ships that deserve more love.

FAQ - last updated Oct. 19, 2024

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What’s a mini bang?

A mini bang is similar to a big bang, but on a smaller scale. Essentially, it’s a fan event centered around collaboration between artists and writers related to a specific series or ship. Most big bangs have high word counts for writers, typically over 30k words. Bangs usually have writers draft fics first and then artists claim fics they’d like to create art for. A mini bang does the same thing, but usually caps the word limit at 10k due to the run of the event being shorter. For example, the traditional YRPMB (fics first) has a 4k word minimum, while the reverse YRPMB (art first) has a 2k word minimum. There is a lower threshold for the reverse mini bang due to writers having less time to draft than during the traditional bang.

 What’s a reverse bang?

A reverse bang is similar to a typical bang. The only difference is that artists create their pieces first and a writer claims a piece as the inspiration for a fic.
 

Why does this event change between the traditional bang style and a reverse bang?

This event flip flops to keep the event fresh and exciting each year. 2022 was the first year we tried out the reverse bang format, and the community showed interest in this back and forth dynamic. As mod, I feel like this will encourage creativity and different appreciations of ships to avoid a lot of the same thing each year. There is also no other fan event in the YGO fandom that has the reverse bang structure, so it’s exciting to be a first.

What counts as a rare pair?

For this event, rarity is determined by tiered numbers of fics on AO3:

- DM: <30 with optional use of otp: true due to issues with tagging in the fandom
- GX: <30
- 5Ds: <30
- Zexal: <30
- Arc-V: <15
- Vrains: <15
- Sevens: <15
- Go Rush: <15

I am aware that this may not be representative of the cumulative popularity of a ship, as it doesn’t count various different art and fic posting platforms, but it is the most reliable metric of determining this. Authorship numbers do not determine rarity. The mods and several community members feel this is disrespectful to a person's body of work to discount it from the ruling, as it implies that just because one or two authors have written for a ship, their work does not matter. We do not feel like this is true and believe that popularity is not equal to rarity. Rarity involves the number of works in a library, both fic and art, and the goal of this event is to add to those numbers to get more works out there.

Can I participate if I don't have/want to use Discord?

Yes! You just need a way to communicate with the mod and your partner once paired. I would recommend email if you're not comfortable using Discord. Other options are Twitter DMs, Dreamwidth PMs, Tumblr chat, etc. Keep in mind that not everyone uses the same platforms, so you should pick something that will be actively checked by everyone you need to stay in contact with.
 

What if I’m not paired with anyone?

I’ve made it my duty to make sure everyone is paired with a partner. There are many people in this event that are passionate about rare pairs, especially ones they hadn’t considered before. I promise there will be at least one other person that will be interested in what you have to share. Call it shadow realm magic! In all seriousness though, there are always multiple people willing to pinch hit and will deliver some fantastic art and fic.
 

What happens if the ratio of artists to writers is lopsided?

In case that there is an uneven number of participants to be paired, pinch hitting is incentivized. I encourage people to sign up with the knowledge that they may need to pinch hit for someone else. Pinch hitting expectations are not the same as the specs shared since I nor anyone else involved in this event want to overburden anyone. At a minimum, pinch hitters are expected to write a fic 1000 words in length or share a complete sketch for their partner’s piece. In exchange for this extra effort, pinch hitters will be rewarded by the community with a ficlet 300-1000 words in length or a sketch of a rare pair of their choosing.
 

Can I apply with a ship that has 30 or more fics?

 No. You will need to pick something else or look to another fan event.

Are ships with 3 or more characters allowed?

Yes! Just make sure the ship is represented with all characters involved with one another equally. There should not be a situation where, for example, Kaiba is the third wheel to Blue Eyes White Dragon and Saggi the Dark Clown.
 

Can I sign up with a writer/artist who already plans to claim my piece?

Yes and no. You may of course sign up; however, please be aware that the claim process is anonymous to prevent a popularity contest or have pieces go ignored because of conceptions about skill level, etc. There is definitely a high chance that you and your creative pal will be paired, but there is also a chance that it would be more fair to assign this person to someone else that has not had any other claims except for your buddy. Please keep this in mind when signing up.
 

What if I miss a deadline?

You will get several messages from my co-mod, miscellanium, or me, whimwitch. We try to be understanding about missed deadlines, but since this is an event with a pretty tight schedule, we do not want a situation where someone is left unpaired because someone's dropped out once it’s too late to assign a pinch hitter. Know that we will eventually give up and look to assigning someone else to your partner if we don’t hear from you for a while. “A while” is subjective, but assume it’s somewhere between 24-72 hours depending on where we are in the schedule. If a conflict comes up, you may drop out at any point. Please inform a mod and your partner so we can do our best to find a pinch hitter. If you drop past the drop out deadline, then you will not be allowed to participate in next year’s bang.

 

Can I post my works anywhere other than ao3?

Absolutely! Writers must at a minimum post their fic to ao3 so it can be added to the collection. This makes it easier for those in the event to see everyone's works. Currently, ao3 is the easiest platform the mods are aware of to create collections for fan events like this. Writers may repost their works wherever they'd like after adding their piece to the collection at the time of posting. Artists may post on any platform of their choosing, including ao3. Please make sure to communicate with your partner so you can credit each other appropriately.
 

Are duel monster ships allowed?

Yes! Any ship is allowed that meets the rarity criteria.

Can I create fanworks for more than one rarepair?

Yes! However, I can only guarantee that you will have one partner for one of your works. If we have an excess of writers/artists, then you may have double partners only after everyone else has a partner for their piece. You may always create more than one piece that's inspired by someone else's work (so for a standard bang, creating more than one piece of art for multiple fics; for a reverse bang, you would be writing more than one fic for multiple pieces of art).
 

Are AUs allowed in this event?

Yes!

Can I participate as a beta audience/pinch hitter only?

Yes! Just message me or let me know this is your preference when you sign up.
 

Are platonic ships allowed?

Yes! Please make sure to take non-platonic shipping into account when determining rarity since the majority of fics are tagged as non-platonic. For example, the tag "Honda Hiroto & Otogi Ryuji" has 3 fics total (as of when this was written). However, "Honda/Otogi" does not count as a rare pair because the non-platonic fics push it over the threshold (144 slash fics total; 34 when otp true is applied).