FAQ - last updated Jan. 4, 2026

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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 rarity 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. A Revolt server is in the works as an alternative, which will be bridged to the main Discord to relay all messages. If you don't want to use either of these chat apps, I would recommend using email or another platform you share with your partner. 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?

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). However, you may only sign up with one ship if you're creating first (ex: In the years where we do writers first, writers can only sign up with one ship for their fic. For artist first years, artists can only sign up with one ship for their art). In years past, people were allowed to sign up with multiple ships if they couldn't choose between them and basically let the second round sign ups decide which ship they'd go with (ex: A writer has drafts for ship A and B. When artists sign up, an artist is interested in ship B, so that's what the writer would stick with). However, due to the number of participants increasing, this adds extra administrative burden, so this will not be allowed anymore. You will need to decide on you ship at the time of sign ups.
 

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).

Where else can I post my art that's not social media?

Some other places you can post your art are https://images.squidge.org/, https://catbox.moe/, and https://lensdump.com/.

Do I have to post my art to ao3?

Nope! You can if you want to. There are many artists that prefer this so their work is easier to connect to the fic, or they would like to be credited as a co-author for the overall work since their art is embedded into the fic. But this is entirely optional. You can post your art wherever you want and post it however you want as long as you're linking and crediting the fic alongside your art.

Can I post chapters of my fic in installments?

Yes, as long as your work is fully revealed and posted by the end of the posting period, you can post your fic in installments. Please be mindful of how long this takes so your artist partner is able to reveal their work in a timely manner.

How do I know my piece is partially complete? Is there an expected word count/progress minimum in order to make check in?

Do you feel like it's half-done/you'll be able to complete your assignment in time? Mods aren't necessarily requiring a firm word count, more a gut check of your own progress since everyone has different work flows. If you're still concerned about possibly needing an extension, please reach out to one or both of the mods.

Can I post my work anonymously?

Yes. If you want your work to be anonymous, please add it to BOTH the event collection and the anonymous collection on ao3.

Are we allowed to share drafts of our art/fic to our social media without mentioning its for the mini bang, or should we wait till everything is public to share it?

Doodles, close up crops, and very small snippets of writing are okay to share on social media. What you share should be a little taste rather than revealing the whole thing. Before you have a partner, I would advise you do not say whatever you're sharing is for this event to prevent other participants from being spoiled before claims open.

What's the best way to search for ship tags on ao3 to determine if it meets the rarity criteria?

You can try searching ao3 using the tag search page. If you type in two character names (though with names with inconsistent spelling or multiple versions, you might have to try all combinations), if brings up all tags that have been used that contain the two names, along with how often that tag was used (plus additional filtering options).

How can I follow updates posted to Dreamwidth without making an account?

I strongly encourage making a Dreamwidth account, but if you really don't want to, there are a few ways you can stay updated. If you use an RSS reader, Dreamwidth uses RSS. Just add /rss to the end of the community's link. I use a bot in Discord to automatically share RSS updates from Dreamwidth, so that's also an option if you're in the server. You can also get email updates by signing up at this link: https://follow.it/ygo-rare-pairs-mini-bang?leanpub

When I sign up, can I list more than one ship if I can't decide on one?

No, you need to decide on one by the time you sign up. See this update for more info: https://ygorarepairs.dreamwidth.org/8762.html

I didn't receive an acceptance email. How do I know if I'm accepted into this event?

This event does not nor will it ever require participants to be accepted. If you've signed up or claimed a piece, you're in unless you've directly been told otherwise by a mod. There is a cap for the number of participants the mods feel comfortable wrangling as far as partnerships are concerned, but this has nothing to do with acceptance. If this is the very first year you've ever signed up, you will get a Discord DM or an email from a mod thanking you for your sign up. If you are only participating via email, you will always get a welcome email and will get periodic check-ins throughout the event.