General Participation Guide
A Message from the Mods
Section titled “A Message from the Mods”The aim of this event is for everyone to have fun and reach the finish line. The event guidelines were created to keep everyone on track, including the mod team. They are a tool to help us support you throughout the event, not a means to punish you if something goes awry.
If you find yourself falling outside the guidelines, please talk to us! Success may look different for each participant, and we have built some flexibility into the event in case life decides to give you lemons. Asking for help is not going to make us angry or get you (or anyone else) in trouble - in fact, the sooner you reach out, the more options we have to support you.
On that note: receiving an email or message from a mod is not cause for alarm! We know you are doing your best, and we are reaching out to help you succeed.
If you are reaching out to us, please give us 72 hours before you poke us again. Any time that we take to confer will not be held against you. We have day jobs that can keep us from our computers - and we like to make decisions together, as a mod team.
By participating in this event, you agree to abide by these rules.
| This event follows a two-strike policy: |
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Certain infractions are subject to an instant dismissal, marked with an asterisk (*). |
- Check email and/or Discord regularly.
- Participants are responsible for knowing and meeting event deadlines.
- Communicate roadblocks to mods in a timely manner.
- Participants must be 18+ years old. *
- Participants must be honest about their progress at check-ins. *
- Please share WIPs when requested by mods, in an accessible format.
- All works must be original. *
- Do not plagiarize others’ work. *
- Use of generative AI for writing or art in any form is prohibited. This includes “ReWrite” features in word processors/editor software. *
- All works must be created specifically during this event.
- Re-posting or using any part of a previously published work is not allowed.
- All works must be completed, published in their entirety, and submitted according to the Final Submission Requirements by the event deadline.
- Finished works will be shared on the event tumblr and must remain posted publicly for one year after their reveal date.
- Works should not be discussed or shared publicly until the reveal day.
- This includes art streams, WIP events, and information you discuss in other discords (even private servers).
- After the reveal day, creators are free to advertise and post their works as they wish.
- All participation must abide by this Bang’s Content Guidelines.
- This includes the content of Bang works as well as interpersonal, non-Bang discussions within teams and public discussion spaces. Respect the boundaries of people you are communicating with.
- Keep public event spaces positive.
- Celebrate your progress, big or small! Be encouraging and positive about the progress of your partner and other participants.
- Don’t like, don’t read; ship & let ship; your kink is not my kink; do not bash topics in public (even in jest).
- Discuss conflicts privately with either that person or event moderators.
- Sharing private conversations in public spaces is not allowed.
- Be polite to moderators and Bang participants.
- Do not gossip about the event, moderators, or participants in public.
- Harassment or bullying of participants will not be tolerated.
- Give credit to the writer, artist, and any betas involved with your work.
- Make a good faith effort to work with your team.
- Pre-formed teams are not allowed; work with your assigned partner(s) during the event. Do not commission additional art until after works are revealed.
- Communicate consistently throughout the event, starting at matching. Contact the mods to help reconnect your team if communication stops.
- Respect the effort of your partner(s). Surpassing the event requirements in your piece does not change the expectation for their work.
- Communicate concerns about developing content in your partner’s work with them and/or event moderators. Acceptable concerns include drastic changes in story concept after artist matching, artwork that does not align with the story content, unexpected sensitive topics, etc.
Content Guidelines
Section titled “Content Guidelines”No whitewashing.
Section titled “No whitewashing.”Characters who are dark-skinned in the Dragon Age canonical materials (published games, published artwork, published comics, published novels) are not to be whitewashed. Characters such as but not limited to: Dorian Pavus, Isabela, Zevran, Fenris, Ser Barris, Roland, etc., should not be depicted or described as light-skinned.
Do not depict a canonically gay character in a heterosexual relationship. Do not make canonically trans characters cis.
Section titled “Do not depict a canonically gay character in a heterosexual relationship. Do not make canonically trans characters cis.”Dorian Pavus is gay. Sera is a lesbian. Briala is a lesbian. If you believe you are in a gray area and are doing a bodyswap/genderswap fic that will put canonically gay characters even for a short period of time in a m/f relationship, this is not the event for you.
Sensitive Topics
Section titled “Sensitive Topics”Since we require that you use Content Warnings for sensitive topics, here is a list of the common ones we’re thinking of:
- Major Character Death
- Specific sexual acts and kinks dealt with explicitly in the fic
- Drugs/alcohol abuse/addiction
- Eating disorders, fatphobia, or dysphoria
- Graphic medical descriptions or bodily fluids (esp. blood, vomit, or birth)
- Guns, anything to do with them
- Harm to a child
- Underage sexual content
- Fantasy hate speech or slurs
- Pregnancy, miscarriage, or abortion
- Racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, etc.
- Self-harm, suicide, or suicidal thoughts
- Sexual violence, referenced or explicit
- Stalking or harassment
- Violence toward animals
Please use your best judgment about what content warnings apply to your works and your discussions in public spaces.
Personal Content Preferences
Section titled “Personal Content Preferences”It should be clear if a fic is going to be primarily smutty, contain lots of graphic violence, contain kinks and non-vanilla smut tropes, or dwell on contentious, triggering, or uncomfortable topics. If a work evolves to include these topics after matching, it must be discussed within your team. If the artist is no longer comfortable with the fic’s content, they must contact the mods and all participants will be assigned to new teams.
Bang works are not commissions. Artists are encouraged to follow their own inspiration as they read/discuss the fic, and are not required to illustrate specific scenes or characters. However, if an artist wishes to depict a Player Character/OC, they should depict the OC as the author describes them. If you as a writer are not sure how to provide feedback about your OC’s appearance in art, contact the mods.
Writers may politely give examples of what they Do Not Want in an artwork inspired by their fic. Please try to accommodate that. Examples of reasonable requests include “I Do Not Want my OC to be depicted as skinny” or “I Do Not Want Alistair to have round ears” or “I Do Not Want Solas to have a huge penis.” If you as an artist are wondering if an author’s DNW is reasonable, please ask a mod!
“Anonymity” and “Secrecy” in this Event
Section titled ““Anonymity” and “Secrecy” in this Event”Participation in the event requires various levels of secrecy, in order to make the “Big Bang” of works at the end most surprising.
You are allowed to say, generically, “I am participating in this Bang event” anywhere, at any time.
Fic Writers Are Anonymous Until Teams Are Formed
Section titled “Fic Writers Are Anonymous Until Teams Are Formed”To make artist pitch claims blind and fair, artists cannot know which pitch belongs to which writer.
Writers cannot share their ideas publicly. Do not discuss Bang projects outside of the SECRET writer-only chat in the discord. This includes non-specific allusions to the content of your fic.
Pitches will be Anonymized. OC names will be made generic where possible (“Lavellan” instead of “Ixchel Lavellan”) or removed entirely if no generic version exists. Write your pitches with this in mind and anonymize it from the start!
Work Details are Secret Until Reveal Day
Section titled “Work Details are Secret Until Reveal Day”After teams are formed, you are allowed to say “so and so is on my team!” publicly. But while your partnership is no longer secret, your work still cannot be shared, even in vague terms. It should not be shared or streamed publicly until reveal day! The only place you can share specifics about your Bang project is the event discord, until works are revealed.
After reveal day, creators are free to advertise and post their works as they wish.
Where is it okay to talk about my DABB work?
Section titled “Where is it okay to talk about my DABB work?”| Prior to Matching | After Matching | |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Messages* | ||
| Secret Creator Channels | ||
| Anywhere in the DABB Discord | ||
| Anywhere Else |
Defaults, Pinch Hits, & Extensions
Section titled “Defaults, Pinch Hits, & Extensions”Extensions
Section titled “Extensions”Extensions are granted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Extensions can range from a few extra days past the due date, to the back-end of the promotion period.
Extensions will only be granted if both artist and writer speak to the moderators. This can be done over email, in which artist & writer are CC’d. You need to explain to us (without including any private or sensitive information you do not wish to disclose):
- How much progress artist & writer have made on their projects (please give a word count / art preview)
- How far you are from finishing (estimate)
- How much of an extension you are requesting
Moderators will then confer about the length of the extension and present you with a path forward, potentially including additional check-ins. You must finish your pieces by your new due date; your work will not be revealed if it is not posted to the event collection in its entirety. If you need an additional extension, you must tell us.
Writer Defaults
Section titled “Writer Defaults”If a writer must drop out, prior to artist matching: No harm, no foul! Please still let us know. You are free to finish your fic and upload it at your leisure, but we will not accept it in the Big Bang Collection.
If a writer must drop out, during artist matching: You must let us know ASAP, so that we can remove your pitch from the list given to artists for ranking. You are free to finish your fic and upload it at your leisure, but we will not accept it in the Big Bang Collection. Writers who do not submit a minimum of 7500 words at the check-in will be assumed to have dropped out.
If a writer must drop out, SHORTLY after artist matching: You must let the mods and your artist know ASAP. You are free to finish your fic and upload it at your leisure, but we will not accept it in the Big Bang Collection.
- If the artist would still like to participate, and there are fics that otherwise would require a pinch hit, that list of fics will be presented to this artist for choosing. If the artist does not wish to work with any of those fics, or if there are no fics left to be matched: they may be given the option to join a Team of Three, or a new writer will be found to pinch-hit a fic of slightly shorter length (minimum 10,000 words).
- If the artist would still like to participate as a pinch hitter, they should indicate that to the moderators and we will put them on a list in case any pinch hits come up later.
- If the artist would not like to participate any longer, that is alright.
If a writer must drop out, midway between matching and due date: You must let the mods and your artist know ASAP. You are free to finish your fic and upload it at your leisure, but we will not accept it in the Big Bang Collection.
- If the artist would still like to participate, and there is sufficient time before the end of the event: a new writer will be found to pinch-hit a fic of slightly shorter length (minimum 10,000 words). The new team will receive a custom check-in schedule and final deadline.
- If the artist would still like to participate, but the event is almost over: their artwork will be posted to the event tumblr and celebrated on its own.
Artist Defaults
Section titled “Artist Defaults”If an artist must drop out, SHORTLY after artist matching: You must let the mods and your writer know ASAP. We will solicit another artist/pinch hit artist for the writer. If this is quick enough after matching, the rest of the bang will proceed as normal.
If an artist must drop out, midway between matching and due date: You must let the mods and your writer know ASAP. We will solicit a pinch hit artist for the writer. This art piece will have a relaxed requirement for polishing and the new team will receive a custom check-in schedule and final deadline.
You are free to do an art piece for your former writer/fic at a later date if you wish, but obviously that’s not expected. We will not reblog/advertise such an art piece with the Big Bang.
Teams of Three Defaults
Section titled “Teams of Three Defaults”On a team of three, if one artist defaults, the team will continue as a team of two. If both artists default, we will follow the Artist Default process listed above.
On a team of three, if a writer defaults, the artists will separately be given the options outlined in the Writer Defaults process above. The artists will not be expected to continue as a team. If it is too late in the event, the artists may not receive a new writer, but their works will be featured and honored in a promo post together.
Reveals & Promo Process
Section titled “Reveals & Promo Process”All DABB writing will be submitted to the 2026 Dragon Age Big Bang Collection on AO3 by the end of the day on October 31 worldwide. They will be listed as Mystery Works and only revealed on the specified day once reviewed for completion.
✨New This Year✨ All works will be revealed simultaneously on AO3, at which time creators are free to share and promote their works however and wherever they wish.
Our event blog promos require specific formatting to highlight all art and writing contributions equitably. This event assigns Team Promo Days by random lottery, with an overall goal of promoting all teams before the New Year. This may require promoting two teams per day.
All teams will know the reveal schedule ahead of time. Remember to cheer on the other teams and share their works!
On the day of the Reveal, @thedragonagebigbang tumblr will post:
Section titled “On the day of the Reveal, @thedragonagebigbang tumblr will post:”- An image post with a thin banner (provided by the Event) naming the official Dragon Age Big Bang event. This banner is commissioned by the Mods and cannot be substituted.
- The Art Piece(s)
- The Title, Author, and Artist (tagged if you have tumblrs, linked to other socials if not)
- Work Information such as summary, etc.
- Tumblr Tags: #dragon age fanfic, #dragon age fanart, (#characters and/or pairings)
For specific requirements, please see the Submission Requirements. Review these carefully!
The Tumblr post on the Big Bang tumblr will then look like this:
| Teams of Two | Teams of Three |
|---|---|
 |  |
Full artwork will be placed under a readmore. If you would like to see more examples, posts from previous years can be found on our tumblr.
Privacy Suggestions
Section titled “Privacy Suggestions”This event uses email as a primary form of communication. If your email address or the name associated with your email profile contain your Full Legal Name, you may wish to change it prior to the event kickoff. You can simply change the name associated with your account, or you can make a new fandom-related email.
It is your responsibility to do so before the event begins. Your email address will be shared with the Mod Team and (eventually) your Bang partner(s) - make sure your settings are as private as you wish them to be!