#mbb2026

[ID: A banner with the words "Malevolent Big Bang 2026" in a graffiti style font with pastel rainbow coloring. The background features John, a black humanoid from the shoulders-up wearing a yellow cloak. Behind John are bursts of red, blue, green and purple colors mixed among black swirls and spirals. /End ID]

Hello everyone! We're happy to announce that writer and beta sign up forms are now open.

Once you submit your signup form, you will be sent an email with an invitation to the event Discord server within 24 hours. If you are already in the event Discord, you will still receive this email, but you do not have to leave and rejoin the server – simply reintroduce yourself in the intros channel after you have submitted your signup form. We ask that all participants join the server for the duration of the event, though we will be sending out all important event information via email as well as via the Discord server. If you do not receive an email, please send us an ask or email [email protected].

Writer Sign-up

-> Writer sign-up is open from May 1st, 2026 until 11:59 pm EDT on May 10th.

-> Writers will commit to writing one (1) fic of at least 5,000 words. Fics must be standalone works centered around Malevolent canon.

-> Must be 18+ at time of sign up.

Beta Sign-up

-> Beta reader sign-up is open from May 1st, 2026 until 11:59 pm EDT on July 12th.

-> Writers will request beta readers based on information provided in the sign up form (what topics you want to beta for, maximum word count, etc). Be as specific as possible when answering the questions!

-> Must be 18+ at time of sign up.

Be sure to read the Rules, FAQ, and review the event schedule before signing up. Looking forward to kicking off the 2026 season!

[ID: A banner with the words "Malevolent Big Bang 2026" in a graffiti style font with pastel rainbow coloring. The background features John, a black humanoid from the shoulders-up wearing a yellow cloak. Behind John are bursts of red, blue, green and purple colors mixed among black swirls and spirals. /End ID]

Welcome to the Malevolent Big Bang! This is a large-scale 18+ Malevolent fandom event in which writers, artists, and betas collaborate over a period of several months to produce a “big bang” of fan content at the deadline. The schedule for this event is below!

Current Status: Beta signups remain open until July 12. Check-in 1 (halfway to the minimum word count) is due June 21.

Schedule:

Writer signups: May 1 - May 10 

Beta signups: May 1 - July 12

Check-in 1 (halfway to minimum word count): June 21 

Complete fic & summary due (writer drop-out deadline): July 12 

Artist signups: July 13 - July 22

Pinch hit artist signups: July 13 - July 29

Artist claims: July 23 - July 29

Beta request deadline, beta drop-out deadline: July 29

Matches released: August 1

Check-in 2 (proof of art progress): August 16 

Check-in 3 (artist/pinch hitter drop-out deadline, all beta comments due by): September 6 

Final works due: September 29 

Posting: October 1 - October 15

[ID: A banner with the words “Malevolent Big Bang 2026” in a graffiti style font with pastel rainbow coloring. The background features John, a black humanoid from the shoulders-up wearing a yellow cloak. Behind John are bursts of red, blue, green and purple colors mixed among black swirls and spirals. /End ID]

Hello everyone! This is a reminder that Malevolent Big Bang artist and pinch hitter signups will open in one week (July 13th, 2026)! Be sure to check this blog on July 13th, around noon EST, to find a link to our artist and pinch hitter signup forms.

If you're interested in signing up, please read over our rules, FAQ, and schedule to ensure that you are able to meet the event requirements. This is an event for fans 18 and older. Artists will be asked to complete a single piece of artwork for their assigned fic. Permitted artforms include:

Digital/scanned art

Podfic (an audio recording of a fic read aloud)

Physical artworks (including bookbinding, embroidery, jewelry, knitting/crochet, papercrafting, quilting, sculpture, etc.)

Other digital artforms such as fanvideos, musical compositions, etc.

If you’re unsure if your artform qualifies, please send us an ask!

An additional reminder that beta signups are still open and will remain open through July 12, 2026.

Writers and betas have been hard at work creating and editing their fics, and we look forward to welcoming artists and pinch hitters to this event!

[ID: A banner with the words "Malevolent Big Bang 2026" in a graffiti style font with pastel rainbow coloring. The background features John, a black humanoid from the shoulders-up wearing a yellow cloak. Behind John are bursts of red, blue, green and purple colors mixed among black swirls and spirals. /End ID]

Hello everyone! This is a reminder that Malevolent Big Bang writer and beta signups will open in one week (May 1st, 2026)! Be sure to check this blog on May 1st to find a link to our writer and beta signup forms!

If you’re interested in signing up, please read over our rules, FAQ, and schedule to ensure that you are able to meet the event requirements. (This is an event for fans 18 and older. Writers will be asked to prepare a complete fic of at least 5,000 words long over a two-month period.)

[ID: An illustration detailing the timelines for various roles for the Big Bang.

Writers: Signups May 1 - 10, Check-In 1 June 21, Complete fics due July 12, Matches Released Aug 1, Check-In 2 Aug 16, Check-In 3 Sep 6, Final Works Due Sep 29, Final Post Oct 1 - 15

Artists: Signups July 13 - 22, Artist Claims July 23-29, Matches Released Aug 1, Check-In 2 Aug 16, Check-In 3 Sep 6, Final Works Due Sep 29, Final Post Oct 1 - 15

Betas: Signups May 1 - July 12, Check-In 1 June 21, Check-In 2 Aug 16, Check-In 3 Sep 6

Pinch-Hitters: Signups July 13-29, Check-In 2 Aug 16, Check-In 3 Sep 6, Final Works Due Sep 29, Final Post Oct 1 - 15

/End ID]

Moderator applications are now open for the Malevolent Big Bang! The application timeline is as follows:

February 25, 12:00 PM (noon) EST: Big Bang moderator applications open

March 11, 11:59 PM EST: moderator applications close

March 15, likely evening EST: new moderator(s) contacted via email

As a reminder, all moderators must be 18+ years of age in compliance with the 18+ nature of this event. No other requirements are necessary, though we are primarily looking for moderators who can serve in the following roles:

Social media and communications (posting reminders and updates on a variety of social media platforms, monitoring the Tumblr askbox and Big Bang email for incoming messages, handling reblogs during posting, etc.)

Discord server moderation (resolving conflicts between server members, enforcing the server spoiler policy, enforcing the server image description policy, answering questions that may crop up in unofficial channels, etc.)

However, we also welcome new moderators who have the following skills, as these are highly relevant for this event:

Programming (in particular, Python and HTML/CSS, as these are the languages used for our artist/writer matching and AO3 workskins/image embedding, respectively)

AO3 collection management

Google Sheets/Forms

More details are available on the moderator application, run through Google Forms. If you have any questions about the application, please email us at [email protected] or send us an ask, and good luck to all who apply!

Thanks to everyone who applied to be a moderator for this event! New moderators have been selected and contacted via email, and we look forward to starting this year's bang season with a bigger team. We had a lot of really great applications, and even if you weren't selected, we hope to see you as a participant in the event. We really appreciate those of you who are repeat participants and who have been such great members of the big bang community and the fandom community as a whole.