BatBigBang 2023

[razielim]

I've decided to run a batbigbang! I looked around at the lack of recent big DC events, especially ones that were inclusive of ships and tropes, and said "To hell with it! I'll make my own!"

Which is a very typical thing for me to say, but I've really changed in recent years, and I actually follow through on so many ideas and projects so I feel a lot less feverish and insane than when I've said such things in the past.

I was very fortunate that someone very qualified contacted me quickly to help mod and now I'm choosing a second co-mod while drafting the rules and timeline. All in all, there's a lot more interest in all aspects of the event than I was afraid of when I first made the mod call post and sat around in deafening silence the first couple days.

ALL fandom spaces have become less of a sure thing recently after the post-porn-ban decentralization, and DC fandom in particular has been so difficult for me to get my finger on its pulse. It's active but it's not. It's a behemoth but it's quiet.

The whole tumblr landscape has been cleaved in two between people who ship and let ship and those who don't, and most days it feels like we're in the minority for not being ashamed of just doing whatever the hell is fun to us. So it's been really heartening to see people who are happy that the event is 18+, that it allows Bat/Bat ships while also allowing gen content, etc. all come sniffing closer, cautiously at first and then with growing enthusiasm. Feels good to do my part to contribute to a better fandom experience!

Comments

[dreamersdare]

This is a freaking ♥♥ situation. Like, pretty sure I don't have 50k of anything in me at the moment, but those huge completed fandom epics are just crack for my little fannish soul. Hard approve for this :)

[razielim]

In a perfect world, as I imagine it, every fandom or big ship would have a big bang happening every other year or so. (Or every year, idk, but I'm under the impression that most people want a break between 50k challenges.) I actually always wonder why this DOESN'T happen. Is it that big bangs appeal to a minority of people, or are there plenty more aficionados who also wish that something big was going on, but don't know how to start one or simply don't want to be the one to run them? I'm sure there's plenty of reasons... Some people just want chill fandom experiences. But I wish for each fandom to always have a bustling marketplace you could go to! :)

Okay, this is starting to get away from me, big bangs are nothing like marketplaces, they're more like a college study room full of sleep deprived students. But the colorful bazaar vision speaks to me!!

[dreamersdare]

I think for sure the bigger they get, the fewer people they appeal to (just because not everyone wants to write 50k+ fic, or feels able to, or whatever else). But also, I get the impression that they can be tricky to run, especially when you get to the author/artist matching stage, because there's often so many more authors than artists.

Also, fandom is more scattered these days. Used to be, you ran your bang on LJ and that was it. Now where are you working? AO3? DW? Tumblr? Discord? Twitter *shudder*? I wonder if those kind of logistics put people off as well?