Project Sekai Big Bang

carrd!

[projectsekaibigbang]

What is a Big Bang?

A Big Bang is a collaborative event between writers and artists where lots of new content for a particular series, theme, or ship is dropped all at once.

There is NO skill requirement

This is an open sign-up event, and anyone who wants to participate can!

Questions? Send us an ask!

All questions will be under the #faq tag!

Pjsk Big Bang Rules/Questions Document

[star3synth]

i was a part of the project sekai big bang (@projectsekaibigbang) and here’s my piece for it! this is paired with the fic “time freezes on this autumn stage” by @starbornchronicles you should totally check it out :)

[starbornchronicles]

Time Freezes on this Autumn Stage

“This is just like a movie, exactly like a movie. No matter where you go, there's a story."

Fin — Sep 29th 2025 /// Word Count — 1.2k

Tags — PJSK, Deafened Hearts, oneshot, shuffle AU, AU of an AU, rarepairs, rarepairs implied, AkiKana implied, IchiHaru implied, music competition

Author’s Notes: I had an insane writer's block while writing this, and I hate it so much, but I needed to get it finished, so.. here it is! It's definitely not my favorite concept, but I would say this isn't too shabby. ][ This fic was written for the Project Sekai 2025 Big Bang ( @projectsekaibigbang )! Special thanks to @star3synth for partnering with me! Make sure to check out his fanart!

Sweat glistens on the faces of the four teens, product of their exhilarating performance. The crowd’s cheers roar throughout auditorium, filling the ears of the band and the astounded judges. It was not only a performance to remember, but there is no doubt that this show sparked something in everyone’s hearts.

Time seemed to freeze as the band waits for their results. Support and encouraging shouts from audience members fly through empty ears as the judges converse amongst themselves. Akito, being.. himself (such a scornful way to act, isn't it?), ignores his nerves and hones in on the three judges’ conversation.

The stout, strict old lady was easiest to hear. Her face was cascaded with wrinkles, a permanent frown imprinted on her lips. Her voice was scratchy, presumably from smoking in her youth — he could tell since his father sounded the same — and it was rather loud, her hearing hard from old age.

Next to her, in the middle of the other two, was a rather young man. He shouldn’t be any older than thirty, he could assume. A sleeve of tattoos on each arm under the sleeves of his button up, and he had the voice of a teacher; booming and calming, with the ability to be quiet when necessary. A rather notable perm kept his hair in tight, brown curls. His ears were pierced, too. It’s easy to tell from a mile away that this man knows his way around music. He just has one of those faces, Akito couldn’t help but think.

Lastly, there is a middle-aged woman on the right side of the table. She's petite, with slick black hair tied back in a neat ponytail. Large, extravagantly colorful earrings hung from her sorry earlobes. Those just had to hurt. She seemed very friendly, despite her clean and slick appearance. Her voice was so melodious that it was on another level. She could make a killing a an audiobook narrator.

The judges were fairly split, each one covering an aspect of the others' weak points. Their muttered critiques and praises were hidden behind blank pieces of cardstock held stiff in the air, so he couldn't read their lips. Akito respects their smart thinking, but he hated the fact he couldn't successfully eavesdrop.

The muttering seems to quite down, and the slowly set their papers to the side. Silence follows, minus soft chitterings in the crowd and the scratching of pens on paper. Not that the judges necessarily needed to write down their choices, but it was more-so to prevent cheating.

A sharp cough from the man breaks the ginger's thoughts. "Will the other bands come to the stage please," a stern voice echoed through the speakers as the two rivaled bands enter the stage. Akito squeezed in with his bandmates, considering the stage was pretty small with three full bands on stage at once.

Time seems to freeze. The judges listed each band's name, thanking them all for coming. He didn't remember exactly what they said, since he was too focused on the fear of them losing this competition they worked for. No one on that stage dared to blink. To breathe.

"The band to win the finals of the Autumn MusicFest is.." A pause. The judges were speaking simultaneously, yet it felt like their lips were moving at three different speeds. The air hung heavy over everyone's heads.

"Deafened Hearts."

Silence. Too long of a silence, as if some cruel joke was played on them. Then, the crowd roared. The band received a standing ovation. It seemed that all the hard work payed off, going from playing occasional gigs at local restaurants to winning one of the biggest competitions in the area. The band turned, meeting each others' eyes. They four were shaking, eyes cloudy with tears of joy. Despite Akito not being one for hugs, he was the one to pull everyone in. Incoherent sobs of excitement and relief spill from them. It was their first real win.

Akito remembers every detail of this next event. He could never forget it. Kanade would look at him, eyes watery and wide, lifts softening when seeing his unusually large smile. He wasn't sure at the time why he felt his stomach flip, feeling a higher sense of accomplishment than ever before, but he knows now. It's pretty obvious to everyone except to her. That's.. a topic for another day, though. On the other hand, Haruka and Ichika were more energetic. They seemed like two crazy fangirls who hopped on the stage without permission. Giggling, jumping up and down, excessively high-fiving. This is pretty out of character for them, of course, but their music has come a long way, so their overreaction is to be expected.

The other two band watched on for a few moments, bitter and envious yet impressed all the same. They walked off stage shortly after, though, right as a trophy is carried onto the stage. Well, more so a music box? It had a sculpted tree with autumn leaves, orange glitter gently coating each delicate branch. The band quickly pulls themselves together, and after receiving a small chuckle from the judges, Haruka is handed the music box. The other three gather around, silently ooo-ing and awe-ing over the reward. There was a cash prize as well, but it was to be mailed at a later date and not necessarily relevant at this point.

"Our first trophy. Our first real sign that we're heading somewhere." Ichika was in awe, much more than the others were. She's handed the music box to examine. It was unique, handcrafted, and probably more expensive than what her liver would sell for. She felt like she was holding a national treasure. And, in a sense, she was.

The others had nodded, agreeing with her. "It's evidence of our growth, just in a physical form," Haruka added. She always seemed to be so insightful. Kanade then chimes in, "Also, since it isn't a generic trophy, it'll standout to anyone and give us more influence," her soft voice was rather hard to hear over the crowd.

The teens look out at the crowd once more, applause now slowly dying out. As they yell one last thank you, the four exit the stage happier than ever. After a few minutes of busy work, packing up, singing confirmation forms, and a bunch of other boring bullshit, the group finally got to leave. On the walk back to the studio, a smart idea rings through Akito's mind. He would kill for something to eat right now. The show was so exhausting that he felt like some poor little Victorian boy who was fighting until dinnertime just for a single breadcrumb.

He had the bright idea to convince the others to go out for something. He knew a great hole-in-the-wall café right around here, after all. "Y'know what would really hit the spot right now?" A smirk crosses his lips as the girls look at him knowing damn well what he was about to say. And, honestly, they were thinking the same thing. All at the same time, everyone exclaimed..

"Pancakes!"

[goldity]

My piece for @projectsekaibigbang

(Click in for higher quality)

[projectsekaibigbang]

Heya! What are you looking for in the 1st Check In? I was just wondering if, for writers, if it was something along the lines of a finalized plan, a work-in-progress rough draft, or something entirely different? And, while I’m here, I might as well ask about the artists too. Thank you for the time! :3

Hi! We are just looking for an update on your progress, but if you are in a team that is not collaborating, we would like a rough draft of at least the first ~1k or so so the artist can begin their work! Thanks!

[projectsekaibigbang]

Just checking – when are betas and writers going to be paired together? :D

Betas and writers will be paired around the same time artists and writers are being paired - so very soon! Thanks for the question!

[projectsekaibigbang]

How will the pairings work if the writer/artist chooses to stay anonymous? And like what if there are specific details that should be known about the fic but you still want to stay anonymous is there a way you can do that?

Hi, thanks for the question! The summaries will be arranged into an anonymous document, using things like WxS1 or M1 to differentiate them - when artists are picking summaries, they will not see the writer's name.

For anonymous pairings, the mods will send the artist a draft of the fic before or on the second check-in, and the names will only be revealed during posting.

[projectsekaibigbang]

Hey just asking, for the writers, is it possible for them to only ask for artists who want to collaborate? From what I've seen, I think it's only from the artists side where they can choose if they want to remain anonymous or not, so will the same thing be possible for writers?

If a writer would like to remain anonymous, that is entirely possible! There will be a question in the summary submission form asking if the writer would like to remain anonymous.

Thanks for the question!

[projectsekaibigbang]

Hi, I’m so sorry to bug again. But, is it allowed for an author to write with an AU they’ve already used? For example, if the author has created content using an AU that’s their own original idea, are they allowed to use that AU again? (Something along the lines of: “I loved writing with an extra ___ sibling, I should write a oneshot of that AU for the Big Bang.”) Once again, I’m really sorry for the barage of questions!

Yes, it is completely okay to write in your au that you've used before! The only requirement is that the fic itself be new for the big bang - so reusing settings/aus is 100% okay!

Don't worry about the questions, we're always more than happy to help :)

[projectsekaibigbang]

Hi! Regarding the fic summaries; Would they be summaries like you would find on the back cover of a book, or summaries like you would submit for a school paper (the key plot points and such)? Just asking for clarification so I don’t submit the wrong thing when the date comes!

Hi! We'd like closer to what you'd see on the back of a book, but mainly what we're going to be looking for is:

Expected rating

Pairings (romantic required, platonic optional)

Characters (does not need to be 100% accurate, but we'd like major characters here)

Ao3 warnings (violence/characters death, etc)

And then a short Blurb describing the story (does not need to be finalized or precise)

[projectsekaibigbang]

All emails have been sent out! Check your spam folders if you don't see them, and if you can't find the email, you can message us with the email/discord username you used to sign up and we can fix it that way! Please join the server before May 10th, and if you need to reach out to us about the email being missing, do so before that deadline as well :)

[projectsekaibigbang]

Stay tuned for the amazing works we're creating!!

[projectsekaibigbang]

Reminder that sign ups are almost closed, maybe there’s some last minute joiners!!🫶

Hi! Apologies for seeing this a bit late, but I have realised an error was made the last time the sign-up post was reblogged - they're open until April 30th not March like I had previously said. Sorry for the confusion!

[projectsekaibigbang]

Hello! Sorry for the silly question, but are the batches of entries still being sent? The sign-up I had sent was when the form was just published and, of course, I'm unaware of how many requests there have been so far but sometimes it makes me unsure if I even sent the form...

Hi! As of right now, everyone who we've received a form from should've received an email with the discord invite. If you don't see it, check your spam folders or just submit the form again and we'll get the email sent out :)

[projectsekaibigbang]

Project Sekai Big Bang Sign Ups

Guidelines: PJSK BB Guidebook Schedule Questions? You can ask them here or via our tumblr!

[projectsekaibigbang]

There's still around 30 days left to sign up, we'd love to hear from you!!

[projectsekaibigbang]

Not trying to be rude but.. why is the sign up time so long? I think it would've been better if it was just one month instead of two

Hi! This Big Bang is modeled after the Hunter × Hunter Big Bang, of which has a two-month sign-up period, which is why I chose to do a two-month sign-up period here :) Regardless, thanks for your question!

[projectsekaibigbang]

Q (From Sign-Ups): Hi! I’d like to ask what the limit on swearing/curse words in the writing is? Thanks for your time, and sorry if you’ve already posted answers to my question! I just want to make sure that I don’t break any rules!

A: There is no limit on swearing/curse words in the writing, as long as it is rated appropriatley for the level of swearing (at least T if fic contains swearing). Thanks for your question!