The World's Slowest Big Bang

Mandatory complementary creator check-in

2026-09-19T17:20:21Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Today is the checkpoint for complementary creators; if you haven't already been in touch with one or both of the mods this week, please check in by the end of the day by emailing us at dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com, DMing one of the mods, or popping into our #chats-and-check-ins channel on discord.

This check-in is mandatory, but it doesn't have to be detailed. We just want to know if things are going okay or if you need some support.

If we do not hear from you, we will start looking for a pinch hitter.

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Complementary checkpoint coming up

2026-09-12T03:10:56Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Complementary creators - your mandatory check-in is September 19!

To check in, you can email dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com or DM one of the mods on or before September 19, or you can comment in the #chats-and-check-ins channel of our discord server on the 19 before the end of the day (anywhere).

We'll put another post up reminding you next Saturday!

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2026 due South/Canadian Six Degrees Complementary Claims OPEN

2026-08-22T15:09:53Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

The due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang is now LIVE for complementary claims! Anyone can sign up, regardless of whether you signed up on the initial post back in March.

Although we do ask that at least one complementary work a primary work receives be in a different medium from the primary (fic for art, art for vid, etc), all types of work are accepted: art, fic (2k minimum), podfic, vids, poetry, fanmixes, crafts, you name it. For full details, check the Rules and FAQ. Works are due on October 4, with a mandatory checkpoint on September 19.

Here's how this works:

We do claims by creator, not by work - this only really comes into play years when we have multiple works from a single creator.
You may list as many creators as you like during this first round of claiming; please rank them in order of preference, and we will assign each complementary creator their highest ranked choice that is still available.
We'll have a 48-hour open period to give people in different time zones an equal chance to claim. Then the mods will reply to the comments, confirming which work you've been assigned.
After this first round of claiming, we'll move to a first come, first served basis.
Multiple complementary works for a primary creator are not only allowed but welcomed with open arms - once all of the primary creators have received at least one complementary claim. Similarly, one person is absolutely allowed to create complementary works for multiple primary creators - if you'd like to do so, please just wait to claim your second, third, fourth, etc. primary creator until we're past the first round of claiming and into the first come, first serve portion of events.

To claim a creator, comment below with your AO3 username, your contact information, and which creator you'd like to claim. For contact information, please do not just write "email" without including your email address unless you either a) are confident that the mods have your email address from a previous Big Bang or b) DM or email the mods when you sign up so we have your actual email address.

LIST OF PRIMARY CREATORS AND WORKS
( Read more... )

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Primary works sneak peek for complementary creators

2026-08-19T03:12:15Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Here's a sneak peek of the due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang primary creators and works that will be available for complementary claiming in just a few days. This is just a preview - the actual claiming post will go up on August 22!

Primary creators, please check we've got your details right and let us know if anything needs changing/adding.

( Read more... )

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Primary works due!

2026-08-15T15:31:39Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Today is the deadline for the due South/C6D Big Bang deadline! Post your finished work to our collection on AO3 before midnight (any time zone) and it'll go on the list of works for complementary creators to pick from.

You can either go to the collection and click "Post to Collection", or go to your own AO3 dashboard, click "Post New" and fill in the "Post to Collections" field as ds_c6d_bigbang_2026. If you need a brief extension (up to 24 hours), contact the mods before the end of the day today - the sooner the better.

If you miss the deadline, we won’t assign you a complementary creator, but we will keep cheering you on. You can submit your work at the complementary work deadline of October 4 instead and still be part of the collection.

Everyone who'd like to be complementary creators: Stay tuned! We'll post a sneak peek of the work summaries in the next few days, and then the actual claiming post will go up on August 22.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the mods! We're happy to help if we can. Comment or DM us on dreamwidth or discord, or email us at dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com.

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Primary Work Deadline and Posting to AO3

2026-08-09T19:32:44Z

Posted by: wicked3659

All primary works are due by the end of the day (anywhere) August 15th! If you think you may need a little extra time, contact one of the mods (thisaintbc or CJ) right away.

Although you can continue to edit between posting and go-live, all works must be complete at the time of posting. "Complete" means a finished work that's good enough to be published without any further changes, in the mods' opinion. If you're having problems, speak to the mods! If you miss the deadline, we won’t assign you a complementary creator, but we will keep cheering you on. You can submit your work at the complementary work deadline of October 4th instead and still be part of the collection. Complementary claims open on August 22nd for those interested.

(For those previously banned from complementary signups, now is the time to come and speak to the mods about getting unbanned. This only applies if you've defaulted by no-show at the final complementary deadline in the past and doesn't apply to any primary signups. We will usually ask you to submit your original assignment or an equivalent complementary work before you can sign up as a complementary creator again.)

( Instructions for how to post to AO3 here )

If you have any questions, please reach out to the mods! We're happy to help if we can. Comment here, or DM us here or on discord, or email us at dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com.

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due South Big Bang - Call for betas

2026-07-19T01:44:14Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

If you want to participate in this year's due South/Canadian Six Degrees big bang but don't have time to create a primary or complementary piece, there are still options! Please consider volunteering as a beta or cheerleader!

Comment below or in the #resources channel on our discord server if you can offer to beta or cheerlead! You can copy & paste the bolded text below to use as a form:

Contact:
Media you can beta (fic, art, vids etc):
Fandoms/characters/pairings you can beta:
The sort of beta you can offer (story-level editing, line editing, Canada-picking, etc):
Any categories of fanwork you're NOT happy to beta:

Creators who are looking for betas and/or cheerleaders are also welcome to comment here or on the discord server with a rough description of your work and how to contact you!

It's a little late in the game for alpha readers this year, but if you think you might be interested in volunteering as an alpha reader next year, please also comment below so we can check back in with you in 2027.

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Big Bang Chat #4

2026-07-15T03:34:29Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

The fourth live chat for the 2026 Big Bang will take place on Saturday, July 18. We are offering two different chat times:

Chat 4A will start at 2pm Chicago time on July 18 (What time is that for me?)
Chat 4B will start at 8pm Chicago time on July 18 (What time is that for me?)

Chats and check-ins take place on our discord server. We encourage you to check out the server in advance of the chat - and, if you'd like, to use it to hang out and support each other even outside of the officially scheduled chats! Everyone is welcome, whether you're a participant, beta, cheerleader or just want to chat about due South and other C6D fandoms.

Sign ups for the Big Bang remain open! For primary sign ups you can make 20k fics or equivalent art/craft/vids/podfic.

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Big Bang Chat #3

2026-06-11T03:30:28Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Sorry for the late announcement - June crept up on us!

The third live chat for the 2026 Big Bang will take place on Friday/Saturday, June 12/13. We are offering two different chat times:

Chat 3A will start at 8pm Chicago time on June 12 (What time is that for me?)
Chat 3B will start at 2pm Chicago time on June 13 (What time is that for me?)

Sign ups for the Big Bang remain open! For primary sign ups you can make 20k fics or equivalent art/craft/vids/podfic.

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Big Bang chat #2

2026-05-12T03:10:35Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Our second chat is coming up!

The second live chat for the 2026 due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang will take place on Saturday, May 16. We are offering two different chat times:

Chat 2A will start at 2pm Chicago time (What time is that for me?)
Chat 2B will start at 8pm Chicago time (What time is that for me?)

Sign ups for the Big Bang remain open! For primary sign ups you can make 20k fics or equivalent art/craft/vids/podfic.

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dS/C6D Big Bang Chat #1

2026-04-15T02:08:04Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Our first chat is coming up!

The first live chat for the 2026 due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang will take place on Saturday, April 18. We are offering two different chat times to try to accommodate our various time zones:

Chat 1A will start at 2pm Chicago time (What time is that for me?)
Chat 1B will start at 8pm Chicago time (What time is that for me?)

Sign ups for the Big Bang remain open! For primary sign ups you can make 20k fics or equivalent art/craft/vids/podfic.

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2026 due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang Sign-Ups Open!

2026-03-11T03:15:05Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Woohoo, it's the Eleventh of March, and it's time for the 18th annual due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang!

2026 Schedule

Sign-ups open: March 11th
Chat 1: April 18
Chat 2: May 16
Chat 3: June 13
Chat 4: July 18
Primary works due: August 15
Complementary claims open: August 22
Mandatory checkpoint for complementary creators: mid-September (TBD)
Complementary works due: October 4
Go-live date for all works: Canadian Thanksgiving, October 12

Please take the time to check out the Rules and the FAQ, and let us know if you have any questions! For primary sign-ups, you can make 20,000-word fics or podfics or equivalent art/vids/craft of any sort, for due South or any other Canadian Six Degrees fandom. There is no cutoff date for signing up - sign-ups stay open until the August deadline.

We'll be having checkpoints and live chats on our discord server, and we also encourage you to use the server outside of officially scheduled chats - for brainstorming, moral support, hilarious tangents, group therapy and everything else you'll need to get through this. Remember, there are no penalties for dropping out of a primary sign-up. If RL intervenes or writer's/artist’s block happens, we'll give you a hug and hope to see you next time.

Please note that while this big bang is 18+, our server does not have technological age restrictions in place. This (plus renaming our NSFW channel to "curling-personnel-only") should mean that you won't have to jump through any sketchy age verification hoops to access it. If you are asked to verify your age in order to access the discord server, please contact a mod.

Feel free to reach out to us by commenting on this post, sending us a DM on discord, or emailing us (dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com).

To sign up, copy the headers below and paste them into a comment. Then fill it out!

Discord/DW/tumblr name:

AO3 username:

Email address or discord:

Primary or Complementary sign-up:

Medium (fic, art etc):

Fandom and characters/pairings (if you have any idea yet!):

Timezone (optional, for planning the chats):

If you would prefer not to share your email address or Discord in a public comment, please write "private" in that field and then email your contact info to dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com. We will share this contact only with your primary/complementary creator match.

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Warning: AO3 comment bot

2026-01-05T22:00:28Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Hi all, there appears to be a comment bot working its way through due South fics in reverse chronological order. It starts off with a lengthy, praise-focused comment that uses words and phrases like "chaotic", "my heart", and "screaming" a lot - from the comments I've seen, it honestly sounds a lot like an attempt to mimic fangirl speak circa 2010 - and if the creator responds has tried to then get someone's Discord handle or email address.

Although there was some initial uncertainty over whether this is a bot, as it is commenting with an AO3 account and appears to draw on specific details in the work, the account it was using as of yesterday (Rosie79) appears to be brand new, comments on a stretch of works one after the other within a short time span, doesn't leave kudos, and consistently refers to everything as a "chapter" even if it's a one-shot. It currently appears as if the bot can only process text.*

While I don't want to encourage anyone to go on a comments section witch hunt and end up reporting legitimate users who just happen to sound a little bit like a praise bot, I do want to remind everyone that you can report suspected bots via the Policy Questions & Abuse Reports link at the bottom of every AO3 page. If an account is otherwise blank, newly-created, and appears to be trying to get you to move to the internet equivalent of a secondary location, it may be worth considering reporting it.

*I did not do any of the digging or conferring that discovered this bot or its characteristics, so if folks in the know from the dueSouthBound Discord server want to leave any significant aspects of this bot that I've missed in the comments, that would be very helpful.

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2025 dS/C6D Big Bang collection is live!

2025-11-27T14:52:07Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

The 2025 due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang collection is now revealed! Go and check out the fanworks on AO3, and leave comments and kudos for the creators \o/

Congratulations to all our lovely primary and complementary creators, and thanks to everyone who chatted and beta'ed along the way. And thanks to everyone for waiting an extra month to see what wonderful works our fandom has produced this year!

A special shout-out to our creators who submitted their works by an earlier deadline than they had to, who we decided to recognize with little digital merit badges. Keep an eye out for the Dief pawprint of proper preparation approval!

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Mandatory Complementary Creator Check-In

2025-11-01T15:33:26Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Today is the checkpoint for complementary creators; please check in before the end of the day by participating in our rolling chat on discord, sending us an email (dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com), or DMing one of the mods.

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Complementary checkpoint coming up

2025-10-26T19:47:48Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Complementary creators - your mandatory check-in is Saturday, November 1!

We'll have a rolling chat on discord (sort of like our first informal chat this year), and you can talk through progress, ask for help, etc.

Participating in the chat can count as your check-in; otherwise, please email us at dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com or DM one of the mods by the end of the day on November 1 to let us know how things are going.

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dS/C6D Complementary Claims Post

2025-10-18T14:46:28Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

The due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang is now LIVE for complementary claims! Anyone can sign up, regardless of whether you signed up on the initial post back in March.

Although we do ask that at least one complementary work a primary work receives be in a different medium from the primary (fic for art, art for vid, etc), all types of work are accepted: art, fic (2k minimum), podfic, vids, poetry, fanmixes, crafts, you name it. For full details, check the Rules and FAQ. Works are due on November 21, with a mandatory checkpoint on November 1.

Here's how this works:

We do claims by creator, not by work - this only really comes into play years when we have multiple works from a single creator.
You may list as many creators as you like during this first round of claiming; please rank them in order of preference, and we will assign each complementary creator their highest ranked choice that is still available.
We'll have a 48-hour open period to give people in different time zones an equal chance to claim. Then the mods will reply to the comments, confirming which work you've been assigned.
After this first round of claiming, we'll move to a first come, first served basis.
Multiple complementary works for a primary creator are not only allowed but welcomed with open arms - once all of the primary creators have received at least one complementary claim. Similarly, one person is absolutely allowed to create complementary works for multiple primary creators - if you'd like to do so, please just wait to claim your second, third, fourth, etc. primary creator until we're past the first round of claiming and into the first come, first serve portion of events.

To claim a creator, comment below with your AO3 username, your contact information, and which creator you'd like to claim. For contact information, please do not just write "email" unless you either a) are confident that the mods have your email address from a previous Big Bang or b) DM or email the mods so they have your actual email address at the time of your sign up.

Creator 1: AlexandraMRobertson

Fanwork type: Fic
Fandom: Due South, Polar Explorer RPF
Work Title: The Last Link
Length: 24,494 words
Rating: General Audiences
Relationships: Benton Fraser & Ray Kowalski
Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Sir John Franklin
Summary: “They forged the last link with their lives”
– Sir John Richardson, friend and physician to Sir John Franklin
Nunavut, Canada
April 1999
Five hundred miles north of nowhere, frozen, hungry, and feeling useless, Ray Kowalski is ready to give up on finding the Hand of Franklin and head back to Chicago. But when the ghost of Sir John Franklin appears, Ray and Fraser realize that only they can help him move on. Will finding the last link claim their lives - or show them the road back home again?
Warnings: Includes hunting and death of wild animals

Creator 2: mific

Fanwork type: Podfic
Fandom: due South
Title: About a Dog
Length: 02:20:27
Rating: Explicit
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Summary: This is an old favorite of mine, written by Speranza. During a case, Fraser and Dief run foul of a witch and Dief is transformed into a human (who looks very like Jeff Daniels). While they work to solve the case Dief points out some home truths to Fraser, with eventual happy results. It's a bit angsty from Fraser's perspective, but Dief's amusingly blunt (albeit pissed about being stuck in a "terrible human body"), and there's a great friendship between Dief and Ray. It all works out in the end of course, with Dief once more furry and stealing doughnuts.
Warnings: No AO3 warnings apply

Creator 3: KittKat

Fanwork type: podfic with cover
Fandom: due South
Work Title: Walking Forward Back to You, written by prudence_dearly, read by KittKat
Length: 3 hours 32 minutes
Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Harding Welsh, Margaret Thatcher, Francesca Vecchio, Renfield Turnbull
Additional Tags: First Time, Podfic
Ratings & warnings: Teen and up, no archive warnings apply.
Summary: Fraser takes a walk down memory lane, and drags Ray along for the ride.
Notes: This fic came to me via a rec some time during the Due South 30 Below Fest last year. I knew as soon as I read it that I wanted to podfic it. I loved prudence_dearly's premise (Ben accidentally hypnotised himself and age regresses, Ray takes care of 5, 14 and 21 year old Ben while trying to figure out what happened and bring back his partner) and it is beautifully written, and the chance to voice Fraser at four different ages was too good of a challenge to pass up.

Creator 4: feroxargentea

Fanwork type: fic
Fandom: due South
Title: Full Fathom Six
Length: 26,088 words
Rating: M
Characters/pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Original Characters, minor characters from Mountie on the Bounty
Summary: “Why are you yelling at me?” Fraser asked.
Ray hesitated. “I can’t...I can’t swim.”
“Right,” Fraser said, taken aback. Of course Ray could swim. Fraser had taught him to swim. But that had been in 1810, and Ray didn’t remember 1810, because this was Lake Superior in 1998 and none of it was real.
Warnings: Canon-typical violence, bloodshed, dead bodies, period-typical homophobia

Creator 5: portlandwithyou

Fanwork type: fic
Fandom: due South
Title: Something to You
Length: 20,148 words
Rating: E
Characters/pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio, Ma Vecchio | Ray Vecchio's Mother, Maria Vecchio
Summary: After being mistaken for gay, Ray has a revelation about himself and his relationship to Fraser.
Warnings: Period-typical homophobia

Creator 6: wicked3659

Fanwork type: fic
Fandom: due South
Title: The Burden of Prejudice
Length: 26,134 words
Rating: T
Characters/pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Benton Fraser & Ray Kowalski, Benton Fraser & Ray Vecchio, Ray Kowalski & Stella Kowalski, Ray Kowalski & Francesca Vecchio, Diefenbaker & Benton Fraser & Ray Kowalski, Ray Vecchio/Irene Zuko, Stella Kowalski/Francesca Vecchio, Ray Kowalski & Ray Vecchio, benton fraser & mackenzie king
Summary: Ray Kowalski can be found most evenings looking through the cold case of Stella Kowalski's murder. Little does he know that this was a catalyst for something much, much larger than one ASA's untimely demise.
Warnings: Major character death

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dS/C6D Big Bang primary works sneak peak

2025-10-17T02:22:52Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Here's a sneak peek of the due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang primary creators and works that will be available for complementary claiming in just a few days. This is just a preview - the actual claiming post will go up on October 18!

Primary creators, please check we've got your details right and let us know if anything needs changing/adding.

( Read more... )

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Primary works due!

2025-10-12T14:23:23Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Hey all, work got a little away from me yesterday so we're giving everyone a few extra hours to get their works in. Post your finished work to our collection on AO3 before 2 p.m. Chicago time today, and it'll go on the list of works for complementary creators to pick from.

You can either go to the collection and click "Post to Collection", or go to your own AO3 dashboard, click "Post New" and fill in the "Post to Collections" field as ds_c6d_bigbang_2025.

If you miss the deadline, we won’t assign you a complementary creator, but we will keep cheering you on. You can submit your work at the complementary work deadline instead and still be part of the collection.

Everyone who'd like to be complementary creators: Stay tuned! We'll post a sneak peek of the work summaries in the next few days, and then the actual claiming post will go up on October 18.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the mods! We're happy to help if we can. Comment or DM us on dreamwidth or discord, or email us at dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com.

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Primary works due soon!

2025-10-10T04:03:18Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

All primary works are due by the end of the day (anywhere) October 11! If you think you may need a little extra time, contact one of the mods (thisaintbc or CJ) right away.

Although you can continue to edit between posting and go-live, all works must be complete at the time of posting. "Complete" means a finished work that's good enough to be published without any further changes, in the mods' opinion. If you're having problems, speak to the mods! If you miss the deadline, we won’t assign you a complementary creator, but we will keep cheering you on. You can submit your work at the complementary work deadline of November 21 instead and still be part of the collection.

(For those previously banned from complementary signups, now is the time to come and speak to the mods about getting unbanned. This only applies if you've defaulted by no-show at the final complementary deadline in the past and doesn't apply to any primary signups. We will usually ask you to submit your original assignment or an equivalent complementary work before you can sign up as a complementary creator again.)

( Instructions for submitting primary works )
If you have any questions, please reach out to the mods! We're happy to help if we can. Comment here, or DM us here or on discord, or email us at dsc6dbbmod@gmail.com.

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Chat #4

2025-07-23T02:51:10Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Chat #4 will be held at 2 pm Chicago time this coming Saturday, July 26. Check this link to see what time that is for you.

Chats and check-ins take place on our discord server.

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Revised 2025 Schedule

2025-06-30T03:06:51Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Due to some RL issues, we're pushing our deadlines back again this year, in a similar fashion to what we did in 2020. Here's the new schedule:

Revised 2025 Schedule
Sign-ups open: March 11th
Chat 1: April
Chat 2: May
Chat 3: June
Chat 4: July 26
Chat 5: TBD
Original primary works due date: August 16
New primary works due date: October 11 (the Saturday preceding Canadian Thanksgiving)
Complementary claims open: October 18
Mandatory checkpoint for complementary creators: November 1
Complementary works due: November 21
Go-live date for all works: American Thanksgiving, November 27

To try and keep motivation up, we've decided to offer a little merit badge for folks who manage to post their primary works by the original deadline. If you're a primary creator, you can post your work to the AO3 collection by August 16 in order to receive a badge you can display on your work, on social media, etc!

If you have signed up as a primary or complementary creator for this year and were not part of discord conversations about this possibility, please comment below letting us know that you've seen this post! If we don't hear from you we will reach out to you to make sure you know about these changes.

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dS/C6D Big Bang Chat #3

2025-06-10T00:53:44Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Our third chat is coming up! The third live chat for the 2025 due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang will take place at 2 p.m. Chicago time on Saturday, June 14. (What time is that for me?)

There will not be a split chat in June; this is the only chat for this month. Our fourth chat will be held the weekend of July 26.

Sign ups for the Big Bang are still open! For primary sign ups you can make 20k fics or equivalent art/craft/vids/podfic.

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dS/C6D Big Bang Chat #2

2025-05-11T23:47:43Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Our second chat is coming up! For the second live chat for the 2025 due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang, we have a choice of two times:

Chat 2A will take place at 12 p.m. Chicago time on Saturday, May 17 (What time is that where I am?)

Chat 2B will take place at 5 p.m. Chicago time on Sunday, May 18 (What time is that where I am?)

Sign ups for the Big Bang are still open! For primary sign ups you can make 20k fics or equivalent art/craft/vids/podfic.

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due South/C6D Big Bang Chat #1

2025-04-06T16:19:49Z

Posted by: thisaintbc

Our first official, quote-unquote 'formal' chat is coming up! The first live chat for the 2025 due South/Canadian Six Degrees Big Bang will take place at 4 pm Chicago time on April 12th. (What time is that where I am?)

Chats and check-ins take place on our discord server. All chats are optional; although many people find them helpful, you are by no means required to take part in a chat.

We encourage you to check out the server in advance of the chat - and, if you'd like, to use it to hang out and support each other even outside of the officially scheduled chats! Everyone is welcome, whether you're a participant, beta, cheerleader or just want to chat about due South and other C6D fandoms.

Sign ups for the Big Bang are still open! For primary sign ups you can make 20k fics or equivalent art/craft/vids/podfic/poetry.

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