This is the brainstorming post for folks to get all those great ideas out in the open before official signups. We'll form teams later; for now, let's hear about those awesome ideas for Losers bang-size works or complements--or for prompts you'd love to foist on somebody else!

A few items before we get started:

1. Please take a look at the rules, particularly the size requirements for bang-sized fanworks. If you have any questions, please comment over there or Contact A Mod.

2. Items to address in your top-level comment:
--Type and size of fanwork you're creating (if you know).
--Subject matter, genre, general idea, other details about your fanwork (if you know).
--Type(s) of and size(s) of other fanworks you're looking for (if you have a preference).
--Types of team members (besides bang and complement creators) you might like on your team (see #3 below).
--Type of team interaction you're looking for and what level of involvement you'd like (see #4 below).
--Anything else you feel like including!

3. The bang is open to fanwork creators of any stripe and ability, and to works of any size. If you don't feel you can create a bang-sized work, you can create a complement-sized work. If you don't think you can create a complement-sized work, you can create something of any size during the Scramble. It is also open to people who don't have the time to create anything, but who want to be involved in the process and help all these great fanworks come to fruition! If you want to help a team, try one of these vital roles:

--Cheerleader - someone to keep the team's spirits up through the long slogging middle
--Whipcracker - someone to insist on daily/weekly/semi-monthly word counts/sketches/macaroni sculptures.
--Alpha - sometimes known as "first audience" - a person who gets the first look at a fanwork and enthusiastically asks for more (and sometimes provides gentle guidance - but not editing, that's next up).
--Beta - that editor who is a second (or third or seventeenth) set of eyes - eagle eyes, to catch any coloring outside the lines or stray unglued macaroni or typos and offer constructive criticism.
--Omega - ...just kidding. We don't actually know what an Omega would be on a team, but if you want one or want to sign up as one, go for it!
--Time manager/nagger/mother hen/random capslock squee person... any way you can bring organization, time management, nagging, random knowledge, enthusiasm, inspiration, motivation, squee, or just plain silliness to a team, please come and join the fun!

4. Use the comment space to work out how your team will work together. Do you want a hands off team? Take the idea and run with it, check in on the comm weekly and not really talk again until go time? Or do you want more involvement, maybe a weekly or semi-monthly chat session? Maybe you want to create a community for your team. Maybe having a daily email reminder is the way to go. Be specific - the teams need to keep each other on track and enthusiastic about their works and they should work together in a way that makes it fun and exciting for everyone - but not stressful. Basically, teams are one of the best ways to keep each other going so we have lots of awesome fanworks on the bang go-live date.

5. Please use the subject lines. Put as much or as little information as you can fit about your team, complement offering, bang-sized work, or type of cheerleading/whipcracking/alpha/beta/etc in the subject line, and then include details and questions and brainstorming in the body of the comment itself. Examples:

--Comics Bang: Artist looking for author, dark and gory. Fanmix or graphics complements, whipcracker.
--Knitting Complements: up to two bangs, cheerleader welcome
--Alpha for vids: willing to cheer on vid bangs or complements
--Fic Bang: Crack sonwman!AU, request wacky complements clown school Beta
--Podfic Complements
--Professional Prodder
--Fanmix Bang: set of 6; want art complement (covers) and cheerleader (broad musical tastes preferred)
--Haiku Complements: Sets of haiku for up to 4 art bangs
--Spreadsheet Designer: time mgmt for writers: words per day spreadsheet
--Art Bang: Looking for any other fanworks and Alpha for gentle comments
--Macaroni sculpture complement: any bang, but no rigatoni
--Horse Riding/Ownership Beta available
--Meta Bang: need help brainstorming in the comments
--Team Rock and Roll: rock band AU - join us, the more the merrier!
--Unknown: Want to create an unusual bang in tandem with one or more complement creators. (Include more details about what you might want to do in the comment itself).
--Unknown: Looking for a team to do pirates vs. ninjas in many formats.
--Plot bunny up for grabs (use the comment itself to elaborate (feel free to drop prompts or plot bunnies for others to pick up, but please make it obvious in the subject line you do not intend to do the fanwork yourself))

6. We're doing the sign-ups the same as last year: we’re asking for bang sign ups first (May 8-14, 2015), and then opening the floor to complement creators and others to form teams (May 15-22, 2015). This is so we can be sure that everyone has a chance to look at all the possible teams at once to decide where they can best put their enthusiasm (and not overdo it, like a lot of us wonderful Losers folk tend to). We don't want anyone to miss out being on a great team because they forgot to look at sign-ups after the first day and someone put up a magnificent macaroni sculpture bang on day four.

7. Have a great time! *turns on the disco ball*