#and here I am participating in a ship exclusive zine

[thegoldenshi-shi]

Ah, before I forget again, I can share the piece I did for @jazzprowl-zine .

My first ever zine contribution, I am so proud~

[captainharknxss]

RULES.

1. I don't condone John Barrowman’s actions, and I don't think they should bring him back for Doctor Who cameos or any potential Torchwood spinoffs. (I personally think they should've recast him before Jack's cameo in 13’s run and written it off with the classic “have you had work done?” since it had been so long since we'd seen the character at that point, but that's neither here nor there.) I considered doing a fancast for this blog, but 95% of the face claim images I reblog are probably going to be direct gifs of the show, so it ended up seeming pointless.

If you aren't comfortable seeing John Barrowman on your dash, I totally get it. You don't need to message me to explain your reasoning, feel free to just block me. I only request that you hard block rather than soft block so I don't accidentally follow you again later on

2. This blog is 18+! But, not strictly a smut blog. I'm not here for smut, but if it happens, it happens. I'm sure there's going to be enough references to it here for 18+ to be necessary.

That being said, I am not particularly open to serious shipping. One night stands can happen, fuck buddies if you're lucky, but my blogs main verse takes place during season two of Torchwood and my primary ship is his budding relationship with Ianto Jones. My real life partner does RP as Ianto, though in the bedroom on Discord rather than Tumblr, and is my exclusive Ianto; I'm not interested in writing with other Iantos.

3. Jack has a lot of lore. If I contradict any of it, no I didn't. This blog is very likely to be canon divergent. My portrayal of Jack is based primarily on Torchwood, and little throwaway lines from Doctor Who/Big Finish/etc. are likely to slip through the cracks. Bear with me.

4. I'm pretty up on my Whoniverse lore despite being new to Torchwood; I wrote the Master for years, including having an entry in The History Between Us zine. Despite my participation in a pg-13 zine, Torchwood is definitely more suited to my usual writing style; I've written in the Outlast and Saw fandoms in the past. Sex and violence is my area of expertise.

[daredevilexchange]

Want to be featured here? Head to this page and fill in the form!

See what this is about here, or if you’re using the app here.

What’s your fannish ID? In most spaces (ao3, twitter, etc) you can find me under thelonebamf which is a handle I've had for //checks watch// over twenty years now and has a laughable origin that as far as I know predates the B.A.M.F. acronym, but guess who looked like a total d-bag on forums for years lol. Anyways, yeah, I've been lost in the Marvel sauce for literal decades now. Here on tumblr you can find me at @amazing-spiderling which is kind of a mishmash of one of the names Tony gives Peter in Civil War that I thought was funny.

What types of fanworks do you create? I dabble in creating fanart, comics, fics, and have made one fanmix and would probably do more if my taste in music was better. I have also smooshed all those interests together to run a small ask blog! I have run zines and events in other fandoms and would probably like to take a stab at that when irl calms down a little for me. :)

What are your favourite types of fanworks, when you’re not creating? I consume a lot of fanfic, pretty much every night before bed. XD I've just started getting into listening to podfics more recently. I love fanmixes especially when I'm trying to get some inspiration for a ship and want to get a feel for how other people interpreted the pairing. Gives you a little perspective. And who doesn't love some adorable fanart of their faves? Fan videos are great, but probably even better when you're watching them with your fandom friends and yelling over the internet. XD Oh, and when I see a full fledged fan comic, I pretty much lose my mind.

What do you like in particular about this fandom? I am pretty myopic when it comes to fandoms and ships. I'm usually there for one character/one ship only. In this case, I am here (the DD/Defenders fandom) for MattFoggy goodness exclusively. Of course since the two characters have SO much history, and are incapable of existing outside each other's orbits, canon has presented us with so many delightful and entertaining versions of their partnership to play with. Goodness knows I've fallen deep down the Earth-65 (Spider-Gwen) hole with these two and am likely never to crawl out. Oops. I love a good regular canon story too, and I'm happy to devour any AU a fic throws at me.

Do you like participating in fan events? I really enjoy doing fandom events and collaborations! I think I leaned into it pretty hard when I first started creating for the Daredevil fandom because it felt like if I was doing an exchange or a bang, then I was making something that at least one person was going to be into. Also, I have found that in most cases, it's a great way to meet people and make friends. I am one of those people that loves to pick my partner's brain, and likewise offer suggestions when needed. Sometimes you really hit that stride with each other and it makes you both that much more excited to work on the thing, and that's awesome. FRENS!

What about your creating process? If I'm writing, I find other words really distracting, but I also find it hard to work in silence. Coffee shop music is usually okay because it's not right in my face, but if I'm at home (god, when was the last time I worked in a coffee shop…) I need to have a more chill ambient thing going on. I put on a lot of lo-fi and vaporwave mixes when I need to make words be go. TBH I am SUCH a Goldilocks when it comes to writing. The vibe needs to be right, I need to have a plan in mind, my chair needs to be comfy… etc etc. At least when I do get down to it, I can smash out the words pretty quickly, just getting to that point can take some finesse. XD

If I'm drawing, it's another thing entirely. I tend to put on television, but it has to be something that I've either seen before (so I'm not worried about looking at the screen) or something that is really low stakes (youtube people reviewing snacks or something). I think I actually prefer people talking to music for art times… usually. It can just depend on what I'm working on.

Do you interact a lot with other fans? I am on discord... way too much, and pretty much have one foot in the Avocados server during all of my waking hours- which is great. I've made some really good friends there! [get in touch with lonebamf for info about the Avocados server!] Other than that, I always make an effort to comment on people's posts on other platforms where I feel like that kind of engagement is lacking (fanart on twitter/instagram) because I know how much I enjoy encouragement. Of course my inbox is always open here (and on the askblog, duh) in case anyone ever wants to pick my brain.

Do you have other fandoms you'd like to talk about? I am VERY slow to shift fandoms/ships (and never really leave, tbh), so my list is not very long. The most relevant one to mention would be Spideypool (and Spider-Man as a whole). I even did a podcast about Spider-Man and some of his wilder exploits called "Was Spider-Man There?" where my non-comic reading friend would make up a wild situation and I would have to figure out if it ever happened in canon. Good times. I also spent a lot of time in the Metal Gear Solid Snake/Otacon fandom because I guess there's just something in my DNA that makes me love "trained soldier who has the skillz to pay the billz and his dorky best friend and they make each other better people" as a ship dynamic.

Is there any particular piece you'd like to showcase for this post? So I love my askblog and my comics but the thing I want to point at with big neon flashing arrows is this fanfic I did for a recent server exchange called "The Indictment of Sick Jan" which is an Earth-65 fic about DA Nelson attending a holiday party Matt has invited him to against his better judgement. I really love writing Murderdock and their interactions and hope to get some more fics like this out there, but this is what I have to share for now! I would love it if more people checked it out! https://archiveofourown.org/works/36828508

Also, just saying, but you can also find all of my askblog comics crossposted to my ao3, just in case you want to read the whole thing in chronological order, or leave a comment with real talky words for me. <3

Is there anything else you want to tell us about yourself? I have two very cute pups and every day is a struggle not to use that new tumblr blaze feature to force thousands of people to look at pictures of them being cute. [Puppy pics below]

[ID: A collage of two dog photos. On the right is a tan Pomeranian, lying on a wood floor with his paws in front of him, head slightly tilted and wearing a smile. The photo is decorated with a pink thought bubble with a bone in it. This is Bijou and he is a very good boy. On the left is a small mixed breed dog, standing in dry grass. Her coat is neatly trimmed and entirely black except for the tip of her muzzle and her toes. She is also smiling at the camera and has goofy triangle ears because she is a triangle head. The photo is decorated with a small blue word bubble that says "bow wow". Her name is Vivi and she is a mischief (but still good).]

Where can your fanworks be found? Well first and foremost, you should check out my Earth-65 askblog over at @ask-nelsonandmurderdock because that's where the fun stuff is. (And give me a follow and throw an ask my way while you're there!)

You can find the rest of my recent stuff at https://amazing-spiderling.tumblr.com/tagged/my%20art (well most of it, there's some stuff I didn't tag during that weirdness this past December and I need to go back and fix that…)

And of course, you can find me over on ao3 at thelonebamf and Discord as thelonebamf#9897

I hope to interact with all you cool kids soon!

Thank you, @amazing-spiderling !

banner by @context-is-for-kingpins !

[ID on a white background, four black triangles that look like spotlights from above. Each illuminates one of the Defenders silhouetted in white: Jessica, Luke, Danny, Matt. A hand on the left is holding a pen writing the words Content Creator Spotlight. There is a little Punisher skull on the pen. End ID]

[calicorn]

My experience with WeLoveFine/ForFansByFans as an artist.

This in regards to the Act 6/7 Tarot Project, which occurred from 2017 to 2018. I also want to thank @aryll for the chance to participate in such a project, and thank you for doing what you could with the group and what occurred. I realize this is a few years late, however, but it’s been bothering me ever since it occurred, and I only chose to speak my mind about it. But to summarize, the project started out as unofficial, however we were approached by FFBF in February of 2018. They were willing to sell the deck as official merchandise on their store. I have my own opinions on the company, as it’s known they underpay artists severely for their work despite selling most items for extremely high prices. A similar payment issue occurred with the Official Homestuck Zine, and one of the artists of the Tarot Project posted this in the comments:     “Can relate OP. I did work for the new tarot deck (using my throwaway account for that reason lol) but we aren’t being paid at all. No money. The only compensation we are getting is a free deck and an exclusive enamel pin which is pennies compared to what they’ll be making off us. One might argue that the project wasn’t supposed to be printed so I should be grateful it’s even happening but I expected a big company like WLF to y’know, pay artists... The only reason I agreed to letting them use my art was to get a free deck. I also honestly dislike WLF’s artist compensation policy. My art has been selected from the Fan Forge before and the idea of being able to sell my HS art was so appealing, but the execution is so poor. They don’t pay us until we sell $100 worth of shirts, but that is so difficult in a market that is so oversaturated. I wish they like, cycled designs in and out. Instead, they just keep adding more and more designs, drowning out old ones and just flooding the entire market. Plus, they get to withhold money from artists until every hundred-dollar mark. I can’t imagine how much they’ve made off of small time artists that get their design accepted and sell maybe 3 shirts since it happens so often.” So. What exactly happened? I’ll explain under the cut given there’s a decent amount to go through. Though to summarize; WeLoveFine/ForFansByFans is an extremely egregious company that does not value their artists whatsoever and will do what they can to pay them as little as possible. Please support said artists on sites that actually do give them fair pay, or support them via commissions.

There were a few bumps during the tarot project, though overall it went extremely smoothly and we released our art to the Tumblr blog. FFBF approached us during this time, and we were all given the option to agree to continue working or the project or decline. However, this is what was an important piece to the initial email sent out by the Tarot Project team;      • Each participating artist will get a full finalized copy of the deck, COMPLETELY free. This includes packaging and free shipping of the deck.      • Each participating artist will get an enamel pin commemorating the project, EXCLUSIVE to the artists of this project only, with a custom design as chosen/designed by us. What will most likely occur is that everyone who wishes to submit a design for the pin can do so, and as a group, we will vote on which one we would like to submit as our final design choice!     • Each participating artist will receive FULL COMMISSION on any further usage of their artwork by What Pumpkin or For Fans By Fans. For example, if they release a mini-print, wallet, etc. with your design on it, you will be paid in commission for the usage of your work. (If you have ANY questions about how this would work, please don’t hesitate to ask and I will hook you up ASAP with a For fans By Fans representative who can go over the details with you further.)     • Each participating artist will have a window in which they will be able to make updates or revisions to their illustration(s) before the project is released. This means that if something is bugging you about your work, or you feel that it does not reflect your current level of skill, you will be allowed to resubmit a new version before the project officially goes up as merchandise! So, the majority of us agreed to continue forward with the project and retouch our cards. From there, things continued, and we were emailed by a FFBF representative on occasion to discuss how the process went, as well as various other things that required discussion, plus asked to assist in the promotion of the 4/13/18 celebration on their website. This is where the issues began and would continue through the entire project, with it still being seen post-release of the cards. We were sent an email in April of 2018 requiring information to be provided in the  accompanying booklet of the deck, as well as being asked to answer various interview questions that would be posted to FFBF’s Tumblr, and most importantly; the Commission Agreement form. So what did it entail? This was the form I was sent. My interview was never posted. I have looked multiple times and never seen evidence it ever was, either. And this was also included in the email;    • We are going to be hosting a pre-order bonus promotion surrounding the new tarot set, starting 413. Anyone who pre-orders the set will be entered into a drawing to win a commissioned art piece from a random artist who worked on the tarot. You will be paid by us, FFBF, for this commission work in the amount of $50.  So we had to draw more art with a very close deadline date to obtain a payment  for art we had already created, both of which should have easily been worth more than $50 total. I signed without thinking, which looking back on, was incredibly idiotic, despite my own worries over the fact that even at the time, $50 did not seem like a lot. Progress continued. An exclusive pin was designed and created for the artists, though the production and delivery dates would be delayed to September of 2018. During this time, we were also invited to join FFBF’s Discord server as well, which I am still in, though am not active in. And eventually, we were provided a Commission Schedule. I do not know if I’m missing an email between the enamel pin shipment and this schedule post, however I cannot find any trace of it. This is the Commission Schedule email, and what it consists of. Of course I found it strange, because looking at the schedule, I could never find any sign of myself having been added. Obviously I should have replied then and there due to that, but I didn’t, and that is my own fault. But that rolled into October of 2018, when I did finally email back and asked about why I hadn’t been added. I was sent back this; “Hi Calicorn! I’m sorry I misinterpreted your response as not wanting to proceed:“3)  I am completely willing to sign up for being one of the artists for the commission raffle event, though I must say $50 would be underpaying considering most artists’ base prices for commissions tend to be $50 or more.” Then I sent “If you do not want to be part of the give-away, that’s totally ok. We are offering $50 for these commissions but if that price is not within your comfort, there’s no pressure!” You never came back with anything so I didn’t want to proceed since it seemed like you were uncomfortable with the amount we were offering – I’m really sorry if I misunderstood! The giveaway is actually over I’m sorry to say but I appreciate you following up about this. I wonder why the message went into spam.. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you Thanks!” And one of the most glaring issues popped up in October as well. When we finally received our decks in the mail, our project’s Discord group began to discuss the fact that our emails had been printed in the pamphlet without our permission. Mind you, this was also a project that included minors in it, and our emails had now been given away without our knowledge. Another issue with the pamphlets is the fact that FFBF had reused the same text from the Homestuck Kickstarter Tarot Deck, as seen on the New Booklet/Old Booklet, and here/here. FFBF then decided to remove the booklet from every outgoing tarot that gets ordered, with customers receiving a corrected digital PDF that was coordinated in its creation by Aryll. And apparently previous customers would receive this PDF via emails, as well as a link to download it on the product page. Thankfully FFBF seemed to have at least posted the PDF on the product page, however this seems extremely lazy compared to simply including the newly reprinted booklet. Though this may not be the last of issues, as I stumbled across the Amazon product page for our tarot deck earlier before typing this all up. To say the least, it is extremely infuriating, especially given the quality of the cards and how many people of complained about them on both Amazon and FFBF’s websites. Of course we, the artists, were never alerted to this development, nor were we paid for such.

But overall, we were hardly paid for our time and effort during this project, which is a massive disappointment, but perhaps that much should have been expected from WeloveFine/ForFansByFans, who are notorious for underpaying artists and overpricing products. Their actions are inexcusable, and I am still both disappointed and furious with this company as a whole. But thank you for reading, and please spread the word, as I do not want FFBF’s actions to go unnoticed.

[princip1914]

Princip -- you're the only other person I know who is a bit iffy on participating in zines. What are your reasons? I feel like we probably agree on some of them.

Hey RF! This is a great question, and a timely one. I have seen a lot of zine apps floating around Good Omens fandom recently. I imagine that those of us who, like me, love the fandom but aren't interested in participating in a zine might be feeling a bit left out. So I am answering this ask in part as a way to say: if zines aren't your thing, that's fine! It also goes without saying that if zines ARE your thing, that's fine too. I love that there are a wide variety of ways to participate in fandom, and I don’t mean to say one way is better than another. My goal here is just to articulate why I don’t feel comfortable participating in zines. So, here goes. It’s a long one, so my answer is under the cut.

1) Inclusivity: One of my favorite things about fan culture is how radically inclusive it is. Anyone can post something to AO3. It’s so easy! All you need is an email address and a story to tell. I love that. I LOVE that. What’s more, anyone can read anything on AO3. All you need is an account for works that are archive-locked and then the internet is your oyster. There are so few spaces in life that are like this. Almost everything--from where we live, where we go to school, where we eat and drink, who we know, what media we consume--has an element of exclusivity to it. Even other online platforms, like facebook or instagram, have algorithms to steer how content is experienced. Zines--which on the writing end have applications and mod teams, and on the reading end make content available only to paid subscribers for a period of time after publication--are exclusive spaces within the vast inclusive world of fandom. For me, the benefit of having something printed out, edited, thoughtfully formatted, etc. is not worth the exclusivity of the process.

I want to add here that I think there are many important conversations going on about how to make AO3 and other fan spaces even more inclusive (especially for creators of color and survivors of trauma). I think there’s still a ways to go, but that the ideal of what these sorts of spaces are supposed to be, is radically inclusive and that ideal matters.

2) Costs: I mentioned this above in my point about exclusivity, and I can already sense the notes piling up to remind me that many zines have a “pay what you can” option and make no profit and/or have the profit donated to a charity. I think those approaches to pricing are admirable. For many people, the act of raising money for a charity through zine publication may feel like an important and cherished part of fan culture. For me, however, it is important that my participation in fandom remain radically anti-capitalist. I never want money to gate access to my writing, which I do for free and for fun. This is also why I will never have a patreon or ko-fi account.

I recognize that this attitude comes from a place of relative privilege--I am financially secure and able to donate a portion of my income to charity each year. I have time to participate in service work outside of fandom. I understand that not everyone may be in this position and that zine work may feel important to some as a way to raise money for worthy causes.

3) Competitiveness: The world is a competitive place. I constantly feel pressure in my IRL life to perform better than others to advance my career. To some extent, I have internalized this drive and I wish I hadn’t. For me, fandom is a wonderful place where I am relearning the importance of doing something just for the joy of it, rather than to be the “best” at it. By not applying for zines, I am consciously choosing to keep my experience of fandom free of any comparisons with others (I would banish the AO3 stats page from existence if I could, but that’s another story).

4) IRL/Fandom Intersection: Unfortunately, I am not able to be open about my participation in fandom in IRL spaces. I know I will never buy a zine because I will never feel comfortable attaching a credit card with my IRL name to a fandom purchase, or revealing my IRL address for shipping. This sharp separation between my IRL life and my fandom life means that I (and others who maintain the same boundaries) will always be limited in our consumption of paid content and physically printed content.  I would rather not contribute to a product that a portion of the fandom (including myself) is unable to access.

With all the zine applications coming out these days, I wanted to provide a voice saying that it is possible to have a great fandom experience without participating in zines. If you’re worried about missing out on the social aspect of participating in a zine, there are a myriad of ways to make friends in fandom--participating in an event, joining a discord server, messaging writers you like on tumblr (yes, even if you’ve never DM’d them before, most of us love meeting new people and starting conversations!), reading and commenting on others’ fics, replying to comments on your own fics, etc. 

While these are my top personal reasons why I have never chosen to apply for a zine, I know that many people do enjoy them and I’m happy that the fandom is big enough for many different kinds of content!

At the risk of inviting ~discourse~ I would love to hear others’ (respectful!) thoughts on why they like or don’t like being a part of zines!

[thissimplefeelingzine]

I know this is for charity but this zine was cheap & cheerful; it feels (though bigger/shinier) now pricey? Esp. the (gorgeous) prints. Part of zine/fandom is non/low profit also in the community sense, to minimize financial barriers to what we & others love- most of us just want to share. I know it's for an LGBT charity but for some LGBTQ+ people their fandom/fanwares IS their lifesaver & it's depressing to be unnecessarily(?) priced out of it 😔 Sorry if margins are in fact close- do clarify!X

The earlier zine ran with one mod and many fewer contributors, and had a different method of submission than we used. I can't speak for the finances of the zine under previous administration (who was in a different country than me, the current finance mod), but I can promise you that these prices are as low as I could make them, while being able to fund this zine. As it is, there is a very real chance that we may not make our printing cost, in which case I personally will be making up that difference. That's not something I can easily afford to do, but it's what I WILL do, if necessary.

The printing costs for all of these things, even paper products, are not cheap. There are minimum order sizes for everything included in these bundles; even if i only sell 1 copy of a zine, I would still have to buy ~125 of them (There are some printers that will sell you a single copy of a printed book, buuuut usually for about 40$). Our prices were derived by figuring out how much it would cost to make all of these items, and also to ship a complete bundle to each of our contributors. We chose good thick paper (more expensive) because our contributors have been working on the works included in this project for nearly a year, & paper makes or breaks printed work. They aren't getting paid, because this zine is for charity, but their time and efforts are extremely valuable to me, and the least I can do to compensate their efforts is send them a copy of everything we make, shipping included. Our contributor base is about 50% international (relative to where they'll be shipping from); domestic shipping is ~10$, and international was ~17$ last time I checked (& has been rising.) The cost of compensating contribs is more than half of our total cost. And that's pretty normal for a project like this, I'm told.

These prices were chosen through long consideration and discussion with experienced zine mods. The price of the zine itself is a little cheaper than I was advised to list (the advice was 15$ digital and flat 25$ physical and then extra on top of that for the inclusion of a pdf.) Before we made that call, I spent months watching every zine advertising account I could find to make sure that our prices were reasonable based on what we were offering and in comparison to other zines-- the advice from people I'd asked matched that data. I'm 2$ below that price-- It's only a couple of dollars, but even that small cut makes it significantly riskier that we will not meet our funding goals and I, personally, will be making up the difference.

It's also worth noting that this edition of our zine includes more content than previous editions. We've dramatically increased the number of artists included, because we wanted to encourage as much participation as we could. This zine was previously a saddle-bound volume; we are now perfect bound (pages start to buckle in saddle-bound after a certain numer), finishing out at 67 pages. Our cover is thicker cover-stock, and will have a protective coating. Our content is coming from 24 artists & 5 writers, + an extremely dedicated team of mods. (The previous editions had significantly fewer contribs per edition, allowing it to be saddle-bound)

The TL;DR of this post is that I truly, truly wish I could sell these at lower prices, but it is very important important to me that I get a copy of these bundles to all of my contributors at no cost to them, in exchange for the hours and hours of work that they've already given to me for free. I also wish i could just eat the cost of production & contributor compensation & domestic + international shipping, but I have rent & extremely high medication costs, & i cannot easily afford to take a couple hundred dollar cost on top of that (much less the $1k+ cost of printing a zine w just paper merch on high enough quality substrates to do justice to my contribs). I am sympathetic, though-- I've been a fan who couldn't afford fanworks. So here's this-- if we're out of your funding scope and you absolutely CANNOT afford our digital price ($13), go ahead and shoot us an email with how much you can afford to pay. I'm not going to make you any promises-- we HAVE to hit our funding threshold for me to be able to do this, full stop -- but *IF* we meet our funding thresholds, I will see what I can afford to do. (& even then, it would be PDF only; honor system (since this is already an extra level of logistics) so please only use that option if you must-- but i also do feel strongly about being as non-exclusive as i can, so yep. IF we hit our funding thresholds, i will see what I can do.)

If you can't tell, this really really is something that I struggled with-- and continue to struggle with-- for a long time, as someone who DEEPLY believes that fanworks should be free and available, but also believes that I don't have the right to steal the labor of my contribs without compensating them + also has fairly high medical costs that will be hit if i need to personally make up for any difference (which is ALWAYS a risk, whenever you do a project like this).

[heathersthemusicalzine]

PRE-ORDERS FOR DAMAGED: A HEATHERS ZINE ARE NOW OPEN

It’s a pleasure to announce that Damaged: A Heathers the Musical Zine have extended Pre-orders until the 31st of October. We will also run a small sale of 10% off until the end of the week (October 18th) 

LINK TO THE SHOP HERE

The giveaway is still rolling and you can participate by reblogging the original Post HERE - additionally, the Giveaway winner will be announced on the 5th of November.

We have some Stretch Goals including a Gold Foil Cover Update at 50 Physical Orders and an exclusive Enamel Pin for Merch Bundles at 100 Orders!

Make sure to keep reading for a small description of each Bundle!

Shine a Light - 12$ 10$ | A Digital Version of the Zine Beautifull - 20$ 18$ | A Physical Version of the Zine Candy Store - 35$ 32$ | A Physical Version of the Zine alongside Heathers only Merch Our Love is God - 35$ 32$ |  A Physical Version of the Zine alongside Veronica, JD and Martha only Merch Yo Girl - 35$ 32$ | A Physical Version of the Zine alongside paper-based Merch that allows for a cheaper shipping price Big Fun - 35$ 32$ | A Merch-Only Bundle perfect for those Merch-Lovers I am Damaged - 50$ 45$ | A Full Bundle filled with different items

@fandomzines @zine-scene @zineapps @zinesubmissions @zineforall @zinefeed  @faneventshub @zinecenter - Thank you in advance for sharing!!

[ceallachs]

thank you.

This announcement is a little overdue, but I’ve gained over 1k followers on this blog! 🥳🥳🥳

I actually passed this milestone a while ago. Life has just been getting to me with so much to do that I can only manage a couple of drawings at a time. So I don’t have anything special other than my heartfelt thanks and some words. Under this post, I address a lot of things in regards to my art journey, fandoms, future plans with BakuTodo, and a lot of it is about AkaKuro.

So if you are interested, please read on. If you’re here just to check my art, thank you. Thank you for taking the time to let my work be part of your day and for your support. ^^

.

I know I was mostly only posting KnB/AkaKuro stuff until only a couple months ago, so the change from KnB to BNHA was pretty drastic and nerve-racking. I’ve been thinking of making the move as early as December 2019, but I hesitated for the longest time. As someone who has built their fandom “identity” around AkaKuro and KnB, making that move to another fandom, to another OTP even, may have come as a surprise to a lot of my old followers and friends. I do not keep track of every individual followers I get; surely some have left, or maybe some still stick around to see if I will get back to AkaKuro again, one day.

Interests are fleeting and people change constantly. In a time where people always jump onto the next big thing to another in a short span of time, I can say that I have a pretty good streak of committing to my main fandoms. My first online fandom lasted for seven years. The next was KnB, and this one lasted for nine years.

I was a teenager when I joined the KnB fandom and now I’m in my 20s. I still love AkaKuro with all my heart; it will always be a big part of who I am, but I have to admit at some point where I am now in life, and I will say I have already moved on.

This is an excerpt from my Twitter that I thought I should also address here because it sums up everything I’ve wanted to say. I’ve made some major tweaks and edits and added more things to properly articulate my feelings about the matter. I hope it is understandable enough.

It started in November.

In the first few months of dabbling with BakuTodo, I was very, very scared. I was worried because I was such a prominent person for the AkaKuro fandom; I hosted and held events for years, I stayed "active" for AkaKuro even five years after KnB had ended. I wrote fics, drew stuff, promoted every AkaKuro thing I can even when all my AkaKuro friends have moved on. I have so much AkaKuro merch and doujins because it had taken over my life that prominently. 

So after all of that, I didn't know what would happen with a change because I felt like I was already in too deep to move on now. I wasn't sure if I could (should) like anything else, or if I was even allowed to like something else as deeply as AkaKuro without letting people down.

Eventually I just gave in three months later and became more vocal about this new interest. I lost followers which was expected, even those whose handles that became very familiar to me because they actively interacted with me about AkaKuro and KnB before. It stung but not as badly as I thought it would. The change was nice; I felt free.

I think it's only now that I've become comfortable to admit all this in public. To admit my worries, to admit that I've liked a ship more than AkaKuro for a while, to admit that the weight of AkaKuro being prominently tied to my name like an identity has become too heavy a burden to bear. I still do love AkaKuro, it's a part of my life that will never change, I think. But it's also not my main source of happiness nor inspiration anymore, and I hope that, it's okay for me to feel that way now that I've said it out loud.

It's strange to explain, but I think it's because I've dedicated a huge chunk of my life to AkaKuro that I think I've already exhausted all I have to give for it. Nine years of being solely dedicated to one ship is a long time, you have to admit. It's not like my other ships that are more casual, so that burst of excitement will always be present when it gets brought up once in a while. With AkaKuro, my feelings for it have significantly mellowed down, like a precious memory now tucked away in a special place in my heart.

A friend told me that it's okay to move on, and that somewhere down the line AkaKuro will become something I'll look back on fondly even though bittersweet. I have no doubts that'll be the case. But it's also nice to finally just be honest and set myself free.

I've also been feeling very guilty of promising an AkaKuro zine last December and now... it is just the last thing on my mind. I have so much more I want to do that is no longer about AkaKuro, and I shouldn’t force myself to do this zine out of obligation. But if ever someone else were to host an AkaKuro zine, I will support it and even participate if the timing is right.

About my future plans, I don’t think I will be drawing KnB again out of leisure (maybe for commissions, or projects, etc). I still have a lot of unfinished and unreleased KnB fanmerch though (an AkaKuro yukata standee and Carnival AkaKuro standee, and maybe a re-release of some old charms for the last time), so that may be the last of my contribution to this ship out of my own volition for a while. It would be a waste to scrap them.

Right now, all my love and inspiration for anything creative and self-indulgent is being driven by BakuTodo and it’s the best feeling I’ve had in a long time. I want to draw more about them; I have long list of ideas I’m excited to get into. Not only that, my love for writing was reawakened too, and I hope to also post fics about them along with my art.

I still love AkaKuro, and people can still talk to me about AkaKuro, but it is definitely not my priority ship anymore. Who knows if I'll come back to it again, but for right now, I hope everyone will be okay with the change. And if not, that's okay too and I expected it, I also put this out here to give the go signal if anyone wants to unfollow or not. I know there are people who only follow for specific content, and I've come to terms with myself to be okay with this happening with me.

Just know I'm happy where I am. I'm grateful to friends and acquaintances who still stick around to support me even after this, and I also understand if some don’t. I hope those who leave will find another content creator to cater to their needs. Thanks for giving me a chance. ^^

I hope this clears up the kind of content to be expected from me from now on. I will never forget my time in the KnB fandom because this is where it all started for me. I will also be slowly getting rid of more AkaKuro doujins, fanmerch, and official merch collection once the lockdown situation eases up. Hopefully someone else will find homes for them.

Tumblr is not my main social media but I still do like the format of blogging here, so I stay to cross-post my art from Twitter and Instagram. 

From exclusively drawing cheebs, I’m now also drawing non-cheebs and I’m having a lot of fun. My art is far from perfect and that’s okay. As someone who gave up on art for nine years, being able to do it again now, sharing and posting my art and actually be happy about it is more than enough for me. I’m not striving for perfection, I know where my level is at. Drawing and writing are both hobbies I hold dear -- a creative outlet for me to express my love for what I’m currently passionate about and what makes me happy. I really appreciate it if you stay with me for this ride because I know I’ve come a long way these past 2-3 years.

To anyone who views my art, likes and reblogs, leaves nice comments and all, I hope you know that I appreciate you a lot. I rarely get messages on here, but I do read tags on my posts often, and going through them always puts a smile on my face to know that I have an audience here who genuinely likes what I do.

There isn’t much more for me to say here so I think that will be all. Again, thank you for 1k+ followers! If I can make even just a single person happy with my art, whether you’re new here or just dropping by or have been following me for a long time, I’ll be content. And if I can make someone like BakuTodo too through how I portray them, that’d be even more amazing. ^^

Until next time. 💖

[raayllum]

*is the Rayllum zine the first one you’ve worked on? What’s it like being a mod? Give us some hype for the zine :)

Not going to wait to answer this one either, as I don’t think it’d be answered in time podcast schedule wise, with only 13 days left until the end of the Rayllum zine campaign!!

So, in answering your questions: Yes, this is the first zine I’ve worked on and the first one I’ve ever participated in! I keep expecting to be nervous about the pieces I’m submitting — a solo piece and then one co-written with @thosefiveadoraburrs — but I honestly think it’s like, extremely solid work. Like, almost surprisingly so?? I don’t usually dislike my pieces but it’s not often I read something and feel like every line is like, Solid as Hell, so it’s very nice that this is the case for pieces that are (technically) being paid for and printed. 

As for what it’s like to be a mod, I kinda feel like a fake mod, but like, in the best way? I was the last mod added to the team and the least active on discord still. I defs do any of the heavy hitting but I do help spread word social media wise here on tumblr (hello followers, thank you) and am currently beta-reading all the pieces for the zine. I mostly just get to chill and talk to some really cool, great people and weigh in with my two cents on decisions, sometimes. Cannot say enough good things about the rest of the mod squad or the Rayllum fandom and our contributors. People are so, so kind and generous in general and to one another.

All of pieces are AMAZING and there’s a good 100+ pages of fic (although that depends on formatting). They’ve made me laugh and cry in all the best ways and just really show all the reasons why Rayllum is an amazing ship with some truly amazing people creating content for them. As a mod I’ve also gotten to see some of the full art pieces and they’re incredible. I’ll also never get over the fact we got artists like Viria and a couple of official character designers for the Dragon Prince making exclusive prints and charms for the zine!

Hands down one of the coolest fandom experiences I’ve ever been a part of! With money going to a good cause, too. 

I can’t wait for it to be shared with you guys! More info if you want it can be found in the link above or over at @falling-for-you-a-rayllum-zine, esp if you want to see some previews of some of the art!

[zyuna-arts]

I will be at MerfishCon & SIDM x SDN Artmart selling my merch! Both are free online conventions and transactions will be handled via my Etsy.

Besides being a participating artist in MerfishCon, I'm also part of the organising team behind making the convention a reality & also help moderate our official Discord server and Twitch channel. We’re really active on Discord where you can chat with other artists, creators & organisers! Here are the con details:

MerfishCon 2020

11 - 13 December 2020 (Friday to Sunday)

11AM - 6PM (GMT+8, Singapore Time/SGT)

FREE-to-attend Virtual Artist Alley & Convention

Website: https://www.merfishartists.com

Socials: https://linktr.ee/merfishartists

SIDM x SDN Art Market 2020

11 - 31 December 2020

Launching 12PM, 11 Dec '20 (GMT+8)

Online Art Market (Free!)

Website: https://marketplus.d-studio.com.sg/ (Under 'Art Market')

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nypsidm/

SHOP PROMOS:

Spend min. 30SGD (~22USD) & get an exclusive A6 print of my Animal Crossing sona

Get 3 exclusive mini prints when you purchase 2 or more sets of any Hamster stickers (eg. Drinks or Desserts series)

Find the hidden discount code in my promo image to get 10% off orders over 10SGD (excluding commissions) from 11 December 2020 - 4 January 2021

Free tracked shipping for orders within Singapore & 8SGD (5USD) for all international orders

Commission info will be posted separately! You can view the full catalogue here

For more listings and images of the physical products, please head to my Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ZyunaArts

Donate: https://ko-fi.com/realzyuna 

Commission Info: https://linktr.ee/ZyunaArts > Commissions

Supporting me would directly fund for my bills (eg. food, transport, software fees) & education fees! Art is my main source of income and I technically lost my job after my last gig in January since I do event-based work. Since then I’ve been trying to make ends meet where Etsy sales and comms are my primary sources of income now.

I will be returning to school for further art studies in July 2021 and need to pay off fees of 13K SGD (9.7K USD) latest by the start of 2021, which I am far from being able to afford atm. I already got accepted into the school after passing the interview, however my spot will not be confirmed until the fees are paid.

I hope that by participating in these online conventions, not only would it be an insightful experience but I’d be able to fund for my education fees! <3

[giyuuzine]

First of all, thank you so much for 184 responses on the interest check in less than 2 weeks! We have received a lot of interesting ideas and comments on the form and we would like to share with you some of the results and respond to some of the comments! Note: The interest check form is still open until the end of October 2019 as originally planned. If there are more questions and interesting results I will make another post like this again :3

Thank you for so much interest!  First of all, Writer Mod applications have just opened in the previous post. Please apply if you are interested in helping out as the position is very important. We won’t have writer contributor positions if we can’t get a Writer Mod! 

Regarding the layout mod, we are currently not looking for one.  I do not expect a lot of layout work since the zine will be mostly full page art work. The writing pages I am not sure right now, but if we think a layout mod is required later we will look for one, so please keep an eye out! For the merch artist positions, we won’t be looking for merch-only artists. However, we will be looking for five sticker artists from the accepted team. There will be an option to check whether you are interested in working on an extra sticker on the application form to be opened next weekend or earlier!

Thank you for the feedback! We are going to have an application process due to the large amount of support!

Most respondents are in for the 30+ page range. The final page count will most likely depend on the applicants, but I am still thinking the final page count for the physical copy should be capped at around 60 pages. Perhaps we can have a larger PDF copy if there are applicants who would only want to be in the PDF copy?

We get a lot of interesting responses on this one, but of course we all like Giyuu~ (To the 17.6% respondents who chose the blue option are you Shinobu’s spies? :3)

---------------------------------

And... onto some responses to comments. (Note: Comments maybe slightly modified or shortened to group similar comments together)

Will there be ships? To be honest I don’t know too much about ships, and we are not here to start ship wars, so I would say let’s keep the zine SFW and ship-free. It is ok to draw Giyuu interacting with any other characters but we are going to have pieces that makes Giyuu shine as the main character in the piece! However, anything that is largely hinted or canon in the manga/anime is fine!

Will there be merch? Yes! We are currently planning to choose 5 merch artist for stickers from the accepted applicants. (There will also be one zine exclusive acrylic keychain from the mod.) We will discuss with the accepted team whether they would like to produce more merch. Merch will be for-profit, and the earnings from merch will be used to send participants a small gift, but it is not expected to be enough to cover a free zine plus shipping of the zine.

Can there be manga spoilers? I think certain spoilers are ok, such as Giyuu with a character which has not appeared in the anime, but spoilers such as a character’s death or who won in a battle is not recommended.

Maybe make this a paid zine instead? That was my original plan, but at that time I was unsure whether Giyuu is a popular character (thank you so much for showing so much love for him >A<) so I thought it may be easier to make this a free zine. If this is a paid zine there will be more stuff to worry about and I may be more strict on the screening process, which may take away some of the fun. We need to spread the Giyuu support far and wide~~

[icypantherwrites]

Looks Like I’m Making a Zine! (Survey Results & Outcomes) ♥

First off, thank you so much to those who for participated in my interest survey. Your feedback is the reason this project is being given the green light and helped me to determine some of the larger details and schematics of it. 

Let’s go over the results :D

45 of you said you would be interested in the idea of purchasing a zine, and considering I was aiming for about ~50 copies for the base goal that seems rather sporting. To those of you who voted against, thank you for your honest answer. As much as one would love to see a poll of only yes’s that’s not realistic and I appreciate you helping me round out the results :)

30 individuals and 60 percent majority voted for the option of having the zine feature old content and a few new pieces that would be later published online. As you can see, there was a close divide between the two other options, although the zine only content was the low vote getter. With all of these in mind, the zine will be publishing several zine exclusive pieces that will then publish online at a later date. To all those who said they just wanted a physical copy, nothing extra required, you are so sweet ♥

I was incredibly touched by the large number (21 individuals with 42 percent majority) who wished to spend the highest dollar amount of $25USD, which would result in roughly a ~70k word zine. Taking both that large percentage and the other two votes, I think at this point the zine would be priced at $22 USD with an approximate word count of ~58k, which would result in two zine exclusive pieces and that could change based on stretch goals. Please do note that the $22 does include shipping inside the U.S. (first class USPS with tracking). International orders will have an extra shipping cost tacked onto that.

I would love to offer the higher word count zine per the majority vote, but I don’t want to dissuade those that selected the $15 option with too large of a jump and $7 isn’t too much, especially given the extra content, and hopefully not too much either for the $20 group. Feel free to drop a comment below if you have different thoughts on this as this number is not set in stone until I finish designing the book and pre-orders go up.

I was both surprised and touched at where the majority fell here. It means a lot to me that not only are my chosen charities accepted but that so many of you care about where your money is going ♥ I always do my research when donating as I want to make sure the money goes to the cause, not the chairman, so this was pleasant. A poll with options will be put up at a later date as we move along and you guys will determine which charity we ultimately pick. 

To note, while a good chunk of this zine’s earnings will be going towards the charity, a large portion will be going to both production and shipping costs (and service fees associated with those things) and I will also be partaking in some of the profit as it is a book of my works and also all of the design work and time being put into this project. 

What next?

What next indeed. Now that we’ve gotten an idea of the length and the cost I am going to start selecting stories to be placed into the zine (officially titled “A Collection of Langst”) and begin layout design. I am doing the story selection on my own to make sure there’s a range of both types of angst and other characters involved with Lance, but depending on stretch goals later you could have the option to select additional fics.

Given that there will be (for now) two zine exclusive pieces I’m going to be reaching out to your help in determining the plot/trope of those. Tumblr will be choosing one piece and members of my Patreon will be voting on the other (and if you happen to be both, whoot whoot!) Those pieces will each be between 2k-5k words; I’m not locking into any set number at this time. 

I’ll be setting up the above charity poll as well soon too as I’d like to give everyone time to look into the options and vote for the one you like best. ♥

I will also be creating a few stretch goal items based on pre-order sales that could result in additional content being added to the zine at no extra charge to you. These items could include both already published content and new pieces. 

Timeline wise I could see this project entering the pre-order buy phase beginning in early May because I have no stop button and just go go go all the time. Dates will be communicated as we progress and pre-orders will remain open (via BigCartel) for about one month. My goal would be to ship these out to you come mid-late June / early July. 

Other zines in the works?

This is my first foray into this type of thing so I’m not trying to go too crazy. If, by chance, there is a lot of interest I could always create a “Volume Two” of even more Langst deliciousness later in the year (or even next).

Color will not be being made into a zine as it is far, far too large, but if there was enough interest both Sin and Hope could be considered for their own publications. We’ll see how this all goes first and make a decision at a later time. But you may be seeing an interest poll sometime around summer for those items. 

Thank you all again for your support of this project. It means so much to me that so many of you are interested in purchasing a physical copy of my works. Bodes well for that novel, eh? ;p I’ll stop spamming the page (other than a couple reblogs of this) with zine content for at least a few days as I prep on my end, but look forward to some posts in the coming weeks as we kick off!

AO3 | Ko-Fi | Patreon | Discord

[erosyuurizine]

"Who am I dancing for? I know who.” -- Katsuki Yuuri

Before the editorial staff here at Eros fully unveils our Fall/Winter collection, we would like to give you a sneak preview of our bundle contents, pricing, shipping fees, and stretch goal merchandise item. 

Print Bundles

💋 The Pomeranian — $25 USD

A print copy of Eros: a Yuuri zine.

6 x 9", full-color, perfect bound format.

Includes 100 pages of exclusive, never before seen sexy Katsudon content and cover art by @iruutciv.

Our zine is for Mature Audiences Only - no one under the age of 18 may purchase it.

💋 The Welsh Corgi — $35 USD

A print copy of Eros.

Two 5x7″ postcards selected at random out of three possible designs created by @demartinidesigns, @jizart, and @somethingyoirelated. The designs by @demartinidesigns and @somethingyoirelated feature spot gloss and holographic coating, respectively.

One 6x9″ mini-print with red foil accent by @iruutciv.

One A6 sized sticker sheet featuring six designs by @alikurai.

One 2" gold glitter epoxy acrylic charm designed by @toratoramin.

💋 The Standard Poodle — $45 USD

A print copy of Eros.

All three 5x7″ postcards, including the spot gloss and holographic designs.

One 6x9″ mini-print with red foil accent

One A6 sticker sheet

One 2" gold glitter epoxy acrylic charm

One 3x3″ 50 page custom post-it pad designed by @sportsharumaki. 

One 3.5x7.5″ exclusive, custom black satin sleep mask with our logo

Digital Bundles

💋 The Shiba Inu — $15 USD

A digital copy of Eros.

High-resolution digital content in full living color.

For when you need your spicy katsudon to go.

💋 The Siberian Husky — $30 USD

A digital copy of Eros.

All three 5x7″ postcards, including the spot gloss and holo designs.

One 6x9″ mini-prints with red foil

One A6 sticker sheet

One 2" gold glitter epoxy acrylic charm

One 3x3″ 50 page custom post-it pad

One 3.5x7.5″ custom black satin sleep mask

💋 The Teacup Chihuahua— $5 USD

When purchasing any bundle that includes a physical copy of Eros, you can add a PDF for only $5 using the discount code “VICCHAN.”

Stretch Goal

💋 Hard Enamel Pin

Should Eros exceed 250 physical bundles sold, we will include an exclusive enamel pin designed by @bigbigtruck. 

1.75″ black nickel hard enamel with iridescent white glitter.

Includes a customized backing card.

Postage and Handling

💋 Shipping Fees

Within the US: $9 USD

Everywhere Else: $14 USD

As previously announced, all proceeds beyond operating costs will be donated to the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary.  Upon finalization of all financials, we will remit a lump sum donation to their organization and will furnish proof of such on our social media. 

Our cover reveal and full unveiling will be within the next few days, but we wanted to give everyone some info to whet your appetites in the meanwhile. Previews of our content have begun, in the meanwhile, both here and on our Twitter. We will also be featuring our participants in the lead up to pre-orders opening. 

The next few days are going to be quite tantalizing, if we may say so. We look forward to your attendance at our online store on November 29th.