DEATHBOUND
A Shinjiro Aragaki fanzine
PREORDERS ARE OPEN!
(November 20 - December 20)
ABOUT
DEATHBOUND is an A5 physical charity zine focused on Shinjiro Aragaki and exploring his character through the story and events of Persona 3!
The zine is canon-focused and will follow Shinjiro’s story, from before the events of the game to the end. It will feature exploration of his dynamics with other characters, as well as solo focus on his individual character, mentality, and fate.This zine will be in benefit of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).This zine will NOT be spoiler free, with significant spoilers for the plot of Persona 3 throughout!
FAQ
“What is a zine?”
A zine (short for magazine) is an unofficial project by independent creators, centered around a particular theme. Zines are usually passion projects, celebrating its topic- which in fandom, tends to be a character, ship, or story- by compiling it into a magazine format.
In our case, our zine will contain art, writing, and accompanying merch!“Will this zine have spoilers?”
Yes! The contents of the zine itself will contain spoilers for all of Persona 3, from events from before the story until its end.“Will this zine be SFW?”
Yes, our zine is strictly SFW-only. That being said, you can expect levels of violence, gore, and profanity, to the extent they’re seen in canon, to be featured in the content of the zine.“Will the zine be physical or digital?”
Our zine will include a physical book and physical merch.“Where will the zine be shipped from?”
All physical orders will be shipped from the southeastern United States.“Will this zine contain shipping?”
No. Any romantic/ship content featuring Shinjiro, or suggested between other background characters, will be disallowed.“How old do you have to be to apply?”
Contributors must be at least 16 by the time contributor acceptance emails go out!“How many contributors will be accepted?”
We are looking to accept about 25 page artists, 5 writers, and 6 merch artists!“How will contributors be compensated?”
All contributors will be provided with a free full digital bundle at minimum. Our goal is to provide each contributor with a free full bundle with shipping covered, should we break even in sales!“Can I apply for multiple contributor roles?”
Yes, but you will only be accepted for one of your applied roles.Questions from here on are related to Persona 3’s story, and may include implied spoilers!“Which protagonist will be featured in the zine?”
Contributors will be allowed to feature whichever protagonist they’d prefer in their own pieces; pieces exploring both Shinjiro’s social link in Portable, as well as his link episodes in Reload, will both be permitted in contributor pitches (but will not be a primary focus).“What parts of the story will the zine feature?”
All mentions of Shinjiro’s story in canon will be included within the zine. This will range from his time at the orphanage to the very end of Persona 3. We will not be including spin offs or sequels (PQ, PQ2, P3D, or P4A future aus).“Which route of his story will be featured in the zine?”
For the sake of consistency, we will be following his story as it's depicted in the original P3/FES/Reload. While the female protagonist herself will be allowed to be included in the zine, we will not be including the alternate route for Shinjiro that comes with her story.
We will not be treating one route to be definitively “canon” over the other, and our decision not to follow Portable’s alternate route for Shinjiro is not meant to be an indication of this.“Are AUs allowed?”
Because of the zine’s canon-based theme, we will not be allowing AUs for the zine. We are defining AUs as anything that alters the canonical sequence of events, goes beyond canon, etc. However, events of Shinjiro’s life that we have little to go off of in canon (the orphanage, his time at Gekkoukan, his time after leaving SEES) are still very welcome- depictions of these events will be brainstormed by contributors!
SCHEDULE
| Mar 20 - Apr 20 | Interest Check |
| Apr 27 - May 31 | Contributor Apps |
| June 10 | Contrib Emails Sent |
| June 17 | Pitches Due |
| July 20 | Check-In #1 |
| Aug 20 | Check-In #2 |
| Sep 20 | Check-In #3 |
| Oct 20 | Final Submissions |
| Nov 20 - Dec 20 | Preorders |
| TBD | Production |
| TBD | Shipping |
| TBD | Leftovers |
| TBD | Proceeds Donated |
| TBD | Project Close |
GUIDELINES
GENERAL CONTRIBUTOR GUIDELINES:
> The theme of the zine is exploring Shinjiro’s character through the context of canon story events, beginning at his time at the orphanage to the end of his route. Pieces must include Shinjiro as a central focus, with consideration of his character, role in the story, his dynamics with others, etc.!> Because of the canon-based theme, AUs, crossovers, etc. will not be permitted (What we define as an AU is elaborated further on in our FAQ).> All contributors must be at least 16 years old by the time acceptance emails go out.> Contributors may not use AI assistance during any stage of their application or creation process. For applications, this means no AI-assisted work in your portfolio. For creation, this includes everything from basic inspiration to full assistance of writing/visual generation.> Similarly, no plagiarism in general will be tolerated. Contributors discovered to be plagiarizing work in any way, shape or form will be permanently removed from the zine. This includes heavily stealing ideas without full permission or proper credit; tracing, almost identically stealing compositions, stealing ideas, etc. These will be handled on a case-by-case basis as needed.> Contributors’ pieces for the zine must be made exclusively for the project. Using old pieces, WIPs, concepts, etc. for the project is not allowed.> Contributors’ pieces for the zine must be kept private until the leftover sale period at minimum. Mods will be happy to approve WIP sharing among trusted friends outside the zine, for feedback or other purposes, but public sharing of pieces is not permitted.> Zine projects are large time commitments, and we would like to ask everyone applying to carefully consider their own schedules in relation to the zine’s timeline. Extensions will be provided to all contributors as needed, but out of respect for everyone involved in the project, please be communicative and conscious of deadlines and time! By applying to the zine, you are agreeing to make a dedicated time commitment to the project’s timeline.(The buttons below contain general application guidelines, every contributor role's guidelines accordingly, and links to the application forms themselves!)
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
> Applicants must share 3 works as example pieces. These will be the first impression for the moderators to your work, so please make sure it is your best!> Mods must have access to a portfolio where we can evaluate your other works beyond your example pieces. A Google Drive folder, AO3 account, Artstation, Tumblr tag, dedicated social media account etc. will suffice, so long as the organization is clear!
If we cannot access your portfolio, your application will not be considered.> Your application must include at least one Persona-related piece! It doesn't have to be in the example pieces- it can be in your portfolio as well. While a piece specifically including Shinjiro is not required, it is strongly encouraged.> Example pieces- i.e. your main 3 examples you'll submit to highlight your work- submitted for the application process must be exclusively SFW. Suggestive content is permitted within portfolios, as long as it is appropriately tagged. Suggestive content is not permitted as an example piece. Applications including sexually explicit material will be disqualified entirely.(Links to application forms can be found in the buttons below!)
PAGE ARTIST GUIDELINES
Example pieces will be judged on-> Anatomy and coherency: Are characters featured in pieces distinct and recognizable?> Backgrounds: Are characters existing in a coherent and recognizable space? Does the background contribute to the understanding of what is happening to the character?
(This does not inherently mean environmental backgrounds; this is more about whether you can fill a full page in a visually interesting way!)> Color use: Do pieces demonstrate and understanding of color, depth, shadows, etc.?[Pieces that go "against" any of these criteria for stylistic reasons will not be marked off. These rules are flexible, and mods will be able to account for specific art styles while going through portfolios. Include pieces that demonstrate your best strengths as an artist!]
WRITER GUIDELINES
Example pieces will be judged on-> Grammar and structure: Do pieces include correct grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, etc.?> Worldbuilding/imagery: Would you be able to play into the feeling of Persona 3’s story with your writing?> Word limit: Are you able to tell a full story within the word limit provided?> (If applicable) characterization: Realistic characterization of Persona 3 characters that could be featured in your piece will be taken into consideration!
MERCH ARTIST GUIDELINES
Example pieces will be judged on-> Style according to application: If you are applying for a wallpaper or print, are you providing samples that show full pieces with backgrounds? If you are applying for a sticker or charm, are you providing samples that show interesting designs with individual characters? Etc.> Color use: Do pieces demonstrate an understanding of color theory? Are colors used attractive and harmonious?
MODS
MOD TRILL
Socmed - Formatting modHELLO HELLO!!! my name is trill (she/her) and i am alive for the sole sake of looking at and also making pictures of shinjiro aragaki. i print out pictures of him and fold them into a 3d shape so i can chew on his head in my regular day to day including in public.
this will be my 11th zine project and my 2nd time helping out with modding! i'll put my everything in for my wife aragaki amen--PAST EXPERIENCE: Promo Artist for PokéDogs, host of P3 Gift Exchange, and contributor for many other zine projects! yay
MOD CHATOT/ROX
Finance - Shipping ModHi, I'm Rox (they/them)! I'm looking forward to help bring Shinjiro to life, he's such a cool character that deserves all the love and appreciation. Shinjiro da world.
This will be my first time modding, but I have experience running my own shop and working with financials regularly at my job!--PAST EXPERIENCE: co-host of Saimota Week 2024, contributor for Unfinished Symphony - Overture, contributor for Gentle Madman
MOD OSWALD/OZ
Writing ModHello Everypony my name is Oswald (he/they) and Mr. Shinjiro Aragaki single handedly converted me from persona hater to insufferable fan! I love drawing my little weird guys and writing pretentious character studies.--PAST EXPERIENCE: Contributor for Brand New Days, P3 Gift Exchange, as well a good handful of big IRL projects non-persona related!
MOD NEBULA
Graphics Modhiii im nebula (they/them)!! super excited to be making graphics for this zine! shinjiro is my fave p3 character so i must do him justice... also i like making Images. very cool--PAST EXPERIENCE: Graphics mod for Full Bloom, Graphics mod for Ryuji Sakamoto Reverse Big Bonk, and many many graphics for various ship weeks or other fandom projects.
CONTRIBUTORS
TBA!