Destiny’s Embrace has been the second fanzine volume celebrating Kairi from Kingdom Hearts, with a focus on exploring her connection to the imagery and symbolism of flowers.

Thank you for your support! The store and applications are closed.Check out the contributors from both volumes of the Kairi Zine, and may your heart be your guilding key!
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FAQ

Q: Will you hire me, or can I work with you?
🌺 Thank you for your interest, but we are no longer accepting new contributors to the project. If you are looking for zine work rather than commission work, we recommend browsing around Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram for zines with open applications at this time.Q: Will there be a leftover sale?
🌺 There was indeed a leftover store for selling all remaining items after preordered shipments were distributed! The store has now closed. At that time, unfortunately we could not guarantee quantity or availability of any physical items or bundles. Preorders were the only guaranteed way to secure any items or bundles you may be interested in.Q: What’s a fanzine?
🌺 Zines (derived from the word “magazines”) are self-published, unofficial compendiums made to display a variety of work for a single subject or theme. Fanzines are zines with the purpose of celebrating something fans love.Q: What is the theme of this fanzine?
🌺 The focus of the fanzine is on Kairi and the ways her character can relate to the representation of flowers. Whether that’s during canon events, with hope for the future, a headcanon between scenes, or relatively canon-compliant scenarios. We'd like to avoid AUs, but in a series like Kingdom Hearts, we're open to straying a short distance from canon!Q: How many contributors were you looking for?
🌺 We were previously looking for 32 artists, 8 writers, 2 fic illustrators, and several merch artists. Guidelines for applying contributors were be announced on September 12th, 2022. Applications closed on October 31st, 2022.Q: Will this zine be distributed digitally or physically?
🌺 The Kairi fanzine will be available in both digital and physical formats.Q: Is this project for-profit or for-charity?
🌺 This project is for-profit, and the post-production funds will be split among all contributing members once the store is closed.Q: Will there be merch?
🌺 Yes there will be, for both physical and digital bundles! Merchandise such as acrylic charms, stickers, and pins will be included in our store as part of the larger bundles.Q: What if I'm a contributor having trouble with the page size?
🌺 The moderators will provide all page artists with the 1-page template, and can provide the 2-page spread template upon request.Q: How will contributors be contacted throughout the zine creation period?
🌺 Contributors who will participate in the Kairi fanzine will be contacted through email and optionally through a Discord server set up specifically for this project.Q: Where is this zine shipping from?
🌺 Our production moderator is located in California, USA, and will be distributing bundles from there via USPS and Ascendia. Tracking numbers will be provided via email upon shipping.Q: Will there be a leftover store?
🌺 Yes, we will announce the leftover store opening dates on Twitter and Tumblr once all pre-orders have been shipped out.Have more questions? Let us know through Tumblr, Twitter, or email!

Details

Destiny’s Embrace has been the second fanzine volume celebrating Kairi from Kingdom Hearts, with a focus on exploring her connection to the imagery and symbolism of flowers.🌺 This fanzine featured works from 32 artists, 8 writers, 2 fic illustrators, and several merch artists.
🌺 The physical book's dimensions was perfect bound, Royal Size (aka Trade Paperback) which is 6.14 x 9.21 inches.
🌺 The zine features stories that are each 2000 words in length.
🌺 Two illustrators worked with the writers to create small, in-line artworks to accompany each story.
🌺 Merchandise such as acrylic charms, stickers, and pins were included in our store as part of the larger bundles.
🌺 This project has been for-profit, and the post-production funds were split among all contributing members once the store closed.•
All contributors were asked to follow these guidelines:🌺 Each zine piece will be themed around a flower and how its meaning pertains to Kairi’s character.
🌺 Zine pieces may include headcanons or canon-compliant AU ideas but must still be accessible to a wide audience.
🌺 Romantic ships are not allowed. Platonic friendships are fine so long as they’re not the focus of the piece rather than Kairi herself.
🌺 Please keep zine pieces to a PG-13 rating or lower. Canon-typical violence and themes are allowed.
🌺 All contributors are asked to submit a final, polished piece of art or writing that is new (no reusing previously made content).
🌺 At no point are contributors allowed to use their zine work in association with crypto or the blockchain in any way, shape, or form.
•Page Artists:
🌺 Pages are 6.14 x 9.21 inches, 300 dpi in CMYK coloring
Include 1/8th inch border for bleed (1917 x 2838 pixel canvas)
🌺 Backgrounds are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED
🌺 Traditional art is allowed as long as the artist has a way of scanning it in high qualityWriters:
🌺 Final drafts should be no more than 2k words in length
🌺 Please use proper grammar and punctuation
🌺 Writers are welcome to use their own betas or ask the mods to beta
🌺 If the final story has potentially triggering themes, please list them up frontFic Illustrators:
🌺 Each story will have 2 accompanying artworks: one small and one big (“big” is no larger than 1/2 a page)
🌺 Each fic illustrator will work with 4 writers to turn in 8 art pieces total (2 artworks × 4 stories)
🌺 Final illustrations must be 300 dpi in CMYK coloringMerch Designers:
🌺 Merch artists are not tasked with producing the merchandise, just the designs (the moderating team will work with the manufacturers)
🌺 Please adhere to the specifications provided by the mods for each merch type as this will vary between products and manufacturers

Applications (Closed)

Applications opened on October 1st, 2022 at 12:01 AM PDT and closed on October 31st, 2022 at 11:59 PM PDT.The applications were through Google Forms, with three separate forms for page artists (including fic illustrators), writers, and merch designers. Each application asked for examples of your work and some basic questions such as email and social media handles.Each application also asked for a list of some flower meanings applicants were interested in featuring in a zine piece, but were not strictly final decisions.There was no limit to how many people could apply, and participants could apply for multiple positions. Please do not submit more than one application per contributor type.

It is up to your discretion which pieces of work you would like to submit as examples. It is not required to provide examples that feature Kairi or Kingdom Hearts, but it is encouraged.
Ultimately, we’d like to see a demonstration of the skill you would put into a zine piece.•
Artists (Page Artists & Fic Illustrators):

Please provide a link to a portfolio that contains at least three (3) examples of your work
— Some examples of portfolio sites we will accept: Google Drive, DeviantArt Sta.sh, DeviantArt portfolio, Imgur folder, a specific tag on your Tumblr, a portfolio website
— Please do not link to social media galleries such as Twitter or Instagram that have unrelated images. Applications that fail to follow these instructions will not be considered.
Page Artist portfolios should include at least one piece with a complete background
Examples should demonstrate consistent anatomy, page composition (coherent placement of a subjects within a piece), and understanding of color

•
Writers:

Please provide 2-3 examples of your work that are each 3k words or fewer
Examples should demonstrate proper spelling and grammar, and strong characterization
At least one example should demonstrate the writer’s ability to incorporate an overarching theme in either plot or character progression

•
Merch Designers:

Please provide a link to your storefront or a portfolio that contains at least three (3) examples of your work
— Some examples of portfolio sites we will accept: Google Drive, DeviantArt Sta.sh, DeviantArt portfolio, Imgur folder, a specific tag on your Tumblr, a portfolio website
— Please do not link to social media galleries such as Twitter or Instagram that have unrelated images. Applications that fail to follow these instructions will not be considered.
Examples should demonstrate a good understanding of what designs are suitable for the types of merch you are applying for

🌺 What are Fic Illustrators?Destiny's Embrace will feature 2 Fic Illustrators who will collaborate with our 8 Writers to create spot illustrations for their stories.

Each story will have 2 accompanying artworks: one small and one big (“big” is no larger than ½ a page)
Each fic illustrator will work with 4 writers to turn in 8 art pieces total (2 artworks × 4 stories)

Full backgrounds are optional for these spot-illustrations, and can be abnormal shapes since the layout mod will be formatting the text to fit around the illustrations.

Schedule

Oct 1-31, 2022	Contributor Applications Open
Nov 10, 2022	Application Responses Sent
Nov 18, 2022	Final Day to Confirm Participation*
Nov 25, 2022	Final Ideas Due
Dec 16, 2022	1st Check-in
Jan 13, 2023	2nd Check-in
Feb10, 2023	3rd Check-in
March 10, 2023	Final Due Date
March 28, 2023	Pre-orders Open
April 28, 2023	Pre-orders Close
May - Aug, 2023	Production Period
Sept 2 - 5, 2023	Physical Orders Distributed
Sept 19, 2023	Digital Orders Distributed
Sept 26, 2023	Leftover Store Open
Oct 26, 2023	Leftover Store Close
Nov 7, 2023	Final update

*Last day accepted contributors can confirm participation or they will be automatically dropped

Mod Sora
Lead, Finance, and Production

The day I laid eyes on Kairi was the day I knew I'd do anything for her. I'm very excited to celebrate this beautiful girl and her strength of heart; waiting is genuinely painful but she came out the other end ready to start swingin’ and almost took out Xemnas in one hit!! I'm very excited to participate in more Kairi loving hours with everyone, I hope you enjoy this project 💗

Previous Experience: Lead and Production Mod for 5 zines including Kairi Zine Vol I ; Organization Mod for Kairi Day ; Cosplay Contributor for 2 zines

Mod Roxas
Layout

Kairi is my favorite because she's unquestionably feminine and badass! She stays true to herself and is determined even without a weapon. I've adored her since I was a kid.

Previous Experience: Layout Mod for 5 zines including Kairi Zine Vol I ; Graphics Mod for 1 zine ; Writer Contributor for 1 zine

Mod Riku
Graphics

I have adored Kairi ever since I laid eyes on her for the first time while playing Kingdom Hearts II (yes that's the game I started with, I was very confused for quite a while). I adore Kairi's sweet, caring nature and tenacity. I can't wait to celebrate her once again through this fantastic project!

Previous Experience: Graphics Mod for 1 zine ; Art Mod for 2 zines ; Artist Contributor for 15+ zines including Kairi Zine Vol I

Mod Strelitzia
Writing

Kairi's been one of my favorite characters ever since I was introduced to her while playing KH on my cousin's playroom floor in elementary school. Her sassiness and resolve endeared her to me straight away, and my admiration for her grew as the series has progressed, and her along with it. I'm so excited to see where she goes as the series continues, and to celebrate her once again in what's going to be a beautiful tribute to her in this zine!

Previous Experience: Writer Contributor and Finance Mod for 1 Zine ; Lead and Production for 1 Zine ; Finance and Organization for 1 Zine ; Social Media for 1 Zine ; Writer Contributor to 5 zines including Kairi Zine Vol I ; Organizer for multiple fan events

Mod Aqua
Writing

Archive of Our Own

Ever since the Kingdom Hearts series began, I always thought Kairi was a standout character. From the very first game, she had such a strong, vivid personality, memorable dialogue, and a unique power and potential that extended far beyond the ability to wield a Keyblade. I'm so excited to be part of this project celebrating everything that makes this original KH princess special!

Previous Experience: Contributor to multiple collaborative fan projects including Kairi Zine Vol I, and an avid fic writer for 20+ years

Thank you for supporting Step Forward: A Kairi Fanzine Vol. I! ✩We hope you could also support our lovely contributors who helped us make the zine a success. You may find our illustrators, story writers and visual writers with their social media links down below.May your heart be your guiding key!

coffee ✩ Twitter
Tara ✩ AO3
Dera ✩ Twitter
Jax ✩ Twitter ✩ Insta
Kalapenopeppers ✩ Tumblr
cypii ✩ Tumblr
Polka ✩ Twitter ✩ Pixiv
Kou ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
BlissfulNightRain ✩ Tumblr ✩ FF.net
PIN6 ✩ Twitter
Tama ✩ Twitter ✩ Insta
Rubree ✩ Twitter
Teary ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
Lucifer ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
Dizzy ✩ AO3 ✩ Tumblr
Space Penguin ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
SkyBlitzHart ✩ Twitter ✩ Insta
Light ✩ Twitter ✩ FF.net
Grey ✩ Tumblr
Schnumn ✩ Twitter ✩ Insta
Luce ✩ Twitter
Heather ✩ AO3 ✩ Tumblr
Walter Mitty ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
Rain ✩ Twitter
Xyla | stellarnightmage ✩ AO3 ✩ Tumblr
Littlemay ✩ Twitter
Nico ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
Alja ✩ AO3 ✩ Tumblr
Nath ✩ Twitter ✩ Insta
sicklyjelly ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
nawnau ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
Tara Dienes ✩ Twitter ✩ Insta
Littlesat ✩ Twitter
Pia ✩ Tumblr
CeCe ✩ Twitter
TeganBerry ✩ Tumblr ✩ Insta
Kari ✩ AO3 ✩ Tumblr
Destiny Islanders ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr ✩ Insta
Sera ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
Phoenix Downer ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
AmyHayaNora ✩ Tumblr
Leslie ✩ Carrd ✩ Twitter ✩ Tumblr
Xhirien ✩ Twitter ✩ AO3 ✩ Carrd

Thank you for supporting Destiny's Embrace: A Kairi Fanzine Vol. II! 🌺We hope you could also support our awesome contributors who helped us make the zine's second volume a success. You can find our Artists, Writers and Merch Designers with their social media links down below.May your heart be your guiding key!