Hi guys!  So sorry to have this update after so long; I definitely should have posted it back in November, but holiday (and other things) got away from me.  If you’re wondering why I’m posting it now, I’ve been following the Voltron Zine Scene for some time now and one thing I’ve noticed is an increasing distrust of charity zines and whether or not the money has been donated.  Though nothing has changed with us, we just wanted to pop back in and provide documentation of our donation, as well as some testimonials from the people you guys have helped.

(Please note that I did not claim these for personal deductions on my taxes; they were tax-deductible, but I didn’t feel comfortable putting them on my own tax return)

[Link here]

sheithauzine:

Hey all!  A couple of things:

1. First of all, consider this a ringing endorsement not to live in the South: when my AC went out last week, it got so hot in my room that all of the vinyl stickers melted slightly and stuck to each other.  Unfortunately, this means that almost the entire batch has been damaged, and I’ve had to reorder the stickers.  I’ve already discussed it with our supplier and will provide updates as we receive them.

2. We will be selling the damaged stickers on our Bigcartel for very cheap prices, if anyone is interested, in hopes to recoup at least the production cost.  Consider this your chance to pick up extra copies!  Please review the pictures for examples of the damage.

Stickers are $1.00

Sticker sheets are $2.50

3. Shipping will be a flat $.50 for domestic and $1.00 for international.  However, if you have previously purchased a physical copy of the zine or bundle, you may input your order number (minus dashes) as a coupon to receive free shipping!  Please note that using an order number as a coupon will result in your order being added to the original order and sent to that shipping address, even if you input something different for shipping.

4. The zines took a while to print due to the AX rush, but I’ve been told I should receive them by next week!

Thank you all so much for your patience!

This is your last 24 hours to get copies of damaged stickers until the extras go up for sale!!

Hey all!  A couple of things:

1. First of all, consider this a ringing endorsement not to live in the South: when my AC went out last week, it got so hot in my room that all of the vinyl stickers melted slightly and stuck to each other.  Unfortunately, this means that almost the entire batch has been damaged, and I’ve had to reorder the stickers.  I’ve already discussed it with our supplier and will provide updates as we receive them.

2. We will be selling the damaged stickers on our Bigcartel for very cheap prices, if anyone is interested, in hopes to recoup at least the production cost.  Consider this your chance to pick up extra copies!  Please review the pictures for examples of the damage.

Stickers are $1.00

Sticker sheets are $2.50

3. Shipping will be a flat $.50 for domestic and $1.00 for international.  However, if you have previously purchased a physical copy of the zine or bundle, you may input your order number (minus dashes) as a coupon to receive free shipping!  Please note that using an order number as a coupon will result in your order being added to the original order and sent to that shipping address, even if you input something different for shipping.

4. The zines took a while to print due to the AX rush, but I’ve been told I should receive them by next week!

Thank you all so much for your patience!

We’re officially in the printing stage!

The zines have all been paid for, color corrections completed, final go-ahead given, merch is all sitting in little piles on my desk waiting to be shipped out…

I’m super excited, and hope you guys are, too!

PDFs have all been sent out!!  If you ordered yours but haven’t received it, please let us know ASAP with your order number!

Get to know the contributors that are a part of Stargazing: a Sheith AU Fanzine!  Last, but not least, is @fishingclocks​, who did a “Finest Hours” AU fic!

As a reminder, you only have a little over 24 hours to grab your own copy of Stargazing!

Willow

“Through context clues, I’ve decided that ‘Shut your quiznack’ means 'Shut your fuck’, and I think that’s beautiful.”

fishingclocks on AO3
@fishingclocks​ on Tumblr

So, even I, a semi-recovered Chris Pine fangirl, hadn’t heard of Finest Hours until you pitched this fic idea.  It’s definitely not very well-known or the sort of thing you’d commonly see done as an AU, and arguably a challenging genre as well.  Why was it that you decided to go with this instead of something more traditional?

So there’s a couple answers to this. The first is a preference for my Sheith fic that’s pretty personal - I just really like fics where they’re pilots? No matter the setting - in spaceships or on a dingy - I feel like Keith and Shiro belong on ships. And this fic is basically intrinsically tied to ships. The real reason, though, is that I just like to tread off the beaten path with my AUs. I adore tropey fic, but I feel like I don’t have the mind to take something someone else has already done and make it my own. So for me, that sort of AU almost is traditional!

You have done some unusual (and awesome) AUs before, that’s for sure.  I’ve been familiar with (and loved) your work before you joined Stargazing, and so much of it is very long!  You might have stepped outside of your comfort zone for this project, but you definitely nailed it.  What challenges did you run into while trying to tell a story within a zine’s shorter word count, and (for those of us who struggle with it, too), do you have any advice for downsizing?

Yeah, for me, the hard part is always telling a complete story while also setting limitations for yourself. I always like having lots of dialogue in my pieces, and because I like to keep a close third-person POV, I like to include moments of introspection to move the story forward, rather than have plot points do all the work. The way I’ve started practicing, I pick out the most important moment in a scene - the main plot reason it’s there, because in a short fic all of your scenes should have a reason in the plot to be there - and center all action in the scene around it. That way, all of your scenes are direct, intentional, and yet they do what you need them to do. And it doesn’t only have to be plot driven either - you can center the scene around a thematic concept, or a character interaction - as long as there’s constant forward momentum to some end goal in the scene!

Despite being in the Voltron fandom for a while, this has been your first foray into writing a full Sheith fanfic, correct?  What was it like, coming in and beginning to make your mark creatively on this fandom, with this ship you’ve been sailing for some time?

Honestly, it’s been terrifying! I mean, no, that’s not the right word, but it was definitely something that intimidated me. To be totally honest, I swore that I would never write any Voltron fic - I feel like there’s so much I don’t know, and that there’s so many better authors than me, the fandom doesn’t need me. In the beginning, I didn’t really ship anything except Allura and I, so I thought I would just sit it out. And then all at once, my friends introduced me to the wonder that is Sheith, and I was a lost cause. I still don’t feel like I know enough or am involved enough in the fandom to write anything but fun AUs, but I’ve been broken. For over a year I’ve been writing small fics for them - little character interaction explorations, just to figure out their dynamic and get a fix of fluff - and with this Stargazing fic, I’m officially making my first real, exciting step into the fandom!

We’re definitely glad to have you here, that’s for sure!  And finally, the most important question of all: if you could choose to live in any AU, limited only by your imagination, which would it be?

I actually don’t have to give this any thought at all! Remember those Moon and Sun AUs that were popular about a year ago? One character is the moon, one character is the sun, and in some AUs they live in a stylized version of space, and in others they rule over a kingdom, of sorts, one dark blue and silver, the other yellows and oranges and reds. I would love to be the Sun! The costumes in these AUs are always so lavish, and the Sun designs are always just stunning. What I wouldn’t give to be constantly surrounded by warm sunset colors, draped in yards and yards of fabric - and also with this AU comes the standard romance with the Moon, and I personally feel like it’s my destiny to be the Moon’s girlfriend, so that would work out very nicely.

You can pick up your own copy of Stargazing here!  All profits will go to the Center for Victims of Torture.